chewing and toys

by jodi
(moose lake, mn usa)

well my african grey is afraid of any toy small or big i try to introduce. i have tried the modeling technique, had them hanging on me and no success.

she does however chew on wood, meaning my kitchen floor boards or the shelves in the cupboard. i of course try putting toys in place of those spots, and redirect her away whenever she chews. i have had no luck in getting her to chew/play with any of her toys.

sometimes she is so frightened that when i put a new toy in her very large cage she will not even want to go back into her cage. i never force her to do anything and must say she is an amazing wonderful bird. i just brought her into my home in june and she is 10 years old.

her old diet was only seed based and now she is on all organic pellets, and real veggies and some fruit. the only seed she gets now is almonds and peanuts when training. she is winged and is out all the time i am home (carefully monitored of course). we have been bonding well and she is learning clicker training great and even a few tricks. however i would really like to see her play independently with some toys as i am not home all the time.

hoping for some help
jodi