Bowl-dumping (GRRRRRR!!!!!!!)

[GaleriaGila]

Much ado about nothing???? I'd like your opinion, please. Who else can I turn to?

There has been an ongoing contest between poor me and my mischievous companion regarding his apparent enjoyment of dumping his food bowls. He does it about once a month... why? Who knows!? I have never before caught him in the act, but thanks to my smart-phone, I finally did, or at least partly!! He prefers to do the dumping when I'm not around. I already knew that a precursor of dumping involved throwing all the food out, but then what?

When I noticed he was busily throwing food out of the bowl, I went into stealth mode, leaned against the wall facing the TV while pointing the cam in his direction. After a while, he apparently decided the coast was clear enough.

Here are two short videos of the RB climbing up UNDER the bowl, head-butting it until it it's loose, with the rim above the holder... then he climbs higher until he can get his beak on the rim and then jiggles and lifts it, then repeats the head-butt, repeats jiggles. He didn't complete the dump... I think he was still too discouraged because of my nearness... also, I SWEAR he knows when I'm videoing him. Anyway, I had to go downstairs... a few minutes later, I heard the bowl clang to the bottom of the cage.





So, first he dumps the food to make the bowl lighter, then he uses head-butts and jiggles to get it loose and let it fall.

Doesn't that sound dangerous???? He could get a foot caught! Or worse! I think I'm going to get a stainless steel dowel and pass it through the bars so he can't do that. Other ideas? Or stop worrying (he's been doing it for 30 years)?

What do y'all think????

 

[SailBoat]

If the cage is his normal cage, I would guess that he is bored.

If true, consider adding, say twenty to twenty-five toys. Hanging toys, push around toys and balls and lots of foot toys.

 

[GaleriaGila]

20-25???????? WOWWWW!!!!!

I usually switch and swap, for a total of about 5 in his cage at any one time!
Well, what would it hurt? I can do that. I will include in that 20-25 some home-made stuff like paper-towel-rolls, popsicle sticks, chains and ropes, all of which he likes.
I certainly have a few new and cool ones, thanks to Mr. Wrench's generosity.
Okay, operation MORETOYS!
Thanks.

 

[chris-md]

Hi galeriagila

So very much with Sailboat here. You look in parkers cage and there's something everywhere you look.



Rickeybirds cage looks Stark there's s lot of empty space from the looks of the video, I would be bored. You need several types of toys (shredding toys, stringy toys, foot toys, dangly toys) of several different sizes, not to mention rope perches connecting different parts of the cage together. 20-25 is hyperbole, but it gives you an idea.

Even better for your guy would be something he can dig and rummage through (artificial turf area with sunflower seeds, for example) since he is more a ground dweller than your typical bird.

I suspect you will see this behavior disappear with optimized living space. If he's within eyeshot of a tv, consider leaving that on for him. I leave a tv on for Parker everyday.

 

[GaleriaGila]

I hear you, Chris, and thanks. I think what I'll do is cram one side of the cage full of stuff, but leave half of it roomy, BECAUSE...... he loves to flap his wings, fully extended, often, and needs space for that. But I hear you guys, and I will start taking steps tomorrow. The last thing I want to be is close-minded or stubborn.
More to come...
Thank you!!!!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Oh, and yes, he has a TV full-time, and three windows on a busy street, lots of foot and vehicle traffic.

 

[greytness]

I just went through this with my Macaw. Found a bowl on Amazon that clamps onto the inside of the cage and then the bowl screws into its stem. He hasn't figured out yet how to unscrew it.

 

[chris-md]

First, I so appreciate that you take this advice with the spirit it's given: with kindness and compassion towards you and RB. We know you're a great parront to him most people would get super defensive and close off.

Second, rethink your plan. Remember Patagonian conures are more ground dwellers, which in my mind necessitates rethinking the cage layout. Most birds will spend all of their time in the top half of the cage, never going down. So you have to consider wing space up there.

Because I'm certain RB spends some of his time on the floor of he cage, consider placing all toys up top (save for maybe a foraging space on the floor). He would have plenty of room down there to flap his wingswhile javingall the great toys and perches up to.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Greytness... thank you! I'll go shopping and see what I find! I appreciate you.

Chris... thank YOU. A lot to think about. Yeah. Okay, I AM re-thinking. I'll need a WHILE to try a few things. After all, my boy has gotten used to his status quo. But after THREE of y'all here say "more toys", hey, I'm listening.

Now that I'm not working, I have all day to be with him, and experiment. And I will.

And... a related thing... I have been sad lately that he is 32, so so so close to his life expectancy (30-35) but... you know what? He is really no different from how he was at 1-2. I think he's gonna be around a WHILE. I feel awful to imagine that I've deprived him of enough toys, but... hey... tomorrow is a new day. Thanks, to you, Chris, Sailboat, and Wrench, especially. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Gail and the Rickeybird

 

[chris-md]

I hear ya. Parkers cage gets rearranged Once or twice a month. PIt takes a lot of planning and playing to stuff enough that it's entertaining without piling everything in such a way that poop will fall on perches and toys below. Admittedly a frustrating exercise for me since I'm not super creative and don't generally enjoy creative endeavors. Clever cage layout is out creativity.

