I really have some boring birds

[Heatherina]

Everyone on here is always talking about how their birds play with their toys and such but all my birds except Cash my macaw just sit in their cages or on their playgyms like a bunch of bumps on a log. I have 9 birds all together and only one of them plays...how strange huh? I make all these toys, and buy all this stuff for it all to look brand new. My cockatiels are really boring...they would rather just sit on their perches and do Nothing...i have watched them and they don't move. Out on their playstand is the sameway. I have tried everything and they just have no interest. My amazon Oscar was interested in wooden spoons for 1 week and now thinks they are the devil again. He doesn't play with a thing. He just wants to ride on me and have me sing to him, but as for playing...noway! I taught him how to turn around but he won't do it unless he can see the treat. My conures who are suppose to be a bunch of clowns do nothing either...Patty will use his tent to sleep in and that's the only thing they play with...mostly they just scream their bloody heads off all the time. I can't find anything they like either. Then you have my two greys penelope and pete and they are more interested in mating and their toys just sit there as well.
Now Cash loves his toys and is the only one who plays with them and shreds them and just has a blast with them.
I have bought every single forging toy that kathie has on her website, pine pieces, wiffle balls, bells, beads, plastic pieces, leather, paper, balls with shredded paper inside them...how the heck do you get your birds to be more active?

 

[penguin]

My tiels like the twig foot toys, loose or in a hanging toy. I've heard from others here that you may have to play with them yourself, teach playing by example.

 

[Theresa]

How long have you had them?
When I got my Corkey, the people I got him from called him "boring." He wasn't boring, he just didn't know how to play. It took time and lots of effort on my part to teach him how to play.

I know you got most of your birds in a very short period of time.
For me that wouldn't have worked.
I needed to get to know them as individuals and create a bond with each, to see what toys would work for them.
Corkey prefers baby toys and small bird toys.
Lucy prefers a very papers, paper plates, paper towels or junk mail.
Mojo is all about any kind of cloth or rope.

Because I had months to years between adding another bird. I was able to get to know each individual bird a lot better.
Now every single one of them including handicapped Lucy have a blast playing.
When Sophie came in (my foster girl) she was another one that I was told didn't really play much. I tried all the different things that worked for the other birds, didn't really work well for Sophie. Sophie seemed to like unwrapping things, so I started wrapping all of the toys I wanted her to play with in paper or coffee filters. It was a hit

I think you might have to take a step back and see what each individual bird is like and what they show interest in.

 

[Toadstinytails]

As mentioned, birds like different things, and oftentimes, they are things that don't make logical sense to us. In my experience, I have been the most successful with baby steps, as in incorporating food and excitement with the toy. Even Fred, my wild-caught LCZon, who spent nearly 35 years being a perch potato terrified of everything new in his cage, is learning to play! I reward him with treats for even going near a toy, then for investigating it, etc. There have been times that I make a big deal and act goofy over any of my birds interacting with a new toy. Or, I will sit near their cage, playstand, etc. and play with a toy and act really interested in it, then I will put it down and oftentimes, they will come up and check it out. For Woody, this method works best if I actually prevent him from getting to the toy after I put it down, then he just HAS to have that toy and play with it.

Basically, be creative and really observe your birds - they may just be waiting for you to figure them out! Good luck!

 

[Heatherina]

Ive had my birds any where from 5 years to recent. I added 3 new ones pretty much within months of each other... two came together at once. I have tried everything...i sit and play with them and they run scared...i added treats inside them..still scared. I put them out all over the floor (beads, balls, sticks, paper, etc) and see if they are interested in anything and nope they just crawl up on me. I want to find something they like...anything. Oscar and the cockatiels worry me the most because they really just sit. I am going to try twigs...maybe those will work for my tiels...oscar im not sure about.

 

[Coco's Momma]

I taught him how to turn around but he won't do it unless he can see the treat.

I don't blame Oscar.... I don't go to work on Monday unless I got my paycheck the previous Friday.

I would not assume that a bird would want to turn around just because I found that amusing.
Or that he would simply love to turn around for no reason at all. that might be true. But I would not expect it. It could be that some people would in fact do their job for free. I would not, because I need the money in order to live. That doesn't mean I don't like my boss - he's a nice enough guy. But if he stops giving me the paycheck, I stop showing up for work. There is an expectation. You trained Oscar that if he turned around, it gained him a treat. While you can put him on a schedule of intermittent reinforcement, the 'slot machine' so to speak, if you discontinue giving him a treat for turning around, you should fully anticipate the behavior might fall off and extinguish.

Some birds don't really enjoy playing with toys that much, and they are more interested in looking out the window or watching the humans do silly things. Whatever the bird finds rewarding and enriching is not for us to question.

 

[Chantilly Lace]

Try putting their favorite food or treat inside of a toy! Foraging always is a favorite. I got Pancho at an auction and he had no idea how to play. He lived his first 2 years in a huge cage, but with no toys and one single perch. He was going to be a breeder bird, but I just couldn't see him go to a cruddy pet shop owner I know, for so cheap.

He still will not play with toys when he is in his cage, but has JUST started playing outside of the cage, after about 8 months of being here. I am so proud! I made a climbing net for all the birds, with tons and tons of toys on it, and I have been putting Pancho on there every day. He would just sit there and not move, but one day, he started destroying a birdie bagel, and even tried playing with some plastic toys. I am so happy, because I always felt sad that he must be so bored. At least he had toys to look at now, and lots of perches, but he never showed any interest. Be patient, try new toys, rotate them, and keep trying outside of the cage too. Don't get mad or frustrated at them, just think of it as a challenge! And trust me, when they do start to play, it will be so rewarding to know that you helped them learn.

 

[carkam]

While Big bird will play somewhat with toys, My GCC plays very little with toys and I have had him almost 2 years. (5 months when I got him). Big bird came over a year later. Lucky wants to be on me, he will play very little. He was that way when I got him, I also tried playing with toys with him and then he will, but only if I play too., not on his own. I keep hoping!

 

[mrstweet]

Some birds you have to TEACH them how to play. Play with the toy in front of them, and make a big deal when they play too. <3

ETA: What size toys are you using? Most of my birds prefer MUCH smaller toys than what are marketed for them.

 

[Set]

Henry has never liked toys. It doesn't matter if they have his favourite treats inside them, he won't play with them. What I've found, though, is that he absolutely loves to play with anything attached to me. He chews my necklaces and pulls all the shiny bits off my shirts. I think he's broken all my necklaces now (thankfully they're fixable, haha). I think for him, he just wants to be around people, and unless a toy has to do with people, it's not interesting. But I'm still getting to know him.

I know I've seen bird toys that are actually necklaces that people wear. If your birds are more interested in you, this might be a way to get them to play with something. I haven't tried that with Henry yet, but I'm running out of clothes and necklaces, so I really need to try it.

 

[Heatherina]

Hey i love the necklace or toys on me deal.. I might try that.
As for the comment about asking him to turn around for nothing...that isn't the case i have to show him the treat and move it in circles still instead of doing the movement with my fist closed and then he does it and he gets the treat...Nope he wants to see the good first and then he only does the trick because he is chasing the treat lol HA HA i tricked him and he didnt even know it