loves water and foot toys

SweetPeasFriend

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Jun 25, 2012
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Parent's have, I baby sit a blue crown conure.
My husband and I adopted a rescue blue and gold macaw.
What foot toy materials are safe to chew and get wet?

My parent's three year old blue crown conure always dunked his food in water before eating it. I think he figures, water makes things softer, so it must be a good idea to keep my toys wet!

He will store his toys in his water dish or place them on the side if he is eating or wants to take a bath. Needless to say, we change his water about 10 times a day.

He has a few toys that hang from the top of his cage, wooden stuff with beads, and a bell that he likes to put his head in if he doesn't have his head nestled in someone's hair. Mostly, he loves toys that he can carry around, and if in his cage, play with in his water.

If he has any object outside of his cage, and a person has a drink, he will drop what he is carrying in the drink. It's only a matter of time, and he can be sneaky and quick.

Before we realized how much he would chew them apart, I gave him some infant/toddler hard plastic stacking cups. At first he didn't chew them, but would stack them, and clang them together like castinets. He then figured out that he could fill them with water and carry the water to his food dish. Now we have to watch his food too, as he will make it into a soupy mess with his cups. He has told me regularly "that's my favorite toy!" when he has one or more of his cups in foot.

He carries them around with him when he preens and sometimes holds one before a nap.

I am concerned that he is chewing them apart. While he doesn't appear to be swallowing any (we had a mitred conure that got a hold of a hard plastic key ring attachment, broke a piece off, swallowed it, and brought it up later to play with it), I don't want to give him any more plastic toys.

Given that he loves cups, and will put everything and anything he finds in water. What would be safe for this bird? Would wooden toys soaked in water be better than plastic? Are there wooden stacking cups out there? Could the wood absorb nasty bacteria?

He does have some wooden foot toys, and yes they have all been soaked through, but he doensn't like them as much as his cups. He has a small wooden toy car that I bought at a very expensive toy store. It was made to be half eaten by a child, but still be safe. It seems to be coated with something that makes it washable, but he doesn't chew it either. I tried some chain metal ring puzzles. He solves them in seconds, and drops them, never to pick them up again. My dad gave him a clean, empty pill bottle with a penny inside. After he figured out how to get the child proof lid off to get to the penny, he starting treating it like a mate, or as my dad said, "he got too involved with it," so we took it away. It was pretty big too. It's all about the cups.

If I could be reassured that wood would be OK in water, I'd find a way to make him wooden stacking cups.
 
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SweetPeasFriend

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Jun 25, 2012
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Parent's have, I baby sit a blue crown conure.
My husband and I adopted a rescue blue and gold macaw.
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I know it probaby isn't cool to bump posts, but I figured I'd give asking another shot. I assume maybe no one has any ideas for me on this.

Our blue crown conure plays with all of his toys in his water and will leave them in there.

Should I continue to buy plastic stacking cups even though he chews them up, or is there a safer toy material that can withstand a soaking without causing a home for more nasty soaked in bacteria?

I'd like to make something that hangs from his cage ceilng that I could tie in knots, but allow him to detatch small light water proof, chewable foot toys from it with work. If these foot toys could be a puzzle to take apart all the better. He likes varying shapes, colors and loves things with handles or holes in them.
 
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SweetPeasFriend

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Parent's have, I baby sit a blue crown conure.
My husband and I adopted a rescue blue and gold macaw.
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I think I am gonna go for some coconut shells and wooden beads. For sure I will make him some birdie popsicles. He loves to play with ice. Maybe I will make some oatmeal, blueberry birdie bread in some ice cream cones. He hated the cornmeal, pea stuff I made last time. Despite his name he will always choose peas last if offered several veggies. He just laughs at pumpkins and watermelons. It's hard to keep up with him.

See below for some of the crazy things he does now. My dad sent this picture to me tonight. Me thinks that particular stack isn't going to work out lol.
 

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ivysaur

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Ivy: Canary-winged Parakeet (Brotogeris versicolurus)
This is the funniest thing I have ever read. hahah what a little pain! :)
 

Riio

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'Rio'~RIP baby girl 'Sunshine'~Yellow Side Green Cheek Conure
I agree, funny for us in a not so funny for you kind of way!!! I would think the plastic cups would be ok. Birds seem to chew up everything. Might as well give him something he likes. Anndd just to change it up some put some holes in the bottom of his cups so when he dips them the water drains out before he can get it to his food. Hahaha ooooh he would probably be so mad!
 
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SweetPeasFriend

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Jun 25, 2012
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Parent's have, I baby sit a blue crown conure.
My husband and I adopted a rescue blue and gold macaw.
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He has plastic cups with litte holes in the bottom. He uses them as strainer to water the entire cage, and they are fun to hold the cups by.

He also uses his cups as megaphones to ampilfy his voice.

It might be an old post, but the fun with cups and water never seems to get old! He doesn't fly often, but if someone is at the sink, he goes right to them. I will never buy those faucets that you tap to make them work.

He plays with other stuff too, but those cups are his favorite. I wish I could say the word he named them, but it's very much in birdy speak. It kind of sounds like a quiet , "fluff, fluff" but with two or three small purring sounds as he says the English sounding part. It seems to be the same word for "love," because he calls us by that name too. so cute
 
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Riio

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'Rio'~RIP baby girl 'Sunshine'~Yellow Side Green Cheek Conure
Aww at least you know he loves you guys as much as his cups!! Hes a lil turd watering down his cage!! He sounds like a fun guy though!
 

Alisana

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May 31, 2012
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Have you considered getting a toy bucket for him?

FlatEdgeSSBucket1.jpg


You can encourage them to 'store' their toys in there. Either that or set up a platform near the water bowl to store the toys.

My main concern with wood and repeated 'dunking' is if mold/bacteria, etc grow on it, so if you are planning on 'reusing' the wood again, it'd probably be a good idea wash/soak in a vinegar/water mix and/or bake in the oven to kill off bacteria.
 

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