Mirrors in bird room

[Pastel]

Hi everyone!

I rearranged my apartment so that my two lovely budgies get more sunlight and more calm during the night. It is also the room that is the farthest from the kitchen which I feel so much more comfortable with. However, the room that suits their needs the best is a double room, so there is a wide arch that leads to another room with a wardrobe that has huge mirrored doors. I plan to put a curtain on the arch so that I can use that room as an office without bothering the birds sleeping, but i would still like them to be able to use both rooms so that they can fly more freely and come see me when i'm sitting at my desk. Does anyone have any ideas on how to train my birds to eventually ignore the mirror and avoid injury? If that's not possible, I will cover the mirrors. Until i get the curtains (in the next few days), i let them fly around by staying in front or the mirrors with my arms open so that they land on me but obviously this has to be temporary.

Thank you and I hope your birds are well!

 

[Birdie Mama]

Hello!

whenever I get a new bird, I hang strips of paper towels on the mirror at different heights ( I have a big 5’x6’ one bone the couch). As the bird flies around the strips flutter, so he gets to see his reflection as he goes by as the flutter attracts his eye, so he realizes that he cannot go through it. I usually leave them up for a month or so, then slowly start taking strips off one at a time. I have ribbons on the glass balcony door and door screen for the same reason, so he knows the door is closed and doesn’t hit it…

so far this has worked for me.
enjoy the site!! Lots of great info and help to be had.

 

[Fergus Mom]

I tended to go crazy with the window cling things (and they aren't cheap), for my windows, etc. Then I found I could do the same thing with bits of tissue paper! You can cut it in different shapes, etc. or just do rectangles, diamonds, etc. and adhere it to mirrors or windows with a bit of diluted glue. Easy to take off with water. I would cover the entire mirrors to begin with, and then maybe remove it bit by bit after no accidents occur.

 

[MommyBird]

windows and mirrors would be the same solution. I've always wondered why they don't try to avoid the bird flying right at them in a mirror.

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[Winn]

I would recommend covering the mirrors at least until your birds recognize them as a "boundary"... even if it means sacrificing aesthetic for a while. Reflective surfaces give the illusion of unlimited space and I saw a wild bird knock itself out cold by flying into a plate glass window that reflected the sky.
A simple temporary solution could be to hang a curtain or sheet across the mirror until they recognize it as a solid surface. Otherwise, "decorative window clings" on the mirrors could help. They are inexpensive and easily removable.