Help needed for being a better parrot parent.

[Kuzma]

So I fostered a pineapple conure in august. She's beautiful and lovely, doesn't bite. She does have a bit of a princess syndrome, and she screams a little which is to be expected(The parrot sanctuary found her outside, she almost died over night).

My own background includes raising lovebirds and cockatiels, but it was in the sense of a hobby and I was young and did not retain much information that might be applicable now.

My issues with Rosalynn have been getting her to play with her toys and having confidence to explore and play with her surroundings. My roommate and I have tried many things, from playing with her cat balls, to tugging her ropes, to making hand people for her swings; she's essentially reduced us to awkward 6 year olds that are totally forcing it. She does chew alittle, but only the edges of whatever it may be and than she's done.
When she does explore, its only while I have all my attention focused on her. Once I look away she either runs to me or runs to her cage. This compounds with her distrust of hands, it's hard to prove that her toys are so enjoyable when these big meat spiders are the ones playing with them. On the flip side, she adores sitting on my shoulder and loves cuddling the side of my face.

The thing is, she would rather just sit there and watch me all day! I want her to have fun and be stimulated, rather than staring at me all lovey eyed all the time (most of the time is fine, just not all day). She wants me around, but for company and to stare at, She loves me but only above my shoulders.

I'm hoping to find some tips to make her life a little easier and happier!

 

[Iago]

I am going through the same thing with Iago minus the hand distrust. He has no interest in toys at all and would rather just sit or climb on me all day.

 

[SharonC]

Levi, my Linnie, doesn't play either. I've given up trying to find toys that interest him. His only interest is riding around on my shoulder. He's my Velcro bird!

 

[JasmineGCC]

Jasmine my pineapple wasn't chewing anything - I tried cuttlebone lava stone wooden toys and she pretty much ignored them all. Then I tied an apple tree branch in her cage and she won't leave it alone!! Chewing is as much fun as playing - if you're a bird

 

[LoveMyParrots]

Have you tried to rotating her toys around? Having the same toy every day is boring, I rotate toys for my parrot about every week. Also have a different shapes, color and size toys.

If your parrot is ignoring you, doesn't like to be with you and rather be alone, you can do everyday stuff with her. Like making the bed with your parrot, have a little pillow fight, my parrots loves it. Or it can be washing the dishes, Ozzie, my alexandrine parakeet always loves to be on my shoulder when I'm washing the dishes. I think the reason for that is because he loves water, after I've finish, I normally let him play in the water. Lol.

If you have a bird harness, you can also take your parrot for walks. I'm sure she'll enjoys it as much as my parrots.

 

[MonicaMc]

Wooden toys. Shiny toys. Plastic toys. Acrylic toys. Soft toys. Beads. Leather. Cotton.

There's a wide range of toys available! And there's also foraging. It can be as simple as placing food in or on toys to something more complicated, such as figuring out how to open a toy to receive food, to having to dig for food. Fresh branches, mentioned previously, can also be a great way to stimulate their brains!

 

[Kuzma]

I've tried swings and chews and perches and mirrors and some weirder things ( such as little drums with mirrors on them )
She does have a tendency to forage, but will only up cardboard containers a minimal amount required to get at the goods. She somewhat likes chewing but thats about it .
I'm just trying to find ways to occupy her and engage her while I'm gone at school. I've seen other parrots playing and want her to be able to as well! As time goes on I've been starting to think that whomever had her previous to this didn't interact with her much.

 

[MonicaMc]

My mitred conure can't destroy most toys due to a beak injury, so I gave him a soft yucca toy. He ignored it for the longest time! He would beat up on some other toys (he got really pissed at them! So he'd shove those toys away for good! And the toy would come swinging back at him.... and hit him... and he'd rage at it even further! lol ) but he wouldn't chew on anything enough to really destroy it... not even a simple yucca toy that is *very* soft! I solved this issue by putting his favorite seed inside it! That was a safflower seed. I put one in each "hole" (see link below) and as soon as he figured out how to get the safflower seed out, he worked on hollowing that "log" out!

Bird Kabob Ole - BIRD KABOBS BY WESCO by MY SAFE BIRD STORE


So you know she'll chew on soft things. What about toys with cardboard, yucca and balsa? And you can always create ways to forage by using mini muffin cups and storing treats, beads and other tiny things inside! Twist the top and toss into a 'forage bin' or her food dish! Maybe get her some paper toys? (some use adding machine paper) Anything that gets her interest!


Birds have different preferences, and it's just a matter of figuring them out!