Radio Free Blue & Gold: All Gus, all the time.

Gus didn't like the coconut toy on the play top. He liked to smack the stainless steel bell, but it swung back and smacked him a couple of times, so I swappe it for a wiffle ball. Oh, does he seem to either hate it, or love to smack it. This is about the most animated he gets, except for when he finds a catalog to dismember.

[ame="https://youtu.be/LZBEwJtpV5k"]https://youtu.be/LZBEwJtpV5k[/ame]
 
Luvvin' it. What happens if you just put the ball on the surface??
 
I know you are finding it hard to find toys Gus likes to play with. I have the same issue with Tino. I have come up with a really easy and cheap foraging toy he will actually use.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8uj-Y5WFQE"]Tino playing FINALLY[/ame]

It's just an old water bottle with a hole cut on the side of it :)
 
Ingenious ! I gotta try that, with a smaller bottle, on Salty. What did you put into the bottle? I am thinking walnuts ( Salty's ultimate treat ).
 
wrench13 said:
Ingenious ! I gotta try that, with a smaller bottle, on Salty. What did you put into the bottle? I am thinking walnuts ( Salty's ultimate treat ).
Click to expand...

I put almonds, pine nuts in shell and sunflower seeds, the things I know Tino likes :)
 
I'm hesitant to give Gus any toy that swings. He bats his paper spike back and forth, then regurgitates for it. He went nuts batting the orange foraging toy, it smacked him good a couple of times, and then he reguritated for it. He ignored the coconut with all the sticks on it when it hung overhead, but in the cage he bats it. I tried the steel tube bell on the overhead - he went nuts batting it. I put the wiffle ball up thinking, at least it won't hurt him if he bats it back into his face, and he totally knocked it off the leather strip. He just gets WEIRD with toys that swing. And he reguritated for them all.

I wonder... He was neglected for some time, and maybe didn't have destroyable toys in this cage. Maybe all he had left were the indestructible ones, and all he could do was bat them. Maybe toys like that remind him of the old cage, old time, and induce anxiety? He rips paper, catalogs, up with dedication and unwavering intent. It's obvious that he wants to rip up the paper, but it doesn't seem to make him angry the way the swinging toys make him angry. So...I will get some sea grass mats and make things to chew that don't swing and back off the swinging toys until I get a better idea of what his reactions mean. I want him to stay busy and entertain himself, not be stressed out or frightened or angry.
 
Kentuckienne said:
I'm hesitant to give Gus any toy that swings. He bats his paper spike back and forth, then regurgitates for it. He went nuts batting the orange foraging toy, it smacked him good a couple of times, and then he reguritated for it. He ignored the coconut with all the sticks on it when it hung overhead, but in the cage he bats it. I tried the steel tube bell on the overhead - he went nuts batting it. I put the wiffle ball up thinking, at least it won't hurt him if he bats it back into his face, and he totally knocked it off the leather strip. He just gets WEIRD with toys that swing. And he reguritated for them all.

I wonder... He was neglected for some time, and maybe didn't have destroyable toys in this cage. Maybe all he had left were the indestructible ones, and all he could do was bat them. Maybe toys like that remind him of the old cage, old time, and induce anxiety? He rips paper, catalogs, up with dedication and unwavering intent. It's obvious that he wants to rip up the paper, but it doesn't seem to make him angry the way the swinging toys make him angry. So...I will get some sea grass mats and make things to chew that don't swing and back off the swinging toys until I get a better idea of what his reactions mean. I want him to stay busy and entertain himself, not be stressed out or frightened or angry.
Click to expand...

I am quite sure this toy will work well on a flat surface. The way I came by this toy, was actually because I was using my DYI seed saver and Trudi desperately tried to get to the seeds as I was pouring the cleaned seeds out of the bottle :)

I then thought "hey, I can use this for something else too" :D
 
Oh, now that's a good idea - putting it flat where he can roll it around instead of batting it. I'm getting some PVC to make a new play stand, and I'll put in a flat lipped surface for rolling. Thanks!
 
I think Guy is my favorite rescue parrot on the forums (and his mom isn't bad either ).
 
