How to get my YSGCC to play...

[Coldbreeze]

So.. I am trying to teach Zazu how to play with toys. I just got some millet.. and I have a foraging toy. (Pictured below). My though is to try to pack a few millets in there and see what Zazu will do. I already had two small clicker training sessions (just click, treat) and she enjoys the millets. Any other toys? Just ordered a cute bat foraging toy from one of the bird toy sites I'm excited for that...

 

[expressmailtome]

Bump.

 

[annoellyn]

I am interested in this thread as well. Mine likes to perch on me and crawl up my arm on my shoulder but I feel like he's expecting me to play with him in some way. I put foraging toys near me but he doesn't care, I try dangling bell balls for him but nope. I end up just feeding him lol.

 

[sunnysmom]

Have you tried playing with the toys and letting him watch?

 

[Coldbreeze]

It's been exactly two weeks today. Still isnt very playful. Though currently Zazu is chirping and bopping his head up and down. I find it adorable and am praising with "good boy" and giving attention. Of course he decided to be cute and a little playful when I am suffering from a headache. He also loves his foraging bat which he is making slos progress in.

As for toys, he has hanging once in his cage, I dont have any foot toys yet.. come next week I'll go order some.

 

[Mizzely]

Bring the toys to the couch and sit with him. Use your hands to "wrestle" with the toy; make it look fun!

 

[Chris1234]

I'd also suggest playing with the toys yourself. From the beginning I've taken any new toy and said "Wheee" and pretended to knock it around with my nose. LOL. This works for my Rose Breasted Too. My Meyers is VERY food motivated and adores safflower seeds. For her I put a few safflower seeds on and around any new toy and at the very least that will get her checking it out immediately. She is VERY picky and barely plays with anything, but thank goodness I noticed that she was chewing popcicle sticks at the rescue before I took her home. So I make sure that any toy I make her has popcicle sticks on it and she'll usually check it out. Try things that are different hardness too. Even my bigger Rose-breasted Cockatoo does NOT like hard woods, like pine. Sigh. She loves soft, easy to shred materials like sola, balsa, mahogany pods, cork and yucca chips. Good luck and let us know how it's going!!