Chewing and tearing apart newspaper on bottom of cage

[deyainrdy4ds]

Hi all - I'm new to the forum. We have an African Grey and an Amazon. The biggest problem with the African Grey is that he chews up and tears apart the newspape that my dad puts on the bottom of the cage everyday (and usually multiple times a day because of the chewing) and therefore always makes a big mess that makes it hard to clean up the old newspaper. I figure its out of boredom or maybe stress, but how can we stop this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[luv-my-honeybun]

my indian ringneck chews my books so i guess they just like chewing stuff :09: try buying some bird toys and change them every now n then so they dont get bored

 

[antoinette]

Hi and welcome, browse around many interesting posts, awesome members.
I have an AG, who used to do exactly the same as your bird.
It sounds like you do not have a grate in the cage. A grate is a level above the bottom of the cage, exactly the same as the bars of the cage. The newspapers are placed below the grate, where it is hard for a bird to reach.
It is part of their nature to destroy, everything in touch and sight.
Has your bird got enough toys in the cage, stimulating him, and to keep him occupied for hours. If there are enough toys, perhaps try changing them around often, in this way the bird will think he has new toys and not begin to get bored.
Hope this was helpful
Please keep us updated

 

[pityu]

Hi!
I know your problem very well. I have two lovebirds that dealt love to do the same.
I have only one BUT o so effective tip to you:
You should ger a shewing toy! Or like Me, do one at your own. A chewing toy is a toy that is completely destroyable. Like newspapers, but if you dont want him to chew on newspapers you should do a toy with some dry palm leaves or/and straws that you knot together with some chewable rope. This is also for parrots who like to shred materials. When you have a toy like that, he's not going to shredd the newpaper.

Tip. Put some of his favourite food inside it and it will surely be more popular then the newspaper

Good luck!

 

[deyainrdy4ds]

the cage actually does have the grate thing where u can place the newspaper underneath, but my dad puts it on top of it because if the bird poops, the poop ends up getting stuck on the metals bars when it dries up..

i will definitely try the toy suggestions though...i thought maybe there was something wrong and he was stressed out or something but it seems to be a normal probably after doing some googling...

those shrew toys etc -do they make a big mess as well?

 

[Pheonix Rising]

My suggestion would be to by a piece of lino and cut it to fit on the floor of the cage
maybe give him a few strips of paper to chew still but it means you can just lift it up tip off the excess stuff and wash it clean
simple easy and affordable

 

[Bobby34231]

A nylon brush, some vinegar and water with a touch of elbow grease will clean and sanitize those grates nicely, it's also better than having your bird ingesting all that ink from the newsprint, if done everyday its fast and easy, if left for long periods of time it really becomes more like work, you can spend a fortune on toys, which are both fun and neccessary to your birds health and wellbeing, but it always seems that things that are free such as paper and cardboard are their favorites :09:, have your dad place the paper under the grate and I can pretty much guarantee the mess will go away

 

[Spiritbird]

Hi and welcome to our forum. You can make shredding toys easily out of thngs just around the house. Greys are also easily potty trained. There are enzyme cleaners to spray on poop that has hardened and it works well. It is called Aviclean. Vinegar and water as was stated is also very good. You may have to use the grate without the paper on top.

 

[nofearengineer]

Dey...that is so weird. My Grey did just the opposite. If I put the paper UNDER the grate, he tore it to pieces. If I put it on top of the grate, it was invisible to him.

I think they just like shredding things. It's not a bad thing. Just be happy they're having a good time. Lots of chew toys are of course a good idea too. However, I never did find a chew toy that seemed as much fun to shred as newspaper for Gandalf.

On the subject of fun, cheap toys. I found that an empty (of course!) plastic 16 oz. soda bottle was hours and hours of enjoyment for Gandalf. (Just make sure they're not actually ingesting any of the bottle cap.) He loved to smack it around with me back and forth on top of his cage for at least 10-15 minutes a day. He used to refer to this game as "bonk".

 

[Cimeronn]

Bobbie chews up the newspaper in her cage to then goes to hide under it lol.
I did have some cage sheet things for a birds cage but it's expencive n as soon
as it goes In it usally gets desroyed

 

[triordan]

My suggestion would be to by a piece of lino and cut it to fit on the floor of the cage
maybe give him a few strips of paper to chew still but it means you can just lift it up tip off the excess stuff and wash it clean
simple easy and affordable

PR what is lino?

 

[Pheonix Rising]

Linolium you would most likely find it on the floor of your kitchen / dinning area or bath and toilet area
it's a thin plastic kinda thing that is rolled out like carpet and glued down into place

Very hard wearing , easy to clean andvwaterproof sorry I'm not so good at discriptions