It gets worse for me with a large cage (6' tall) because of the reason I mentioned below: the birds only stay up top. I see half the cage (bottom half) completely empty and unused and I can't figure out how best to utilize it. Can't stand the wasted space. At lease with a ground dweller like a patty nature provides you with greater possibilities

 

[SailBoat]

STOP! Life Expectancy is an not a death sentence! It is little more than a guess. Next time, your at the Vet's office, ask to listen to his heart.

Regarding toys, your guy has found ways to keep himself busy. You are only taking it all up several steps. Enjoy!

 

[wrench13]

Son of B**ch I just threw out one of those screw on bowls, thinking 'who would ever want one of these?'. I coulda sent it with the care pkg. I use the bowls that have dimples on them that fit past openings in the support rings, and Salty has not figured out, yet, how to remove those, you might want to try a few of those. Pattys do seem like more ground foragers, might wanna keep that in mind setting up his toy harum.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Sailboat... yes. Age is just a number, anyway. Right? Right.

Wrench... his TOY HARUM... LOLOLOLOLOLOL
Okay, I'm on it!

Thank you so much.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Just to add to the advice (good) already given and speaking from my experience as a holiday mum to a LPC who loves to climb, hang, swing, bang, knock and shriek! He is full on all the time. Toys need to be pretty robust, favourite is an arrangement of hanging wood balls on chains that pull through a central wood block and he adores his swing. Pretty sure he will stop if you give him something to do.

Utilise his cage space well as these Patty's need plenty of climbing room and cage bars clinging space. Be aware that they like/dwell in holes in the cliff face in their natural environment so not advisable to give boxes etc to play with as from my experience they get a bit over protective.

 

[greytness]

This is the bowl we recently got which, so far, has not been dumped!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DGYMS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Printer bird]

My GCC had TONS of toys that were rotated frequently and for some reason she still loved to knock her food bowls around (sit underneath them and bash them until they fell out - the small, moveable ones for foraging treats and food/water dish alike!). We bought a "solarium" for the pellets (a sort of plexiglass box clipped to the outside of the cage that she could go into to grab pellets) and had to get a screw-in water dish (it had a winged bit that fit into a slot and then turned 90 degrees so that you couldn't lift it out). She would still bang and tap and bite at both of them, though. It could be a conure thing - they love to make a toy out of anything. So get more toys for sure but the Rickybird might still be all over his dishes!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Sailboat, Wrench, Plum, Greyt, and Printer...

Thank you for all the info and ideas.

I just sat down on the floor beside his cage, with him busily doing floor-battle with the demon-bouncy-ball, several feet away. I just put my mind blank and started coming up with ideas, brainstorming. Here's what came to me (and this is only Plan A... we'll see how it works and go from there).

Plan A

I'm so leery of heavy hanging toys because he has knocked himself off the perches when he really gets in full warrior mode. He likes/needs to have both skinny little cockatiel feet on the perch when taking on toys. Even on the room floor, he's all about BEAK, rarely uses a foot.

And...

He is VERY used to doing full extended flaps from several locations.

So...

I'm gonna try affixing a couple of smaller toys to each and every perch, near the bars. Some will be swingable, but still near the bars. That way he'll have lots of toys but will still have flap room, and won't be able to knock himself off the perches.

So he has around ten perches, and with each one getting a couple of toys, that'll be around20. Some of which will be old friends from around the house that he loves (towel rolls, measuring spoons, whatever) and some will be bona fide parrot toys.

I think this is a really exciting idea. Thanks for encouraging me to re-think. So we'll see what happens. Film at 11 (or soon)!

Gail and RB

 

[chris-md]

Don't be afraid of the bigger toys, and don't underestimate his intelligence. He will learn after a few lumps and bruises not to play so hard with the toys that can bite back. remember, they have the intelligence of a 2-3 year old. They DO learn from previous mistakes.

Last thing I would personally want to see for such a large bird is a few dinky toys dangling from a chain. remember, your conure is about the same size as other amazons and eclectus. He's not so delicate a flower you have to coddle.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Chris - Actually these birds are quite slight, they appear bigger than they are as they have long tails. When I hold him compared to Plum, there is a huge difference.
Gail - why can't RB hang very well with his feet? If he does not have much strength in his legs but is not infirm then try and get him dancing as this will help. Tell him to strut his booty! Yes small feet and legs but should be strong!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Chris, one toy I'll be getting more of... plain old dog choke-chains... I hang 'em with a c-clip from the cage ceiling and he loves them. I also sometimes hang lighter-weight toys on the chains, too, or just c-clips... he can work the screw-type c-clips pretty well. I'll try to cover that base, of hanging toys.

Yeah, Plum, isn't that the truth, about their weight? One avian vet I saw said he was too thin. Fortunately, their lightness had already been explained to me. And the next vet reassured me... "Yeah," he said "These guys are skinny next to what most vets are used to." Maybe I over-stated his cockatiel feet and legs. They are FINE when he wants to do his roadrunner act. He lowers his head and zoooom! He runs, HOPS, scrambles, and jumps, flies maybe a foot up inn the air, then lands and zooms again. I gotta get a video of that! You know, he's not much of a dancer, but it's been a few years since I actively tried. I'll give it a shot.

Thanks, y'all!

P.S. If you need a laugh, take a look at YouTube "dancing parrots" videos, if you haven't already!