My 6 Month old male cockatiel Is quite chatty and has learned about a dozen phrases that he will talk to us, his human parents. He also talks to himself in his mirror or anything shiny that he can perch on. My question is, do you think another male would be a good companion for him or should I not fret about his being lonesome. He even sits by his mirror in the cage to sleep at night and be as close to his “friend “as possible.
Hi,
If this is a tame bird that you handle, then getting a second bird as a companion for him would be a mistake. If he bonds with a companion, even another male, he will most likely get less and less tame with people. While cockatiels are social, they only have close contact with their mate, and distance themselves from flock members once they have a mate. He might also stop talking, because talking is his way of trying to communicate with you, so he would stop that because he has a bird companion. You also need to keep an eye on how he behaves with the mirror. If he gets obsessed with it, and starts to spend most of his time with it, then you should remove it. Some birds get so obsessed, they feed their mirror and start to treat it like a mate.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
