Ever wondered what recipe to use for your chop? Ever wondered what ratios you should be provided to your parrot and how to cater it to their current needs?

More to come!

Now, we are all aware of bird mirrors. They frequently are recommended in pet stores, by breeders, and by fellow bird keepers.

But, should they be?

First let’s delve into what a mirror is used for…Birds are flock animals, and as such, they flourish in pairs or groups, but for the bird keeper that only buys one, and who works or has another routine or schedule to keep, what will the bird do when their flock… is gone? This is where the mirror is suggested to come in.

Now, let’s first think of what happens while a bird is alone in their cage or room. They eat, they play, they have a snooze, they even work on their sounds and words! Now, the mirror is said to help with the birds confidence and desire to speak more – and this may be true due to the bird now “speaking” with “another bird” (their reflection), however, this “other bird” doesn’t talk back, or preen. They don’t move, or eat. Now, in extreme circumstances, a bird may not want to leave the mirror due to them then leaving “their friend” this then leads to loss of weight from frankly, starving themself. It can also lead to hormonal urges and in turn exacerbates nesting behaviors which starts with regurgitation but also includes; cage aggression, building of a nest, resource guarding, and other behaviors. During this time, the owner may lose patience or have safety concerns and thus causes people to then re-home or surrender their once loved parrot.

There have also been concerns on whether or not a parrot would be able to break the mirror, causing sharp edges, especially during night frights which galahs and cockatiels are quite prone to.

Then, adding some size to the mirror, if they are already highly interested in mirrors, they will be even more interested to that floor to ceiling mirror, or your built-in wardrobe, and because birds cannot recognize that it is a reflection and sees it as a continued space which causes them to fly into the mirror which can cause bruising, concussions, and even with enough speed, death.

If available to you, there are stickers you can place on mirrors which are barely visible to us that allows the bird to see that it is a surface and not open space.

A much safer alternative could be to leave your bird with a forage toy to keep them occupied and mentally stimulated, or to leave a radio (or other device) on playing either music or bird talking videos (which can help them with their vocabulary, pending the species). You can also leave them some swings, ladders, foot toys, or seagrass activity wall mats to keep them occupied while you’re out and about.

Stay safe.

In a time where every cent counts, and living costs are on the rise, some bird owners have been delving into buying seed mixes from their local Coles, Woolworths, IGA, ALDI, etc

This was once a safe practice, where bird seed company’s used the best seeds nutritionally available and were all upheld to strict quality guidelines, however, since 2020, some of these brand feel this is no longer necessary and through the excuse of “change of ownership”, “seasonal availability” or maybe just a lax on quality measures, these brands are no longer meeting your birds daily dietary needs. Due to this, it is now deemed unsafe to feed these mixes to your birds.

There have also been some companies known to change the seed mix recipes which were not told to prospected buyers. It was however later announced via email to those who sent a help request for their birds behaviors towards the new food, that this was now causing medical conditions since the birds started eating the new mix, or visual differences noted. This was truly in poor form and caused a bit of outrage in the bird community.

Some caused sickly conditions which was seen in birds by noting; diarrhea, green watery droppings, puffed up feathers, lethargy, and loss of weight.

A simple way of testing your seed mix for nutritional value is to try to sprout the seed. Some when using this test method, found a 50-60% mould ratio with this new mix, with some even reaching 100%.

Ensure your mix is achieving a successful rate of 80-100% sprout ratio by buying from bird stores, avian veterinarians, or avian breeders and never fear asking someone for advice if you ever need it.

My saying is, "If it doesn't sprout, toss it out".

You can use Facebook groups relating to your parrot and/or country, or you can seek advice from your avian breeder, professional, or veterinarian.