How do i get billy to except new toys??

Bronte

Bronte

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Mar 23, 2013
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york, uk
Parrots
Eclectus male
My mum didn't give him any toys, and for 5 years he lived in an avery with his mrs. (she died) :(
And now as i have him, i want him to have fun when i am at work.

I got some wooden shapes where you put treats in it, and hung it in his cage after letting him see me with it for a few days.

he is scared of it :(

Has anyone else had any experience with a parrot who does not know how to play??

i want the best life i can give him, and i know he is still adjusting to his new environment.
He is very tame, and loves snuggling... but hates the stand i got him, refuses to go on it if i am near him as he wants to be with me.

Any tips would be amazing. xxxxxxxxxxx
 
That's such a cute pic of Billy snuggling up to you! He looks very sweet, and like he's already very comfortable with you (that's a huge plus). When we adopted Kiwi, he wasn't scared of toys per say, but he didn't seem to realize what they were meant for and didn't play with them (more treated them like obstacles in his cage). From our understanding of his prior homes, he likely never had toys or at least so infrequently he never learned what to do with them. I did notice however, he seemed very intrigued by some of our things that weren't really intended to be toys (mainly he seemed super curious when he saw us brush our teeth and he seemed to want to grab my jewelry). I kind of took those curiosities as a opportunity to get him used to the idea of playing. I cut the bristle part off a old toothbrush and washed it, then handed it to him, and he was so happy. He didn't really do anything with it at first except carry it around, but he eventually started ripping off the rubbery part. I also bought some bright plastic beads (too big for him to swallow) at the goodwill and wore them in front of him, kind of played with them, and then took them off and handed them to him. He immediately took them and started rolling them around in his beak. I tied the beads to a toy, and as he played with the beads, he started to get the picture he could also play with the toy they were attached to. He's not much of a chewer (wood toys aren't his thing) but he loves the toys with bright beads, knots he can untie, and foot toys. He also still loves toothbrush handles. We eventually started to teach him foraging, and he now systematically checks all his foraging toys several times a day to see if there are treats :)

I suggest you start observing Billy a little closer and see what exactly he's interested in, then try to work with that. Parrots can be intrigued by a lot of things you wouldn't think, and by looking for their cues of what they might think is fun, you can help open them up to the ideas of more parrot-friendly things to play with.
 
Different birds like different things. Try giving him paper things that he can chew up and shred. Give him knotted things like rawhide laces, or cotton string, that he can untie. Give him something with a bell on it. Try wooden things like wooden spoons, or plastic things like drinking straws. Try all kinds of things and he'll pick what he likes best. When I take in older birds that have never had toys, I give them a bit of everything to find what they may like.
 
What if you tried playing with him and the toy together. Usually all toys should be tested out supervised... Although, in most cases where the bird accepts toys easily it may be unnecessary. I notice Nalani showing a lot of interest in toys at first and then slowly backing off from playing with it, the excitement of the "newest" thing dies out. So I take the toy out, hide treats in it and play with her together. Make it interactive and show him how it's done (so to speak). But, I have noticed that eclectus tend to not enjoy large wood toys. Their beaks are softer and not as powerful, so shredding wood is not their forte... try something a little less intimidating like rope, paper, clear plastic foraging toys and even smaller, thinner wood pieces.

A great foraging toy you can make that won't cost a pretty penny, is to get a toilet paper roll (empty) and place dried fruits, nuts, etc. Then fill both ends with balled up newspaper. Help him pull the newspaper out, and he'll find a cool little surprise inside. Start off with one ball of newspaper, once he masters that, place multiple small pieces of newspaper. This can help motivate him to play with toys, he'll associate it with reward instead of some scary, colorful looking thing hanging in the corner of his cage.
 
When I got Rosie she also hasn't had toys for 5 years, and before that she was abused/neglected so don't think she had them before either. When I brought her home she had learned helplessness and didn't really do anything. She was also unhealthy which made it worse.

Eventually I found she really liked foraging toys, and toys she could preen. But foraging toys are the biggest hit, one of her favorites is the wheel of fortune. After a year and a half she has only just barely started to play with other toys.
 
I'd just say try a variety of everything and see what he touches. It may take him a couple weeks to even accept these toys. My ekkies love foragagin(they are pigs), they also like the wooden kabobs and shredding piñatas. My female loves her boing and has a forager that I fill up there for her. Mine also love natural wood branches with bark to chew off.

Just offer offer offer and once you find something he likes keep giving it to him and then that may turn into him loving other types of toys to:). O and cardboard boxes mine love, not big enough for them to get into but just big enough for them to chew apart and maybe stand on.
 
Chico does not play with toys much either. He is also not a chewer. I think it is an Ekkie thing. He does like to forage as long as it is simple. His favorite is when I place a treat in a paper condiment cup you can get at restaurants and tied closed and hung with a length of cord. Keep the cordage short to avoid accidents. I will also hole punch playing cards and hang for his biting pleasure. At times he likes to demolish egg cartons. They are so much fun to rip up and make a mess.

I think the best way to provide mental stimulation is through clicker training and flight. Otherwise the kids are just happy to lay around the house all day watching TV.
 
Bronte said:
My mum didn't give him any toys, and for 5 years he lived in an avery with his mrs. (she died) :(
And now as i have him, i want him to have fun when i am at work.

I got some wooden shapes where you put treats in it, and hung it in his cage after letting him see me with it for a few days.

he is scared of it :(

Has anyone else had any experience with a parrot who does not know how to play??

i want the best life i can give him, and i know he is still adjusting to his new environment.
He is very tame, and loves snuggling... but hates the stand i got him, refuses to go on it if i am near him as he wants to be with me.

Any tips would be amazing. xxxxxxxxxxx
Click to expand...

Good luck with that. If you find an easy way, let me know. Mac doesn't particularly like toys, except for me, he thinks I'm his favorite toy.
 
Oliver loves to play with anything dangling and bright. I move his toys around continuously. He loves his bell inside a rubber ball that hangs. He also loves anything he can shred. I hang different foot toys on his playstand and in his cage and he's always interested in playing with them. I recently put in a foraging toy and it's a huge hit with him. And at the suggestion of this forum, I put in five different short perches which has him all over the place in his cage. Another thing he loves is his basket because he can get on and off of it and run around--very entertaining for him and for me.
 
Like others are saying, think out of the box and try everything and anything you see around you that will be safe. Pritti avoids new hanging toys in his cage for a very very long time, or even forever. But.... he loves things he can push around... he loves balls of all sizes and shapes and colors... he'll roll them around for a long time, if small, he'll throw them into his food and snack cups, he'll play catch tossing them in my hands. Sadly, he never got a ball to play with until he was about 29 years old. So, try everything and show him how do play with it. I.e. if it is a jingly thing, jingle it a little. If he loves shiny reflective things, stick a safe mirror in there, or shiny stainless bells.
 
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I have managed to get him interested in a screed up bit of paper! :)
So it is a start. Thank you for the tips.
Xxxxxx
 
Have you tried cuttlefish bone my eclectus doesnt bite on any other toys but will shred a cuttlefish in less than a minute. My other parrots just give them a scratch and a bite now and then
 
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