Why is Link doing this? (pics)

Kaytlynn · Jan 18, 2012

Link has started chewing on his perch inside his cage. This is the perch that came with him and his cage, the day I got him so It's not a new stand to him at all. Is this because his beak is bothering him or he has some anger/stress build up? :greenyellow:

How can I get him to stop. ): I don't want him to ruin his favorite perch.

Pedro · Jan 18, 2012

Parrots love to chew stuff. He has no toys or shredding toys. They love to chew on fresh branches that are parrot friendly & non toxic. It also helps to groom his beak & keep it trimmed.

Kaytlynn · Jan 18, 2012

Pedro said:
Parrots love to chew stuff. He has no toys or shredding toys. They love to chew on fresh branches that are parrot friendly & non toxic. It also helps to groom his beak & keep it trimmed.

I know beaks have to be trimmed but I've only had Link for a week and a half, I don't want to rush him to the vet to have it trimmed so quickly. I'm not sure how to tell when it needs trimmed & I'm unsure as to when his previous owner did it last.. or if he ever did. As far as toys go, he does have a hanging one at the top with a bell on it and a chunk of real wood and he NEVER touches the thing.

Pedro · Jan 18, 2012

No No No. Not at the Vets for beak trims. If you offer him all kind of chewing branches he will trim & groom his beak himself. It really isn't necessary to have your parrots beak trimmed at the Vets.

I will post a link for you to read through. This will help & you can even make a whole stack of toys.

Parrot Enrichment

Kaytlynn · Jan 18, 2012

Pedro said:
No No No. Not at the Vets for beak trims. If you offer him all kind of chewing branches he will trim & groom his beak himself. It really isn't necessary to have your parrots beak trimmed at the Vets.

I will post a link for you to read through. This will help & you can even make a whole stack of toys.

Parrot Enrichment

Thank you. I will read.

roxynoodle · Jan 18, 2012

Yes, they need plenty to chew, and will sometimes chew their perches as well. Provide many different wood and shreddable toys to give him stuff to chew. My conure will sometimes chew her perches as well as her many toys. She has completely chewed through a few large perches in her life, lol! And a couple of times kind of fell with it. That little bird never stops chewing! But, I've never had to trim her beak except for when I first got her from the pet store 11 years ago.

Now Pete is still learning what toys are and really isn't doing enough chewing yet. And was on a seed diet for his whole life until he came to me. When he was at the vet's yesterday we removed some horn from his beak. Bad nutrition also seems to make their beaks and nails grow faster for some reason.

lizardsmells · Jan 18, 2012

Parrots are destrucobirds. Kazi chews on all his stuff. I just sort of take it for granted that I'm going to be replacing wooden perches and toys regularly. I make most of his toys, but yeah, parrots will chew up anything given half a chance. The dollar store willow wreaths and baskets are some of the best parrot toys ever. Kazi LOVES to chew up willow wreaths.

They also generally do not need their beaks trimmed. Most parrots manage just fine with regards to beak health. In rare cases do beaks actually need to be trimmed. Link's beak looks perfectly healthy to me!

cnyguy · Jan 18, 2012

Chewing up pieces of wood is a popular thing for all kinds of parrots to do-- and they consider wooden perches to be fair game. Offer Link some alternatives. You can buy wooden parrot toys especially made to be chewed up-- or make your own out of bird-safe wood.

My YCA George sometimes would chew his perches too. Once, he chewed all the way through one of them, and he and the perch crashed to the bottom of the cage (George was unharmed, but the perch was a total loss

). I think that was the last time he chewed up a perch-- he stuck with the wooden toys I gave him instead. Lesson learned, I guess.

Remy · Jan 19, 2012

Parrots love to chew stuff up! This is a sign that he's healthy!

I think you might need to provide him with more toys. Parrots should have a bunch of toys in their cage, otherwise they get bored with nothing to do, which can eventually lead to problems down the road. I think I have about 7 toys in Puck's cage right now. They should be rotated and stuff should be moved around every week or two, to help keep things interesting for them.

Remy · Jan 19, 2012

I just looked at your pictures again. Link is cute! He looks like he's smiling.

echoskybound · Jan 19, 2012

He is indeed very cute! Lots of chew toys are my solution... but I did have to teach my conure to play with them. Birds will often be more interested in something if you're playing with it, so when you get him a toy, play with it in front of him and make it seem interesting to him. Sometimes I pretend I'm chewing on it, then Wheatley gets VERY interested ;]

Create a positive association with toys. I even reward Wheatley for playing with them, because I want him to be more interested in shredding toys than other things, and it also seems to make toys more enjoyable for him. I always have about a dozen or more hanging chew toys for him, and I rotate them so that he has a different toy every day. Even things like junk mail, popsicle sticks and paper towel rolls are great for shredding.

Also, did the name Link come from Legend of Zelda? I like it!

roxynoodle · Jan 19, 2012

Yes, my conure also thinks everything is a toy. She will grab my keys, pens, the furbuster thing for the cat, and pretty much anything she can manage to get to. Merlin is fascinated by paper products so if I go to clean up a poop she just got on a perch or toy she will grab it out of my hands. Pete is still learning about toys though. The last couple I tried to give him scared him half to death. I gave him a couple of foot toys the other day and that didn't go over well at all!

Why is Link doing this? (pics)

Kaytlynn

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Pedro

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Kaytlynn

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Pedro

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Kazi has a lot to say!

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