toys with mirrors

I have a rather dumb question. I heard that it is not recommended to have toys installed in your birds cage that have mirrors on them. I am not sure if this is true or why. If anyone can shine some light I would appreciate it. Thanks so much.

My older quaker didn't have a problem with mirrors, but my younger quaker started courting a mirror toy that I left in after Mark died. To the point of gakking up food on the mirror. I took it out and am putting in more interactive toys.

I also had a tiel that courted his hanging mirror/bell toy. He'd drape it over his back, look over his shoulder into the mirror, and get happy with his perch.

This is what I had read, while researching for the book I am writing

[FONT=&quot]A mirror is not a good idea. A mirror placed in a birds' cage could possible make believe that there is another bird in the cage. Your bird will [/FONT][FONT=&quot]love to play with the mirror and talk to it, but there is a possibility that your bird will lose interest in you.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]Each bird is an individual - opinions may differ

[FONT=&quot]I have a mirror on the wall just outside Mishka's cage.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Mishka often chats to the "bird in the mirror"
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]He has never lost interest in me.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I feel when no-one is home, he has "someone" to chat to.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

Mirrors are one those things each individual bird is going to respond in a different way to. Many birds either don't care at all or have no inappropriate behaviors towards mirrors, but there are those certain birds out there who fall inappropriately in love with or become very aggressive towards mirrors. If you are going to use a mirror toy, I highly suggest you carefully observe your birds reaction the first few days and use common sense to gauge if it's a good toy for your bird. Also, if the mirror is directly in your birds cage never use ones that are not integrated into a toy specifically designed for your birds size group. Giving say, a macaw a mirror toy designed for a parakeet could pose a safety threat since a macaws beak is so much more powerful than the intended size group and could break the mirror and cut it's tongue. Never use a mirror not integrated into a bird specific toy inside the cage (like the mirrors you buy at craft stores) as bird mirrors are made of more durable materials than regular glass ones and have a far less risk of the bird accidentally breaking and ingesting or injuring themselves with it. If you place a mirror not specifically designed for birds outside the cage, make sure it is our of reach or carefully watch your bird any time they could have access to it. If your bird wants to chew on the mirror toy, remove it from the cage regardless if it's designed for parrots, it can still pose a risk.

Personally, Kiwi has a little mirror toy in his cage, and he sticks his head in it every so often and tries to figure out who that other bird is, but for the most part, he ignores it for more interesting toys he can forage with or rip up. My parents 2 zons have had mirror toys before, and couldn't care one iota about them. Their cockatoo on the other hand is very aggressive towards mirrors, and he doesn't ever get mirror toys because he attacks them and could accidentally break one and injure himself. It boiled down to the individual birds reaction and common sense on the owners part.

My Alex is terrified of toys with mirrors, they really stress him out. So I completely avoid them, however he doesn't have any issues with the large mirror in the bathroom....probably because he is cage territorial and doesn't want 'another' bird in there.

Thanks to everyone for your comments. They were EXTREMELY helpful. After reading these helpful comments I decided not to have any mirror toys inside Benji and Chuey's cages. I just don't want to take any chances. Thanks again, I really do appreciate it.

My Hahns loves looking at himself in the bathroom mirror. At first he thought it was another bird and responded both aggressively and cautiously. Now he will sit looking at himself, admiring himself. He's only in there maybe twice a day so it isn't a real problem. But that shows me a mirror isn't for him.

Basil makes his warning call if we go in the bathroom together or walk by the big mirror in the hallway. He definitely shows aggressive tendencies to it (lunging, biting) so mirrors are not for him. He even gets angry at the "piano bird"...when he sees his reflection in the shiny black surface of the piano.

I, personally, am against mirrors, for abovemantioned reasons. But, it brings up another debate about whether or not birds can realize that it is their reflection. Of all the birds I've had, only 2 seemed to realize that they were looking at themselves. My beloved Bella, a lovebird, used to like to watch herself. I honestly believe she understood that it was her that she was looking at. While on my shoulder, she'd look from me to our reflection, and back to me again.