Ground enrichment for greys

[MnGuy]

I have an 18-year-old female CAG who has stopped using two manzanita play trees because she prefers to climb down to the lowest branch, jump off and explore on the floor. She also hangs out on the top of her cage.

I let her wander the floor under supervision, but want to make it more fun for her. I've considered setting up large plastic tubs as play zones. Has anyone with a grey (or any other ground-obsessed bird) done anything like that? I've noticed that she even prefers low perches. She'll climb onto a small dog crate and hang out on top.

I want to create more intentional play zones, but I don't want to create substitute cages, either. I know letting your bird wander on the ground can be controversial, but it also seems counter intuitive to prohibit my grey from exhibiting natural behavior.

Thank you.

 

[sunnysmom]

My first cockatiel Sunny preferred to be on the ground. He wasn't a big toy player but I made up little areas for him that he could go to. He had a little climbing area, a treat area, etc. and the would wander from place to place.

 

[Snowghost]

My Paco loves to slide down his cage and waddle on the floor. Paco is terrified of everything and I don't think a playground would work for him. I would liket to see you create though.

 

[clarousel]

Preeno sometimes likes to hang out on the floor. He enjoys some footie and I occassionally give him a foraging tray on the floor supervised. He sometimes chases our feet too

I wonder if you could get one of those big tubs for holding fishes from a fish shop? They're big enough and shallow so your grey could easily hop in and out.

 

[BrianB]

I had a big plastic ball with large holes in it that mine used to play with. It was high-density plastic so very hard for him to chew to pieces. I say play, but in reality, he picked it up and slammed it against the bottom of his cage. I put a cable tie through it and stuck it in the corner so now he sticks his head inside and growls. You might try putting one at the bottom of the manzanita branch, or maybe a few in different places. You could rotate them around just to keep interest and maybe hide things inside for entertainment.