Can boredom lead to aggression?

[Owlet]

When I got Lincoln he came with a cage and all his toys. Problem is, the toys look REALLY old. Like they're super faded in color (they look like they were once brightly colored) and I've been hesitant to replace them with newer toys because I don't want to stress him by taking away everything familiar and replacing it with new, scary things. I did replace one toy a week ago though. He was really scared of it at first and would do everything in his power to avoid going close to it. He eventually started moving around it but still not really playing with it. (It's a foraging toy with strips of paper and twine, I hid some sunflower seeds in it for him to find) Today he did start tearing at it though which is a good sign, but it took a week for this to happen. I was thinking of just slowly replacing all the toys one by one like I did the other but I mainly just want to know if boredom can lead to aggression because when I'm keeping him preoccupied he's very sweet and will occasionally let me pet him, but when he isn't doing much he gets a bit nippy.

 

[chris-md]

The only thing I can really add for you is that Boredom unto itself in any given moment shouldn't lead to aggression. How is his demeanor when you get nipped?

Ekkies are known to be daydreamers. For many individuals you practically have you announce your presence and intention, moving slowly to make sure you got their attention as you approach them. If he's staring off into the distance when you try to engage him, A startle can get you a nip.

 

[Scott]

I would think boredom and aggression are different issues. Birds can tire of toys, a bit of variety is nice. Best to rotate them one at a time, and feel free to reintroduce an older clean toy after some time has passed. My sample size of two is not meaningful, but none of my Ekkies shows much interest in toys.