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Atomiklan

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So I'm pretty sure it's not news to almost every bird owner here that birds love to shred stuff, especially cardboard. Lada my ekkie in particular LOVES to shred the small boxes I give her at mail time (Amazon boxes and such). I stopped giving her boxes she could fit in as this was obviously encouraging nesting behavior. She would cut a hole and then hide inside. Now with the small boxes, she just shreds them to pieces. What I am curious about is the purpose of this shredding? For further context, she will break a complete box entirely down to confetti and she seems to get a little agitated when I come behind her to clean out the cage. If she is sleeping on her top perch, and I reach in to the cage she doesn't care, but if I try to clean out her handy work, she will quickly climb down to the bottom. She has not bitten me during this behavior as I never give her the opportunity. I simply give her some time to go do something else before I resume cleaning or I just let the cardboard fall out the bottom and sweep it up. I cant say for sure if she is being defensive over it, but knowing her history defending boxes she can fit in I assume its the same or similar behavior. I am fairly sure this is simply nesting type behavior, ie she is making bedding and or she associates the shredding of cardboard with the hollowing out of nest space as she would in the wild. Therefore, she is just treating this material on the bottom of her cage as a sudo nest space. She never hangs out down there though which is why I partially question this conclusion. She just to shreds and then climbs back up to the top to perch or play with toys or munch, etc. What are your thoughts? This seems pretty clearly like nesting related behavior (which I should be careful encouraging), but I wanted to get everyone's opinion. Thanks!
 

expressmailtome

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They shred things to make nesting material. It is not something that is always negative, however if she begins guarding what she has shred, you may want to stop letting her shred, at least for a while.
 

JLcribber

@cockatoojohn
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They chew (anything) for same reason a beaver constantly knaws on wood. To keep that beak in check.
 

Mizzely

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Most parrots are cavity nesters. They find a hole or start a hole in a tree/cliff, and they shred it not only to make the hole for their babies to go in, but also to provide a softer base to lay them.
 

greys4u

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Mine loves to shred grocery paper bags
 

Mococo

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Solomon Islands Eclectus make their nests by chewing into tree trunks about 70 feet/21 meters off the ground, so they have quite a drive to gnaw. And as others have said, it keeps their ever growing beak trimmed.

My girl loves to shred cardboard, wood, paper, and is happy to chew through plastic too.
 

Lady Jane

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You should see my two budgies shred anything they can get into. Of course the piles of what was shredded are small. They can even shred a raw carrot and generally end up with orange faces.
 
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