Aarrrrgh!

[JamesC]

Dang brat!

Sidney has recently developed the game of tossing his food cups out of their holders to the bottom of the cage. Didn't take me long before I had enough of coming home to a mess. So I got him a set of those locking cups. Put them in, turn and watch a little bird throw a fit cause he could no longer play his game. Worked great for my blue crown Rosco who also liked to play. But noooooo.... Not with Sidney. He is just too darn clever. In less than half a day that little brat figured them out.

I put him in his cage cause I was doing some house cleaning when I heard the first one hit the grate in the bottom. Dangit, I must not have turned that one far enough. A few minutes later CLANG! as the second hit followed quickly by his water bowl. CLANG! Guess I'll have to bend the cups to make them difficult to turn.

*sigh*

These little guys are just too smart for our own good sometimes.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

LOL that's kind of awesome. I know, I know, it's really not for you with the big mess, but it's so funny and it's great that the birds are thinking 'seriously, do you think you are stopping me?'

Georgie used to play this food toss with my dog (who threw up when he ate her pellets, and i swear she did it because she thought 'sucka' and watched him throw up later......)

 

[Crazy4Birds]

My senegal did that too! LOL. And she would always do it when I wasn't watching.

 

[MonicaMc]

What about the Smart Crock Locking Food Dishes?

One kind 'hangs' on a square piece of acrylic that is locked to the cage bars so its easy to move in and out of the cage. Another kind, the entire unit locks to the cage itself.

I have these and love them!

 

[JamesC]

I got a set of these because they worked so well with the blue crown. He quickly gave up and does not try anymore. But Sidney is by far the smartest of the three birds. He investigates and tests everything. I've been very surprised at what he figures out. And once he does it one time he will do it right away the next. Like popping the battery cover off the cordless keyboard when I have it on my lap. Foraging toys that are a puzzle he has to figure out are no sweat. He emptied a complex one in under 15 minutes the first time I put it in his cage.

I feel he is a good candidate for training and I really should devote some time to teaching him some tricks. Keep that devious little mind occupied cause he gets bored very easily. Maybe I can start giving him a treat to keep him occupied every time I put him in his cage. Part of the bowl tossing game is pure reaction to being locked up. He will go after them every time I close the door.

I bent the bowls into an oval shape so that they are difficult to rotate in the ring that holds them. If he figures out how to bypass that then I will take a look at the Smart Crock bowls. A couple of times Sid has dumped all three of his cups out and I came home to a hungry, thirsty and ticked off bird who wanted to nip and bite til he got fed. As is I am the one to blame!

 

[MonicaMc]

Smart Crock Food Bowls - Discounted


Maybe you should create a foraging bowl for him? Put in treats, small foot toys, beads, bottle caps, anything small and safe. Maybe wrap up some of the items in tiny muffin cups? I'm sure that would provide quite a bit of entertainment! At least until the bowl is empty! lol

 

[madatter]

Billy as a empty steel cup that i leave in the bottom off the cage, he throws that about, I think its because he can see his reflection in it.
The only problem I have had is that he sometimes carries it up the cage and puts into his food bowl then he cant get at his food.

 

[aliray]

I don' use the cage food bowls anymore becaue my birds were throwing them down except my canary. I use heavy small baking ceramic type dishes for food, water, and one each for their fruits and vegies I put them in the bottom of their cages, not under a perch, and it keeps the food waste under the grill on the bottom of the cage rather than all over the floor. The dishes are shallow but heavy so if they stand on the sides they do not tip. I get them at goodwill or thrift stores and wash in the dishwasher