Lincoln's death shake

Owlet

Well-known member
Oct 27, 2016
2,750
1,886
Colorado
Parrots
Lincoln (Eclectus), Apollo (Cockatiel), Aster (GCC)
I've never seen this behavior outside of dogs, and dogs do it to "kill" their prey (or their toy...) so I just call it his death shake he does it when hes very adamant on destroying his toy. hes always done it, do your birds do this?
 

HeatherG

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Apr 25, 2020
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6,966
I've never seen this behavior outside of dogs, and dogs do it to "kill" their prey (or their toy...) so I just call it his death shake he does it when hes very adamant on destroying his toy. hes always done it, do your birds do this?
It is a behavior evolved to make as big a mess as possible, perhaps to ensure optimum spreading of seeds.

just kidding. Well, who knows? Birds spread lots of seeds in their native regions by being messy. Or, maybe the shake might separate the food object from the rest of the plant? Break it off?

my birds have done this, and they weren’t eclectus parrots. They like to shake things that make noise, too. Maybe it’s fun.
 

Emeral

Well-known member
Sep 16, 2021
209
628
Parrots
Hanhs Macaw
Emerald does the same to her hanging toys. And when food looks like worm (when she eat boiled spaghetti)

oh and when food stuck to her beak, like raspberry....watch out....or get free artistic dye on you by Emerald !!!

It's funny how we teach our Emerald to eat a variety fruits and veggies by all means.
And now........we can't eat anything without her joining us.....must we ponder, is it too late to undo this?

Here, surprisingly she is trying Durian, the most smelly fruit. (In the wild, birds can eat ripe fruit after they fall and break apart.)
And yes, after the mushy fruit get on her beak, she shakes artistically.


Screenshot_20211207-191817_Gallery.jpg
 
OP
Owlet

Owlet

Well-known member
Oct 27, 2016
2,750
1,886
Colorado
Parrots
Lincoln (Eclectus), Apollo (Cockatiel), Aster (GCC)
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Lincoln is adorable. May I ask how you were successful in getting him to play with toys?
when I first got him he really didnt have toys or knew how to play. so I just made it a game. I would incorporate toys into his training and I would also hide almonds in his toys but I would make sure he sees my putting the almond in the toy so he knows it's there
 

kme3388

Well-known member
Sep 17, 2021
1,059
3,249
Minnesota, USA
Parrots
Eclectus Parrot: Nico (male)
Jenday Conure: Kiwi (female)
The only inspiration my ekkie has to do anything I ask him to is if he gets snuggled, and he can be on my person. He is a very clingy parrot. He will not play with toys. I try to play with them myself to make them seem interesting. I've also tried putting treats in them. He just watches me play with them, and doesn't care. Nico will play hide & seek with my husband. He will also try to seprate my husband from me if my husband sits anywhere near me. He crouches down, flaps his wings, and screams. I'm not sure if thats a game or not. He also will pull the curtains open when my husband leaves for work to watch him leave. He's a very smart parrot. He just for some odd reason has no interest in toys.
 

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