Do quakers not play with new toys?

quakerdad69

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lena IL
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2 yr old Male. Quaker
I just bought kiwi some new toys. He just stares at them but wont touch them. Im worried he will get bored and start plucking or getting loud is there a trick to getting him more interested in them?:green2:
 
Give him time. My greys took three weeks before they'd walk on a new perch.
 
I just bought kiwi some new toys. He just stares at them but wont touch them. Im worried he will get bored and start plucking or getting loud is there a trick to getting him more interested in them?:green2:

You will probably find that after a couple of days , once he has got used to them he will start playing with them.

You could try playing with them in front of him... i.e, while he is out, play with the toy and then place it near him .
 
Our Quaker is very slow to play with new toys and sometimes she just never does. I try to show her how fun they are by playing with them in front of her...it seems to help but I could just be crazy too and it is coincidental. She took about 6 months to try a shredder toy but one day she started playing with it and chewed it up in a couple of weeks. She loves to shred paper. Maybe your bird needs more shredding or preening toys if you are worried about feather plucking. Have you tried those crazy straws? Our birds really like those and we just zip tie them to the cage and replace them as necessary.
 
Thanks for the input I'll try that. It might work, he only eats fruit unless I feed it to him. :):green2:
 
Mark really only likes lucite/hard plastic toys with metal chain & dangly bits like dice or plastic disks or bells. Over the past 20 years I've tried countless 'perfect' toys, only to put them in storage or rehome eventually.

She doesn't chew leather or wood or carboard tubes. What she does like shredding are strips of paper, torn about 1" wide, 6" long and hung from the cage top over her favorite perch. She sits on the perch and chews the paper into shreddy fuzzy 'strings' then drapes it over her neck and back like a blankie. Hanging new paper before I head to work is a morning ritual.

Lucky didn't seem to play much when we got her 3 years ago, but has since learned from Mark, and so prefers the same kinds of toys. I just did a major clean out when both birds were in the hospital, and I pretty much only have the tried and true favorites left. I just rotate them every couple of weeks and they never seem to get bored with them.

These kinds of toys, in the smaller sizes - Acrylic Hanging Bird Toys One

In fact, once the vet bills are paid off, I need to do some shopping :)
 
Our Quaker likes to take her time in being introduced to new toys. You can show her the toy and maybe say nice to the toy and give it a kiss. I usually do this for a week or so. What I usually do is keep the new toy out of her cage but keep it within distance for her to view it. This way it is not threatening the bird in any way.

Our Quaker likes circle/ring toys that you can attach to the rope and she enjoys trying to figure out how to pull it off the rope. She also enjoys playing with her leather strings. We connect them to the cage and she tries to figure out ways to un-connect them.

I think any toy that would provide stimulation to their mind would be good. We try to keep her toys to a minimum because she does not like too many toys and can get stressed out by them. Birds enjoy a challenge and I know our Quaker enjoys things that are more difficult to figure out. :) You can also make your own toys, just make sure the material is all safe for your birds.

I hope you can find some good, fun toys for your Quaker. Best wishes for you and your precious Quaker. :):):)
 
coope is terified of new toys. i have to keep them outside next to the cage for a few days, then move them in. he still wont go near them once they are inside for a day or 2. then he usually ignores thm. then after at LEAST a week or 2, he "inspects" them and finds out if he likes them. he usually likes soft wood like balsa, or shredders. he also likes to make a bit of noise with some plastic chains and a bell. i just got a new toy. i find it totally amazing. he never chewed anything except balsa wood which almost falls apart. this is made of pine, while still soft, MUCH harder than balsa. now there are chuncks missing out of it. i would reccomend it to anybody. it is also a GREAT foraging toy. it comes in a few sizes for any kind of bird. hope this helps!


PS: the toy i was talking about is called the "Fantastic Foraging Block". sold by parrotenrichment.com. google that site, check it out. awsome toy and foraging ideas. such a helpful site. if you happen to buy a toy, let me know how it compares to how Cooper enjoyed it.
 

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