Advice about Kakariki running and high-pitched peeping

[Dama]

Hello everyone! Nice to meet you all.

We have a kakariki parrot named Lily. We’ve had her for about a year, and she is now around a year and a half old.
Over the past two months, she has developed two behaviors that we would like some advice on, so we can respond in the best possible way.

The first behavior is that she runs repeatedly along the bottom of her cage. She doesn’t do it every day, but about twice a week.
We know that being a single parrot she might feel lonely, and we try to spend as much time as possible with her, usually between 1 and 4 hours a day.

The second behavior is a high-pitched “peeping” sound that resembles a whine.
We are not sure if it’s due to boredom or related to hormonal changes, especially now that it’s spring.
This peeping can be quite persistent and somewhat annoying.

We are also including two videos showing these behaviors.

Do you have any information or advice, please? Thank you in advance!

(high-pitched eek)

http://imgur.com/a/E6ISgqN

(tippy tapping)

http://imgur.com/a/43G01ME

 

[JAavian]

In my opinion she looks bored and like she wants out. Parrots need a lot of time out of their cage and need lots of toys. I don't see many toys in the cage and not many that she can really chew on or destroy. I would look more into foraging toys made out of lighter material for her to possibly chew on or play with. The more variety the better as you can see what types she likes and give her different toys to entertain herself with. As for her time out... 1-4 hours is not very long for a parrot, they are incredibly social and spend most of their life out with their flock or at least their mate (with some exceptions). I would suggest getting her a friend if you can not spend more direct time with her but then you would need to upgrade the cage, still get more toys, and allow them outside the cage together for at LEAST a few hours a day.

 

[Respect]

I agree she would benefit from some different toys. Materials like sola and balsa are great for smaller beaks, and foraging would be a great way to keep her occupied. I love Lil Monsters toys for smaller birds!

Although it is unrelated, I would also recommend getting some natural branch perches for her. Having a wide variety of perches with different textures and diameters helps to exercise the feet and (usually) wear down the nails

Wishing you luck with Lily!

 

[SelvaVerde]

I think it would help everyone to also know your bird's out of cage (or time with you) schedule. My suggestion: add more toys your bird can destroy/play with. If cost is a consideration, then there are inexpensive alternatives such as items that can be purchased in a typical craft store. More out of cage time may teach her that there is a schedule she can count on. In other words, at time to be out with you, a time to be back in the cage (eating/ resting), etc. Often birds that are out sufficiently enough actually want to be back home after a while. Point is you must balance her life somehow with all of these.

In behavior terminology, a "stereotypy" is a non-goal-oriented repetitive behavior often seen in confined or caged animals. It stems from what one can call "thwarted desires or drives." Your bird is acting out excess energy and nervousness at something she cannot accomplish. The pacing she's doing in the video certainly seems repetitive and mindless.

Please try not to focus on what annoys you (yes, bird behavior can and does often annoy us) but on captive welfare and your bird's perspective. The peeping is likely calling to you (her flock) and means, "Hey, where are you, I want to be with you, get me out of this cage."

Good luck.

 

[birdbuster]

In behavior terminology, a "stereotypy" is a non-goal-oriented repetitive behavior often seen in confined or caged animals. It stems from what one can call "thwarted desires or drives." Your bird is acting out excess energy and nervousness at something she cannot accomplish. The pacing she's doing in the video certainly seems repetitive and mindless.

I agree, this is stereotypic behavior. I used to struggle a lot with it a few months ago with Florence.
Essentially, your bird is bored and needs more enrichment. A greater variety of toys and more out-of-cage time can help. Something that worked the best for me was providing a more varied diet with more foraging opportunities, along with longer training sessions.