Update on Oliver

[ConureCrazy]

Hello! Just thought you guys deserved an update on my senegal Oliver.

Well, it's been about a month since I brought him home. (I was a little scared to handle him after he took a good sice chunk off his previous owner's finger. ) And may I say, he is a moody little guy, but he's still molting so he's pretty cranky. He has a not-so-minor case of cage aggresion, (he does let me give scritches inside) but outside he's fine. I felt pretty bad after clipping his wings when he got home, but he wanted to pretty much play tag with my cat, which isn't very safe lol... I'm still working with him warming up to me since he ADORES men (my dad.)
I feel like I'm doing something wrong because he doesn't really want to have anything to do with his toys, which I rotate almost daily. The ONLY thing he seems to play with is toys with colored straws on them and to shred paper. The only problem is he destroys those within (I'm not kidding) about 10 minutes. So, I keep making more, and more, and more. I'm officially out of straws, lol... Any ideas??? He's not very active.
I switched him onto fruits and vegges and pellets. He surprisingly loved the fruits and the pellets (YAY) yet still no luck with veggies...
He does like to scratch his head very slowly and yawn at the same time wich reminds me of a cranky man watching TV all day LOL. But Ya... Just an update. I 'll get more pics if I can.

 

[ConureCrazy]

Bumpity Bump Bump, Bump Bump. All I need is toys and veggie advice....

 

[Karigan]

Kito's the same way with toys. I can buy her almost anything, but unless it's a paper product, she's not interested. I've just learned to accept that.

Try keeping everything the same for a week, she may just need time to get used to his toys.

Another great toy is anything made from popsicle sticks, especially if they're coloured naturally!

 

[Parrotmamma]

You might try making some birdie bread and sneaking veggies in that way. You might also try steaming some of the veggies . some birds prefer them cooked a little. As far as toys go , since he likes to shred stuff ....have you tried the bamboo finger traps ? Mine love those and you can stuff them with apples , carrots and almonds or just about anything they like to snack on ,That keeps them busy for awhile. One of Cosmo's favorite toys is a toothbrush ( a new clean one of course) and q tips make good little foot toys too. He also like wine corks (real cork , not waxy) ... I buy new unused ones and he loves to sit and chew on them. I like to zip tie a little sea grass basket to his cage and put in some of the toys I just mentioned and he stays busy for quite a while digging through that .

 

[ConureCrazy]

Thanks guys. Parrotmama, I really want to try the birdy bread. I also noticed when I give him pasta he will only eat it room temp/warm. So I guess it's the same for his veggies.
Karigan, haha! I heard that mostly Senegals like wood. I guess not lol... And I do have a dyed popsicle stick toy but its for my conures... I need to try that too! Geez I need a list now.

 

[ann]

Oscar didn't touch any of his toys for almost a month. i just left the same ones in there and eventually he came around . you could also show them the toys when hes out and about and see if he has more interest in them then. also, maybe he would like veggies pureed, juiced, thinly sliced, mashed, frozen? Oscar LOVES plain oatmeal cooked in water. good luck!

 

[wenz2712]

Codie will only eat her Veg warm as well, she throws it out if its cold lol

 

[lene1949]

If he doesn't want to play with his toys, I wouldn't keep on changing them... Leave them in there till he gets used to them, and then only change one at a time...

 

[ConureCrazy]

Im sorry I didnt see your replies earlier. Well, ove the past two/one day, I found out Oliver's favorite treat! Millet and apples. But he only eats the green apples. And I'll leave his toys in longer; he now took interest into the shreddable bird toys, so now he works away at it. I guess it just took time, but then again, I'm not very patient. Thanks so much!

 

[Mozzie]

I read on this forum that someone gives their parrots old phone books to shred. So I tried that on my Cag "peppers". She absolutely loves it. She likes it better than any of her expensive toys she has. She totally shredded it, so I just gave her another one. She got all excited when I gave her the new one. So you might want to try that too.

 

[ConureCrazy]

Thank you! I relly want to try that! I give him useless flyers and such that come in the mail (which is only one sheet of paper), but he always drops them on the floor and makes me pick them up. At least now he has a whole book and can't throw it on the ground to play 'Mommy, fetch!' I was also wondering: Is newspaper safe? I've heard bad things about it, but one website says that the ink printed in the USA (not sure of other countries) is baby (and bird) safe. But people use newspaper at the bottom of the cage all the time right???

 

[Mozzie]

From what I have heard it is safe now. They have to use ink that is safe in the USA. So a lot of us do use It to line our cages.

 

[ConureCrazy]

Thanks Mozzie, I usually use any scrap paper to line them, but I guess newspaper works too! Thanks again. =)

 

[lene1949]

Just read this thread again... You clipped his wings, so he couldn't play tag with your cat???

Did I read this right?

 

[ConureCrazy]

No, well he flies when he chases my cat, he doesn't walk. So he flies around, looking for her to perch on. It's not very safe, considering he flies into windows to try to get to her. And when he does get close to her, she tries to attack him. And he just plain dive bombs into walls and such. Not safe at all, so we clipped his wings. =) Well, actually the vet did, but you know.