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[anjel]

Hi peeps, im new on here and have just been browsing round...this is my first question and its to anyone who has any knowledge on cocketiels, i have looked on the net which has been really useful but i havnt come across any information on what my lil birdy keeps doing. Boo (my cocketiel) keeps looking at herself in the mirror and will do this like knocking of her beak, which looks like she is doing it quite hard. she also sits on her perch and fluffs her feathers out so she looks realy fat and does this weird thing with the sides of her mouth which reminds me of something out of the alien film...lol. thanks for reading and hope some1 can help :>)

[icemaiden]

Sounds like your lil one is in love. Unfortunately with him/herself.

I shouldnt think it will do harm, however if you are worried then I suggest that you remove the mirror.

The fanning of the feathers around the sides of the mouth is very comical to watch, if thats what you are refferring too when you say something out of Aliens. My African Grey does it often, makes him look sooooo sweet.

Hope this helps.

[orange-gnome]

My kakariki is always loving herself in the mirror and does knock it around but I reckon half the reason for this is so as to test if its a real bird...Also I think she spends a lot of time looking in the mirror because she is the only bird in the house and so I am getting her a friend in the shape of a cockatiel in a week or so!
I wouldn't worry too much about the mirror knocking as their beaks are pretty hard and also I don't think that most of them are stupid enough to injure themselves...unless she is a bit mental.

[clair3934]

what your bird is doing with the mirror is trying to communticate with the other bird in the mirror if they start bashing it around its normally because they want to get rid of the other bird. the fluffing of the feathers is a way of getting warm just like the hairs stand up on our bodies when we are cold to stop the air flow around them birds do the same by fluffing out their feathers and the beak thing I assume you mean that she is opening her beak for a few seconds and what looks like flexing it? if so she is opening and stretching the muscles in the beak area and yawning hope that helps :-)

[anjel]

i think this is how i answer back to all you peeps who were kind enough to answer me back, as i said i'm new to this and havn't got a clue! Boo looks really weird when she is doing the alien thing and she will do it for a long time and she makes a weird noise when she is doing it too but she obviously likes it because her eyes close and open at the same time and she looks really contented. does any of you guys have problems with your bird flapping about, i know she gotta stretch her wings but sometimes she goes a bit mad and will fall off her perch, then looks at me likes its my fault. i let her out a few times a week but cant do it all the time cuz i can neva get her back in. I also wanted to know if i could put another bird in with her for company, i put a pretend one in and she hated it at first but now she don't bother, i think i would have to upgrade my cage size but i would really love her to have company....she is 11 months old. :>)

[icemaiden]

Is she making grinding noises with her beak when she does the alien thing?

If so, this is a sign that she is contented. My grey does it and it makes my teeth go all funny, like someone running their nails down a black board.

Urghh!