How playful is your Ekkie?

I'm curious b/c Emmet just isn't that playful. Is it him or the species of parrot? I've bought many toys for him and he ignores them. At first, I thought it was b/c he needed to warm up to us, but we've had him about a month now and he still has little interest in any of his toys. Other than that, he seems well adjusted. He'll chatter away when he's in the mood and will sometimes fly off his play stand to have a walk around.

On another note, you might remember me having issues with him being "aggressive" with my daughter. I use the term aggressive loosely b/c he would just lunge out at her when she tried to have him step up. He's never given anything close to a serious bite. Anyway, she's been working with him and improving her manner and tone to be more authoritative (not easy for an 8 year old pixie! LOL) And yesterday, for the first time, she won! He stepped right up on to her hand and they had a lovely reading session together. I love it when she reads to him b/c he makes all kind of noises as if to say "and then..." "ooh this is a good story" "read more"!

Well I don't own an eclectus so I cant help with their behavior but when I first got my breeding pair of green cheeks they didn't have hardly any toys so I gave them some new ones, but they didn't start to play with them until 3 months later. I thought mine just didn't like playing but they got used to them and now they love them.

I don't have an eclectus but it took Rome six months before she showed any interest in her toys when we first got her. Maybe he just needs some more time. You could also try getting all different kinds and rotating them through to see if he takes a liking to any of them.

Good to know! More time it is!

They have their moments but for the most part they are very reserved. They seem to access a situation before they act. You just can't rush these birds. I think that is why i love them so much, they are so easy to read their body language. They are independant. But if they are human imprinted they do tend to be very needy especially when mature.

As far as toys goes I find the best toys are the solid baby toys that make sounds. Or bells are a favorite. Foraging toys are good as well.

Mac plays with his toys occassionally. But he's not a huge toy type of bird either unless he spends some time in his cage. The main reason for the toys is to keep your bird from getting bored. A bored bird espcially an eclectus is a plucking bird. I bought Mac a Foraging wheel that has like 6 different compartments to place treats in and he loves it. It took Mac a few days to realize how it worked and now when I fill up the wheel, he will work on the wheel until he gets every last treat out of it.

Also, Eclectus LOVE shreadable toys, like the ones that hold a roll of paper. They will shread that thing in no time. You will spend a ton of money trying to find the right toys that your bird will play with believe me. I have bags of toys that just hung inside of his cage and nothing. But then again, Mac is rarely in his cage long enough to really get interested in a toy.

Also mac is very playful when he wants to be. He LOVES "Peek A Boo". I always walk around with a towel on my shoulder so when he's on my shoulder he has something to grip other than my skin. He will grab the edge of the towel with his beak and try pulling it up to cover his face wanting me to play Peek A Boo with him.

Now, unless you want to hear "Peek A Boo" constantly numerous times during the day, I wouldn't get him started on the game. My wife thanks me for that little nugget every day. It's one of Mac's favorite things to say and believe me, he does.

Puffin is the same, he loves paper toys and shredding is his favourite past time and he is very lazy with foraging toys! I got one of the wheel type toys too and he must have thought " no way" because when we got home he had removed the cover and had himself a feast!

I must have gotten a character with Audrey haha she plays for hours sometimes, attacking her toys, herself, her cage, hanging upside down, swinging about lol! Shes a clown!

Puffin's favourite place to hang out is on my ironing board! He sits on it at night time while we are in the family room and watches tv wih us. He loves playing in the compartment where the iron is supposed to sit and we call it "bird de soliel! lol.He twists and turns and hangs from one leg and gets quite loud if we don't pay him attention. Just goes to show you can spend a fortune on toys but they can end up playing with stuff that is already in the home!