New Toys in Cage

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New Toys in Cage

by Evlyne
(Laveen, Az)

I felt bad that the time Im at work and My Yellow Nape is home in his cage he is about 2 yrs old, my boyfriend is there and talks/plays with him, but he runs errands and sleeps because he works 3rd shift I work 1st.

I had a mommy moment and wanted to get him toys to play with. He had seemed to be content with nothing in there (of course he has plenty of fresh water and his food) but I know he needs stimulation so I bought a rope, a ladder, a babble ball (it talks and makes bird and other animal sounds when he touches it) and a cuttle bone thats orange flavored, just to start to see how he does with them.

He didnt want to go near anything, and stayed in the corner and wouldnt go near his perch. I tried to coax him out with some fruit treats he did come out and get them but then went back to the corner and stayed there.

My boyfriend says he just needs to get used to the things we put in there. This morning he was on his perch, but he was growling and he had a lot more molted feathers than what has been in his cage. Ive done lots of research on his type before I got him but mabye I missed something? Did I do something wrong, or did I just royally piss off my bird?

Comments for
New Toys in Cage

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Nov 23, 2011

New Toys in Cage
by: Anne

Take the toys you have put in the cage OUT NOW.
I suggest what you do is leave ONE toy at a time next to his cage so he gets used to seeing it. It may take a week or a month even for him to get used to it also, some colours have this affect as well I always steer clear of PINK. They love wooden toys (untreated). Good luck & let me know how you get on please.

Nov 22, 2011

New Toys in Cage
by: Linda

All you did was to get carried away in your "Mommie Moment", and now you need to fix this. Only put one new thing at a time in his cage because all birds are afraid of new things, toys, dishes, perches--everything. One toy at a time is the way to do it. He will still be afraid of the toy, and he will adjust to it in time.

The next step here is to understand the kinds of toys Amazons like. They like toys with larger wooden pieces that can can be chewed. They do not like all the artsy, cutesy toys one can find out there. Also use only 100% cotton rope for his toys as the nylon rope can and does get wrapped around toes and feet and literally sucks the life out. The cotton rope should have large stiff knots between each wooden toy piece. Toy pieces do not even have to be colored as safe raw wood is fine with your bird. Birds adapt very well to simple natural looking wooden toys they can spend hours chewing on. Make sure rope is tied in knots because he will simply chew through a single strand type of rope, and toy ends up in the bottom of the cage. Cotton rope is safer for a bird, especially if the knots are larger and tight up against each wooden toy piece. If bird happens to unravel a bit of it, cotton has some "give" to it which helps birds toes and feet not become tangled so badly. What nylon rope does is tighten up the more a bird struggles, and in the end, it can actually cut toes completely off and bird bleeds out from the wound.

If all else fails, you can make your own toys out of safe clean wooden pieces using a wooden or plastic toy base in which to draw the ropes through so toy pieces can be added. If you have problems finding toys, write back in, and we can go over a bit of how to make your own bird's toys. I think you'll be able to find some for him that are aafe and remember make sure they are appropriate for your bird's size which is Medium. Small parts and weak cheap plastic toys are NOT for anything larger than a Budgie. Chain has to have links big enough where a toe can be easily put in and taken out but not so large that he can get his head into it. Small link chains are accidents waiting to happen with the larger parrots.

All the feathers you mentioned are a result of thrashing during the night. This is a very dangerous thing for your bird in that he can break bones and cause other kinds of injury to himself. Get ALL the toys out of his cage, and find a toy like I mentioned. It's okay if they have been colord, but they don't have to be. Let him get used to one new thing at a time, and you'll see him start to enjoy his toy. Change out toys when they start to look chewed and ratty, and replace them with a similar type of toy so he does not become afraid again. Leave all the colored, fancy toys YOU like at the stores where they belong. He is Amazon, and Amazon likes things simple and durable.

Thanks for writing and let us know how he's doing later on.

Linda

Nov 22, 2011

new toys
by: Anonymous

Parrots are extremely smart animals and need mental stimulation on a daily basis, which includes providing toys. If in the 2 years you have had him and he has never had any toys, well, he is probably afraid of them and unsure of what to do. Just adding them in his home may be too overwhelming. First, I would take out all the toys you put in the cage and hang them on the OUTSIDE of the cage for a few days, so he can get used to them. Slowly move in one toy at a time. By adding multiple toys at once is like an invasion to him, so take it slower and he should begin to enjoy them.

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