Welcome to the Avenue
When I had my first bird, he was alone during the day when I was at work. I was lucky I worked closeby so I would call home in my lunch break and try to always spare a few minutes to feed him a little millet through the cage bars.
As soon as I got home, I would get him out of his cage to fly and play.
I agree.
Also, a big one is foraging. It can really help pass the time for the bird and give them something to work on, enriching their life. You can make your own foraging activities, you don´t need to buy expensive toys, or you can do both.
If you aren´t sure how to provide a foraging activity for you bird, have a read of this pdf. You may be surprised at just how easy it is and you don´t have to always spend a fortune on expensive toys...
forums.avianavenue.com
In my house, we try to do as much foraging as possible. For these reviews, I am using the impressions by Jingo, my quaker who lives with a family member, as well as my own bird, Ripley (Jardine's Parrot). I will be updating this as we explore more toys! Four Corner Foraging by Caitec Creative...
www.lilmonstersbirdtoys.com
A lot of us have been in your shoes. Being persistent and offering variety is key. Birds can be picky about how they want their food presented, and some even detest certain coloured foods. I like to finely chop veggies, mix in quinoa and sprinkle a little millet on top. My birds seem to like the quinoa, I think they think it is millet. Also, something that really helped me was waking up, making the veggie breakfast and when I uncover the birds in the morning, I remove their food bowl and put in the veggie bowls. If your bird doesn´t eat after 20 minutes, remove the veggies and put the dry food back. If they start picking at the veggie bowl, leave it a little longer. I only leave veggies a max of one hour before returning all dry food and wiping out the cage.
This link is great for figuring out which foods to include, which are better than others etc and there´s also some tips down the bottom of the page:
My Chop "Recipe"
I sprinkle herbs on the veggies. Like regular human herbs, not a fancy mix or anything like that. Dill is a good one to include. I keep them in a shaker and use a very little amount. I also picked up some dandelion recently which I have been including