They warn of problems due to mirrors in the cages of companion birds

Have you ever thought that a cage with wrong equipment can cause disease to pet birds? That can happen if you place an artificial surrogate pair or mirror in the cage so that the bird does not feel alone.

Pet birds shouldn't be alone. But whoever thinks they can simulate a couple for their parakeet by hanging a plastic bird or with a mirror in the cage can make a mistake, because the animal could even get sick.

The problem is that the solitary bird sees the plastic bird or its image in the mirror as a kind of surrogate, according to the German specialist magazine “Wellensittich & Papageien”.

Feeding each other is part of the natural behavior of parrot and parakeet pairs. In this case, according to experts, this could cause the solitary bird to want to feed the “companion bird”.

The usual behavior is for the bird to regurgitate the food and offer it to its companion. But in this situation I would be giving it to the plastic bird or the mirror.

And, because of the lack of interaction, the solitary bird would more or less incessantly regurgitate food by wanting to offer it to the supposed artificial companion.

Bird experts warn that the continuous gag reflex could eventually lead to irritation of the mucosa and, consequently, a decrease in the immune defenses of the esophagus.

dpa