How to Position Toys!

[drlisaort]

I ordered everything but the kitchen sink from Mysafebirdstore for Oliver and I'm somewhat befuddled on what to do with them. My goal was to have toys to entertain Oliver while I'm away for three days next week.

Some of the toys I bought: swing, foraging wheel, two foot toys that hang, one loose foot toy, shower perch, stainless steel kabob (LOVE THIS!) and a few other dangly things....


The shower perch I love as does he, but the swing seemed to engage him at first with the little trinkets hanging from it but he never got on, and a foot toy (little plastic pacifire that attaches to nothing) smelled like gasoline so I wasn't sure it was safe to use and seemed too heavy on it's own without hanging on something. The foraging wheel hangs on the side--haven't tried it yet--got a few little crinkled paper things to stuff into the wheel and a few other dangly things.

I guess my biggest question is how do I position these toys. Oliver has one long perch going through the center of his cage making it seem the toys need to be close to the perch where water and food dishes also are lined up. I'm thinking he may not be interested in the swing because it's almost in his way. My cage is quite large but as I noted the perch is in the center so he can reach his food. I tried some of the toys on his playstand but the swing doesn't seem appropriate or safe there.

Also, on my walk I found a few thick branches but I don't know what to do with them or if they are safe?

I'll take any advise I can get!

 

[wenz2712]

Do you have a pic of the Cage? We may get a better idea of helping you arrange it once we see a pic.

 

[sodakat]

LOL, you are funny. I'm a believer in MANY perches, especially up high. Eventually they choose a favorite. Sometimes the favorite is chosen because of the location in the cage and where the cage is sitting in the room, like if they want to see somewhere and that spot gives them the best view, or maybe if there is a light that is bright at night and that spot is more secluded. Different reasons in different situations.

Also they may prefer a certain diameter perch or a certain textured perch. I think it is a mistake to place a very rough perch at the highest spot in a cage because birds like to roost up high and a rough perch can irritate the bottom of their feet. True grooming perches should, IMO, be placed near the soft food dish. They will sit on it while eating and will rub their beak on it after.

I generally put 4 perches up high in the cage, and one in front of each dish. I also like to provide a boing in the center back of each cage. With lots of perches you have lots of places to hang toys that can be fooled with while the bird is perching.

The little pacifier can be boiled if it stinks. I like to put foot toys like that in a small plastic or stainless bucket and hang it by a perch, or set the bucket on the grate in an area not normally under a sleep spot.

It is more than fine to create at least one perch out of 2x2 lumber in an effort to encourage chewing. The square edges of the lumber are inviting to beaks.

I love regular branches for perches. You can use branches that have side branches sticking out also and place them in different areas creating highways between perches.

IMO the dowels that come in cages which reach from side to side should only be used as a highway for the bird to get from point A to point B, not as a perch for sleeping. As long as you have perches higher than that dowel, which are comfortable for the bird's foot size he will choose a higher perch for sleeping.

Eclectus are often clumbsy when it comes to holding things in their feet. I have 8 adult pet Eclectus and 3 rarely hold anything, especially food in their feet. They have to sit near a bowl or on the play top cages if they have something large they want to fool with, regardless if it is food or a toy.

Something else you might want to gather before you leave are some large pinecones. My Eclectus love them and Bella in particular turned around her urges to pluck by giving pinecones haircuts. They are a great, free toy. Be sure to pick only the large cones, not the lightweight pointy cones. The first time you pick up cones, clear all the cones from under a tree and set those aside to be rinsed and baked later. Then the next day, go back to the tree and pick up any new cones that have fallen. Those cones are clean and fresh and can be put in a paper bag so you can shake off any bugs then given to your bird. Old cones need to be rinsed and baked at 200 degrees for 20 minutes. Of course you can bake any cone if you are worried about bugs. I've not had a bug problem but...

 

[sodakat]

Here is one of the few wooden toys my flock will work on.

The toy in this cage is still in the same shape. They don't like it. Mine spend most of their time outside the cages so I don't keep many toys inside. They just sleep in the cages and eat. Usually there aren't this many napping in a cage together but on this day they apparently were being nice to each other!

This cage is the one I'm not crazy about but they do use it. Even in this smaller cage they prefer to sit up high, regardless of head room.

 

[Joshuwaaa]

Aww Sodakat you have such an ace set up going. I love the cool natural look in that room.

Bet they love it x

 

[sodakat]

Aww Sodakat you have such an ace set up going. I love the cool natural look in that room.

Bet they love it x

Thanks, Josh. I just drag in branches with leaves on them! When in season of course. Right now we are still loaded with snow. The wood along the glass wall in the one picture is covering insulation that I place over the lower windows during the winter months. When it warms up it comes off and we get the full wall of windows again.

 

[drlisaort]

Oh my gosh Sodakat thank you for all the information!!!!! I love your setup! Oliver, like your babies, is not in his cage much with the exception of when I work out of the house. It never occurred to me to get many different sizes of perches and position them high and low. He plays like crazy on his playstand but roams the walls of his cage, which now after reading your post, it makes sense. Poor Oliver has no way of getting around from A to Z with just one long perch. Anyway, I pulled everything out and I'm starting over. Tomorrow it's off to the bird house for more perches!

