Need help coaxing Macaw to play

[Happy_Hippie]

Dear Avian Avenue Allies ,

With your combined knowledge of parrots, I am hoping you can help me solve a perplexing parrot puzzle My husband and I adopted our severe macaw Charlie (female, 9 yrs old) from a local parrot rescue 7 months ago. On the whole, she has mostly adjusted well to our household. She is the only pet, gets at least 3 hours out of her cage a day, with at least 1 hour being cuddle time (she loves touch), and generally has a sunny disposition. She talks a lot and is fairly well socialized, eats well, laughs at you if she thinks she's getting away with something, and knows step-up. She seems to have bonded fairly well to us, but we are a bit worried that she will not play. Apparently before she came to us she was a voracious chewer and loved toys, but at our house she chews nothing and will not interact with toys at all, preferring lap time. Should we give it more time, or it is a sign that she is possibly depressed? We are not sure and are worried. Please help. Thanks

 

[Hankmacaw]

My GW female, who is 21 years old, has never been enthusiastic about playing with toys. Some owners say that you have to show them how to play. Perhaps if you take a foot toy and while she is with you, you can encourage her to play with it and play with it yourself.

 

[Cara]

Maybe she didn't get as much attention at her previous home, and now she's soaking up all of that one on one time. I would try different types of toys. Skewer some cardboard and hang it in her cage, get some of those really easy-to-chew balsa toys, or try the notched blocks from Motherpluckinbirdtoys.com. Put treats in dixie cups and hang them around her cage - make sure she SEES you putting a favorite treat in the cup once or twice. If she gets the treat out, start squeezing the top of the cup closed so she has to work a little. Some birds like toys that hang in the middle of the cage, but others would rather stand on their wooden toys and chip away at them. One of my macs presses his toys against the bars of his cage and uses that for leverage. Try putting toys in different spots for her. My B&G tends to chew toys more ON TOP of his cage, although he can't resist cardboard or a big fat paperback book hung in his cage.

 

[Holiday]

Yeah, she's still new and enjoying the bonding experience Also, macaws can go through phases that last for months where they either will be chewing machines or not much interested. Does she like foot toys? I have two here that do, and I can always get them interested in them. The others don't like them much at all and prefer things that are hanging. What kinds of toys does she have?

 

[Bokkapooh]

What size toys are you offering her? Sometimes thick toys will go untouched.

My scarlet macaw, Mera, refuses to toy large wooden "macaw/cockatoo" types of toys.

She requires 1/2" wood and she will be 4 in August.

 

[Gypsy]

I was wondering if the toys or cage you have are different from those from the rescue? Birds behave differently in new surroundings. If everything is the same other than the home and owners, maybe Charlie will play with them in the future. It's possible Charlie plays with the toys when you are not around. I noticed this with my rehomed amazon. I can hear him playing but whenever I watch, he stops. I think time is needed to become more confident with his toys.

Edit: Today I happened to look at my amazon's cage and found my YN on a bottom perch playing with a toy for the first time that has been in his cage for 18 months. With that being said, again, time is what it will take. Of course, as soon as he saw me, he stopped. lol.

 

[Sadieladie1994]

Severes enjoy a "rope highway" They like to balance, walk across them and if there is something of interest will stop and play with either a plastic ring, bobble type toy. She could spend a good portion of the day on the rope. The rope was purchased at a specialty bird shop. It was thick and could hook on at either end or center and end. There were bells and plastic rings on it. In watching her play she would be observed playing with a CAG in a game I called beak wars. There were two large plastic rings. One bird was either side. The game is to stick your head through and beak the other bird. Nothing mean. Play as you see birds in the wild. If you go around the rings, game over! Play games with her of peak a boo. Hide a treat in the rope by twisting the braid. Nuts with shells encourage chewing... Try softer wood. They will chew it quickly but gets them started to move on. Try irregular shaped woods other than squares. They like biting and peeling wood or shaving the wood off with their lower beak.

Use food for play. Some tests were done at zoos with same foods presented in a different way. Birds like to organize or clean a cage. So....hang large leafy greens from the ceiling or put food in a dish and cover the dish. They can't wait to see what you hid for them.

Initially be part of the play or your and another person play with a toy. This presents rival modeling and eventually she will want to take over play from the other person and have her own fun.

Presenting a variety of situations helps her grow towards playing on her own.