birdy toys

Question
hi charlotte, hope your having a good day. your so kind. i have a very active tiel. guessing around 2 yrs old. i can not for the life of me, get him interested in any toys. he would rather just fly around, or walk and now figured out power walking is a very fun thing. he has a swing and just now getting used to it moving. it used to scare him. i was wondering how i can get him interested in toys. we play alot and finger fight and play other games, so he isnt too bored. he entertains me and i entertain him when we run into a dull moment. he has a ladder that he adores and chews it daily (lol) but other than that he wants nothing to do with toys. thank you and have a wonderful day!

Answer
Hi there,

Toys are great for in the cage. Just a few interesting toys that you can change over to keep the interest up. If you are out and he is a bit bored, he will show interest, if not, at least its there. To be honest, when my birds are in the cage, they mostly would just rather doze. Kelly, the female, likes to chew the chewable toys and is more likely to be interested in new objects in the cage.

I suggest to put more chewy toys in the cage. Its one of the most natural behaviors for a parrots of any size. But then each personality is different. My male looks down his beak at toys and would much rather play when he is out.

When your tiel is out, there are so many games to play. If he is a chewer, give him a toilet roll tube. Try not to do the play fights with your fingers too often, I have met birds that learn to nip and sometimes fear finger due to that game. Instead, roll up a square of toilet paper, and swizzle it round. He will have great fun trying to catch it. Also, one of my favorite games. Give him a sunflower seed to eat. When he has finished, show him another one, and let him see it in the palm of your hand. Just before he goes for it, close your hand up. Its amazing to watch them trying to figure out where it went. They look all round the hand and sometimes get a little frustrated. Open it quickly so he sees it again, then close it. Its fantastic. Don't tease him more than that each time. Give him the seed on the second go and he will soon learn that the seed must be inside.

My male tells me when he has had enough of that game and looks up at me as if to say, come on, just give it to me!! My female is much more inquisitive. You can also vary it by making a funnel out of your hand and letting the seed drop from the edge of your thumbs to inside your hand. They will soon learn that its funny trying to reach it, and they will really get engrossed in trying to recover it, especially if they can see it in your fist.

Have fun.

Charlotte