Teaching Opie to play

[Elysian]

New thread for a new focus..
I realized I have been slacking off on getting Opie to engage with his environment in favor of my efforts to get him to engage with ME.
He has foraging toys but unless he can clearly see a high value treat he doesn't use them. He doesn't chew or play with anything that doesn't clearly present food.
He is too much perch potato.

So tonight I bought paper cups to start putting nuts in and work toward being able to crumple them.
I also put a vine ball on a skewer with an almond in it so he can see there is something to get.
I started target training him again, which I had previously pushed too early. He is doing great! Just need to work on softer beaking.
And I made him an introductory foraging tray.
He hasn't touched any of these things yet but he has *looked* into the tray.

I made a different tray for the budgies to encourage them to use more of their cage space because I'd been slacking on their stuff too.
Oggie is also getting a reinvigorated target training regimen and we'll focus on confidence outside the cage.

 

[Momof3litt]

That looks like a fun basket! Go Opie! What is that item that looks like a spool of purple thread?

I am also working on foraging in non-food items with my bird and one of the things I've tried is to attach a similar (but smaller) dollar store basket like that up high in one corner of his cage. He has other foraging items in the cage and a foraging tray at the bottom, but he has spent the most time in the one that's up high, near his favourite perch.

 

[Clueless]

Did I ever tell you what my amazons first toy was?

Little Pops. Check them out on this page:

Parrots Treasure-Foot Toys

I consider the owners as friends. They provided knowledge and helped me at the beginning.

 

[Elysian]

Wish I had thought of this a long time ago. I had to specifically show him a second almond in my fingers then push it into the vine ball to get him to finally explore it. So much better than his acrylic forager imo.


@Clueless those toys look awesome! Thank you!!

@Momof3litt the purple tube with cork ends? A tamale from Seriously Nutz! I don't expect him to try to open it anytime soon but that, the little box, and the finger trap have surprises if he does get curious enough.

He also has a chock o block and a stuff it toy from Nutz in his cage, that he watched me stuff but hasn't touched.. fool is surrounded by treats if he would only get off his butt lol.

He has been taking treats out of a little paper cup, checking it when it is empty, and at some point while I wasn't looking he interacted with it enough to throw it .. I refilled it and folded down one side a little but he hasn't tried to get into it yet

 

[Clueless]

@Elysian

My guys had never had toys to my knowledge. Secret chewed off a plastic fastener for a bowl. Sad. They could hold the handle and it was so cute!

They loved those wooden toys and pine nuts. There are some threads running around here with great pictures.

 

[Wardy]

He has been taking treats out of a little paper cup, checking it when it is empty, and at some point while I wasn't looking he interacted with it

I found paper cups a winner getting KiKi interested in foraging i started tying them inside her cage with paper string but she chews through that quickly so use leather now.
I filled it with vine rings,vine balls, lolly sticks and bits of pine wood with a couple of seeds and a nutriberry she will now play with balsa toys from Nutz

 

[Elysian]

A little off topic but last time I bought food (I had been mixing zupreem naturals with zupreem nut blend) they were out of nut blend
So I got the naturals and a bag of zupreem smart selects which is a few different kinds of pellets mixed with a little dried fruit, peppers, pumpkin seeds.

I've recently realized that they both have been consistently eating all the naturals in the mix. YAY.
7 months ago Opie was on all fruit pellets and would mostly only eat the purple ones.

Now that I know for sure he's actually eating well on the naturals alone, I can give him a pure bowl of those and save ALL the fun stuff for training and foraging.

I feel ridiculous that I neglected their target training for so long. Last time I tried they were both frightened and upset by it. This time around its only taken 3 days and Opie gets excited every time he sees the chopstick. He doesn't even try to go toward the hand with the treat first.
Oggie has also stopped having his little nervous attacks about it. He would fluff and dance back and forth like "I want to touch it...I'm going to touch it.. I - no no I can't!". As of the last session yesterday all his hesitation was gone.

Opie still not engaging with any toys or items unless I very deliberately show him (again) that there is an easily accessible treat in it. But that's okay for now.

 

[Elysian]

Haven't been able to get him to touch the vine ball again, or go near the tray at all, but I noticed him holding his paper cup.
Baby steps.

 

[Wardy]

Going in the right direction

 

[Elysian]

Presents arrived! Hope these help!
Thank you for the lead.



Got another very brief session with the vine ball. He 'plays' with something food related for maybe 1 minute a day, but spends the rest of the time still just sitting around unless I make him chase after the target stick.

 

[Clueless]

You got the little pops!!!!!!

 

[FeatheredM]

It took me a bit to realize how important foraging and playing was outside the cage, now my birds are alot happier and look for stuff to do, it's horrible to see a bird turn into a couch potato! I'm glad oggie got lots of presents, he is getting spoiled isn't he?

 

[Elysian]

I have definitely bought them a lot of things lol. I hope they all appreciate it, especially Opie. I do hate to see him so immobile all the time, when he has so many options now.
I'm not sure how long he was neglected but he should have decades left ahead of him, too many to be so bored.

 

[Clueless]

He'll be like Secret. It takes them a bit (gotta make sure it doesn't eat them) but they do play.

 

[Clueless]

Here's hope for you:

https://forums.avianavenue.com/index.php?threads/redecorating-yeah-by-the-bird.163126/#post-2284904

 

[Clueless]

That lobster went in Secrets cage on June 7, the same day MC got one.

https://forums.avianavenue.com/index.php?threads/one-eye.157102/

It took her quite a while to get to it. I bet Oggie will be like MC with his toys.

Do the two birds watch each other when they get toys to play with?

I used to tell one that if they didn't like it I'd give it to the other and turn toward the other bird.... then turn back and offer again. Amazing how they'd try veggies that way.

 

[Elysian]

I've traded their toys back and forth a bit trying to figure out who likes what, but I didn't talk to them about it!
They do watch each other get treats. I think it's helped with the target training alot. I'll have to try that!

 

[Elysian]

Super lazy ALL the holiday weekend, didn't touch any of his activities..
Begged for bits of my fresh fruit breakfast this am but then refused to eat any of it when offered.

Finally decided it was worth his while to dig into this previously neglected vine ball for a peanut!
For a couple of minutes at least.


I'm debating moving all of pellets to a forager but I'm afraid he would just starve himself.

 

[Clueless]

I gave Secret a separate bowl in her cage by a flat platform and put just foot toys in it. Slip a treat under the toys.

Have you tried the little pop yet?

 

[Elysian]

I gave Opie and Oggie each one little pop on their flagstone corner platforms (their favorite places to sit).
Oggie has repeatedly snatched his up by the corner and hurled it across the cage to get it out of his way.
Opie has not touched his at all yet He just makes sure to stand in a way that it doesn't touch his feet.

Opie generally likes to cruise the bottom of his cage so I'm surprised he has not investigated the basket of foot toys and treats much..
I also put half of his pellets in his normal bowl, and half in a separate bowl with something on top (either his paper cup, a toilet paper roll, or a vineball) so he has to at least nudge it out of the way to eat.
That seems to be the only effort he is willing to put in though. There are like 3 almonds inside the toilet paper roll (one end folded over) if he looked, but he just pushes it out of his way.