Kiwibird
Well-known member
- Jul 12, 2012
- 9,539
- 111
- Parrots
- 1 BFA- Kiwi. Hatch circa 98', forever home with us Dec. 08'
*Not sure where to put this thread, so I put it here since I believe it is more related to behavior than toys.
So Kiwis VAST toy collection is about to become significantly sparser. My growing concerns with these softer āhardā plastics being used in newer baby toys (his favored types of toys) paired with his new intolerance to food dyes and his utter disinterest in most āparrot toysā means the bulk of his current toy collection is going to be thrown out and healthier toy options are...limited. I have found some possible alternatives made of stainless steel and natural wood plus a few plastic/acrylic toys that seem durable/worthwhile enough to keep. But what Iām going to be able to offer that isnāt dyed and heāll actually play with pales in comparison to what he has now.
Seeing as literally no where suggests ever giving a parrot less toys (pack em in as many as possible is standard advice for birds), Iāve turned to what parents of small children have to say about thinning out/simplifying their kids toy collections for context of what I might expect from Kiwi moving forward. Iām honestly pretty surprised by what Iāve found. Post after post after post saying that when the number of toys a child has was drastically cut and there was careful consideration into the minimal amount of toys that were kept, children become calmer and better behaved. Apparently, in babies/toddlers/small children (so brains of a similar mental capacity to our birds), too many toys overwhelmed and overstimulated them to the point of driving bad behavior. Less toys of simpler varieties made for better behaved and less hyperactive kids.
This makes me curious if some of the bad behaviors people report in their parrots could be lessened by simplifying their toys? Does a bird really need 7 toys in their cage or would 2 or 3 do, then rotate out once the bird becomes bored or destroys them? Do parrots really need every toy to be bright colors or is the dye an unnecessary and unhealthy way to overload a bird brain? While Kiwi isnāt a particularly misbehaved or hyper parrot (though he does have his moments), I was curious if anyone else was interested enough to try this with their naughty/hyperactive birds to see how they respond? I also plan to update this thread as I move forward with Kiwiās new toy collection/toy rotation structure as to how he responds. My plan is to offer 2 hanging toys each in his cage and on his play tree and 3-5 each foot toys/loose beads in his ātoy basketsā (which currently overflow with little toys) and only rotate out once destroyed or if not being played with anymore. I also plan to limit colors to a primarily neutral pallet (out of necessity in my case). It should be an interesting experiment. Any other thoughts, comments etc.... are also welcome!
So Kiwis VAST toy collection is about to become significantly sparser. My growing concerns with these softer āhardā plastics being used in newer baby toys (his favored types of toys) paired with his new intolerance to food dyes and his utter disinterest in most āparrot toysā means the bulk of his current toy collection is going to be thrown out and healthier toy options are...limited. I have found some possible alternatives made of stainless steel and natural wood plus a few plastic/acrylic toys that seem durable/worthwhile enough to keep. But what Iām going to be able to offer that isnāt dyed and heāll actually play with pales in comparison to what he has now.
Seeing as literally no where suggests ever giving a parrot less toys (pack em in as many as possible is standard advice for birds), Iāve turned to what parents of small children have to say about thinning out/simplifying their kids toy collections for context of what I might expect from Kiwi moving forward. Iām honestly pretty surprised by what Iāve found. Post after post after post saying that when the number of toys a child has was drastically cut and there was careful consideration into the minimal amount of toys that were kept, children become calmer and better behaved. Apparently, in babies/toddlers/small children (so brains of a similar mental capacity to our birds), too many toys overwhelmed and overstimulated them to the point of driving bad behavior. Less toys of simpler varieties made for better behaved and less hyperactive kids.
This makes me curious if some of the bad behaviors people report in their parrots could be lessened by simplifying their toys? Does a bird really need 7 toys in their cage or would 2 or 3 do, then rotate out once the bird becomes bored or destroys them? Do parrots really need every toy to be bright colors or is the dye an unnecessary and unhealthy way to overload a bird brain? While Kiwi isnāt a particularly misbehaved or hyper parrot (though he does have his moments), I was curious if anyone else was interested enough to try this with their naughty/hyperactive birds to see how they respond? I also plan to update this thread as I move forward with Kiwiās new toy collection/toy rotation structure as to how he responds. My plan is to offer 2 hanging toys each in his cage and on his play tree and 3-5 each foot toys/loose beads in his ātoy basketsā (which currently overflow with little toys) and only rotate out once destroyed or if not being played with anymore. I also plan to limit colors to a primarily neutral pallet (out of necessity in my case). It should be an interesting experiment. Any other thoughts, comments etc.... are also welcome!
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