I live in Florida so my running into pinecones is not going to happen anytime soon. But I sure will when I get up to Wisconsin this summer.

Below are a few pics to show his now empty cage! And a pic of his playstand...

 

[Parrotdise]

I like to rotate toys. I use 4-5 different perches in my cages. Here is a list of safe woods maybe this can help you figure out what kind of branches you found Wood / Trees / Bushes Considered Safe for Birds
Also Sodkat, i love your bird room pics! **
Oh I see the cage pics now, very nice. I would suggest not using that type of perch when i buy a cage i just save the dowels for my outdoor aviary or another perch replacement for my play stand. I find that I can get a lot more perch's and toys in that way =) Your bird looks so happy on his stand!

 

[sodakat]

Here is a picture of some wooden perches I got off eBay that my birds really like. These two girls have very big feet so they like to rest on large diameter perches. They don't normally sleep in the same cage, btw. This was a one-off. They will fight. Adult female Eclectus will fight, I mean.

These are two of my second-hand birds. Lolly on the left cannot grow feathers except on her head, wings and tail. She barbers her flights but I'm hoping she will leave them alone this year. She's been here since October.

Bella, on the right, is 14 and now sitting on her first ever fertile egg (not in this picture of course LOL). Not something we planned! Well, she and LaFitte planned it apparently. She has been here 2 years. Kind of a sad history but all is well now.

The boing in the middle is used more by younger birds which is why I suggested it for Oliver. There are no toys in this cage right now because it is used for sleeping. Like I said, if there was a bird in it all day I'd have many toys near perches.

BTW, I know the clip was not shut on the hanger in this pic.

I have a short rope perch on most cage doors on the inside so the bird can sit there also. When I open the door the bird is not facing the right way to step up though. On several of my cages I also have a short, straight perch on the inside of the door which does allow them to step right off if I ask. The short rope perches looped across the closed door are favored by several of my boys, so I accomodate them. They will even sit there when the door is open.

 

[drlisaort]

Sokakat, do you wash and bake your tree branche?

 

[sodakat]

I'll be honest. NO. I know people do but I bring in giant branches with green leaves and flowers on them. I want the birds to enjoy them. How could I bake a giant branch, #1 and #2 what would happen to the blossoms and leaves?

These branches are from my yard. The middle one is one of my favorites. Can you see green LaFitte?

 

[moni.k]

Wow! You have such an AMAZING setup. Nalani and I are super jealous!! I love the blossoms, and your babies are definitely enjoying it too. Thank you SOO much for sharing the photos. Sparked inspiration for the future bird room.

 

[Joshuwaaa]

Moni.k hit it right on the head, I'm so jealous

Il have to look into something as natural and pretty in the future x

 

[Pinkbirdy]

Sodacat, thats absolutely fantastic.Always had seen myself having an Eclectus.But I worried that with my multiple birds that would stress them.[Its not that loud] What is your experience?

 

[sodakat]

Sodacat, thats absolutely fantastic.Always had seen myself having an Eclectus.But I worried that with my multiple birds that would stress them.[Its not that loud] What is your experience?

When I lost Maui, CAG, to the great outdoors my husband lobbied for a species that was more likely to be friends with many people. That's how we ended up with our first Eclectus. Years ago I had smaller birds including finches, tiels, budgies and conures but not at the same time as Eclectus. I have an online friend who keeps conures and Eclectus but they are always separated because of some close calls when the conures tried to run the Eclectus off. The conures lost, btw. Big beaks always win, as you know.

My personal bias is towards keeping same species opposite sex if at all possible. So if I were to buy a youngster I would buy two at close to the same time from different parents so they could grow up together. This was my best Eclectus experience and these are the most well rounded of my birds I believe.

But, since most of us acquire second hand birds who have unknown history, there is no way to know if they 1) know they are birds and 2) like other birds.

As far as living with lots of other noisy birds, I think I'd get an older Eclectus who was used to that kind of situation.

Another thing you need to know is that Eclectus think cages are stupid, especially if the door is shut.

 

[Jtbirds]

Soda I think I feel in love with your bird room lol. It makes mine look like erm... Crap. Thanks for showing all the great pictures.

 

[sodakat]

Has anyone found LaFitte in the middle picture? He's green but his beak isn't.

 

[Chikoo]

I found him!

 

[drlisaort]

Fantastic pictures Sokakat! And your LaFitte looks gorgeous amongst the folliage. I laughed at the thought of you (and me for that matter--my husband already thnks I'm "bird bonkers" and I am!) baking your beautiful branches and flowers. Oliver did not like the huge branch I put into his cage but after seeing yours I can see why. It was just one straight long, thick boring stick. I have to do better! I did buy several short perches and more cool toys for when I'm gone and already I can see it made a huge difference for Oliver. It's much roomier and easy to get around. Thank you!!! Now if I can only figure out how to get the foraging wheel open! Sheesh....

 

[Crackseed]

Those are awesome pics SodaKat

I'm fortunate that where I live atm we do have a nice variety of available trees that can be trimmed if I decide to try this, I just need to double check the plants vs the safe list before hand.

It has certainly inspired me to try and add a little real foliage to Cervantes's cage!