Gus lets me scratch his head and neck sometimes, so I will do anything for him. Much has been taken from him that can't be returned, so we make it up to him the best we can. But it would be driving without headlights without you guys. I have to say, though ... Diamond gives Gus a run for the heartstrings. That video of him stepping up for Scottj, I've watched it ten times and I still rewind it to see the look on Scott's face! I wish I could hear what Diamond's saying. I wish Gus could talk, but I guess I do enough for both of us.
 
Kentuckienne said:
Gus lets me scratch his head and neck sometimes, so I will do anything for him. Much has been taken from him that can't be returned, so we make it up to him the best we can. But it would be driving without headlights without you guys. I have to say, though ... Diamond gives Gus a run for the heartstrings. That video of him stepping up for Scottj, I've watched it ten times and I still rewind it to see the look on Scott's face! I wish I could hear what Diamond's saying. I wish Gus could talk, but I guess I do enough for both of us.
Click to expand...

I feel Gus and Tino is quite a lot alike. They have some of the same issues.

Tino didn't vokalize at all to start with. I had him to the vet to have a general check up, but also asked if he could check his nose, as it seemed he didn't breathe well enough. The vet looked and could see anything. About a week ago I looked in his nose and saw some old dirt and I put a cue tip in and cleaned it out (I have no idea why this essentially wild bird let me do it). Since then his breathing has improved and he is starting to vokalize a little. He has learned to say "Mommy" from hearing Sugar call me :D

I just though to share this, as there might be something that inhibits his breathing a bit, which would make it difficult for him to vokalize.

Also if there is any way for you to get him to move his wings, this would help his lung capacity a great deal.

I have a video, where Sugar was training his wings. If you could get him to do something like this, that could help him aswell :)

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a55kdqt5f-8"]Sugar training his wings[/ame]
 
SilleIN said:
Kentuckienne said:
Gus lets me scratch his head and neck sometimes, so I will do anything for him. Much has been taken from him that can't be returned, so we make it up to him the best we can. But it would be driving without headlights without you guys. I have to say, though ... Diamond gives Gus a run for the heartstrings. That video of him stepping up for Scottj, I've watched it ten times and I still rewind it to see the look on Scott's face! I wish I could hear what Diamond's saying. I wish Gus could talk, but I guess I do enough for both of us.
Click to expand...

I feel Gus and Tino is quite a lot alike. They have some of the same issues.

Tino didn't vokalize at all to start with. I had him to the vet to have a general check up, but also asked if he could check his nose, as it seemed he didn't breathe well enough. The vet looked and could see anything. About a week ago I looked in his nose and saw some old dirt and I put a cue tip in and cleaned it out (I have no idea why this essentially wild bird let me do it). Since then his breathing has improved and he is starting to vokalize a little. He has learned to say "Mommy" from hearing Sugar call me :D

I just though to share this, as there might be something that inhibits his breathing a bit, which would make it difficult for him to vokalize.

Also if there is any way for you to get him to move his wings, this would help his lung capacity a great deal.

I have a video, where Sugar was training his wings. If you could get him to do something like this, that could help him aswell :)

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a55kdqt5f-8"]Sugar training his wings[/ame]
Click to expand...

I do believe Gus has breath trouble because of his hunched spine. It didn't keep him from making the single loudest noise I ever heard a bird make! And he makes lots if little sounds, mostly along the lines of squawk awk awk, and says something that sounds like hi or bye if you wish hard enough. It would be so great to hear human talk from him - definitely a good way parrots encourage bonding with their humans - and only time will tell.
 
I keep going back to the thought: compared to how things WERE, Gus must feel like he's in heaven NOW!
 
Kentuckienne said:
I do believe Gus has breath trouble because of his hunched spine. It didn't keep him from making the single loudest noise I ever heard a bird make! And he makes lots if little sounds, mostly along the lines of squawk awk awk, and says something that sounds like hi or bye if you wish hard enough. It would be so great to hear human talk from him - definitely a good way parrots encourage bonding with their humans - and only time will tell.
Click to expand...

If he does already make sounds like "hi" he will figure out how to say something. He just has to find something he finds funny to say or a reaction from you, that he finds hillarious.

A good idea could be to couple some words a specific action. For instance I every morning say "good morning" followed by their morning snuggles and every night say "good night" followed by their good night nut. Trudi already has picked up how to say "good night". She doesn't really know when to use it yet, but that will come :)
 
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