Patches doesn't play with his toys

[Dopey]

Hi all - Patches likes to whistle with me but I've noticed that he hasn't played with or chewed any toys in his cage...and he has plenty. He won't even play with a toy with me if I'm holding it in my hand. The only thing he likes to do with me is step up on a perch and have me "fly" him up and down. He will sometimes take sunflower seeds and eat them but about 50% of the time he just drops them. I've tried playing with straws with him but he doesn't even put the straw in his beak or his foot. He doesn't seem afraid of them...just not interested. I have all different colors of toys in his cage for him and all different kinds of flavor, nuts, and textures...his beak mark hasn't been left on any of them. Is there a possibility of too many toys?

I'm going to be purchasing new toys for him this weekend and want to know what I should look for.

 

[Kiwibird]

Many birds have never had access to toys before, that or had one or 2 toys that never changed. They literally don't know how to play (not to mention amazons notorious reputation for becoming perch potatoes). Just keep trying to interest him by 'playing' with the toy yourself and making a BIG deal about how 'fun' and 'interesting' it is. If you find a food he LOVES, try to get him interested in a see-through acrylic foraging toy by hiding the favored food in it. Generally, they will get curious if they see you having enough fun or theres a treat on the line. Another big help could be when he comes out of quarantine and sees Whisper playing with his toys. Monkey see, monkey do....

Also, what kind of toys does he have now? Different birds have different interests. Some like chewing stuff, some like foot toys (oversized beads, buttons, baby rattles, just anything small that can be held in a foot), some like bells (get the HEAVY DUTY stainless ones, not the little ones that come on many toys), some like foraging... You should try him with a variety and see if anything interests him.

 

[Dopey]

Toys - he has a big Wooden swing with a wheel on it (purchased before I saw the size of him ), another big swing with lots of different colored rope on it for him to "preene" but he only walks by it - I've never seen him on it), a pine cone with nuts on it (nope - hasn't shown interest in it), a toy with some card on it with beads in between (cards still intact), a toy with Popsicle sticks (he showed a little interest in that but nothing lately), a toy with cardboard stars with beads in between (I try to buy something every toy store I go in), a ring of the open balls that you can put treats in (I put nuts in every ball and still nothing touched), he has a play mat with all sorts of things on it...include loofah and it still looks brand new. I even put some straws through the bars of his cage and he just climbs over them. He doesn't even try to shred the finger shredders that have the shredded paper in them.

April - in another week and a half he will be out of quarantine and then hopefully he will watch Whisper (although Whisper doesn't play with his toys on the play gym ) and start playing with his toys. I think I have an acrylic foraging toy that is clear that I can put his food in. Thanks!

 

[Kiwibird]

I know what wheel swing your talking about (debated it myself a few times). I think that size toy may be a tad intimidating for a bird who's never played before. He may not know where to begin! I would start with smaller, simpler toys and work him up to the great big ones. While we just shake our heads, birds feel it's a major accomplishment to destroy a toy. Perhaps Patches needs to make some little 'accomplishments' first Here would be some (relatively inexpensive) suggestions I would try him on (or similar toy types) just to see what he likes and introduce him to small toys then move up to the great big ones:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Prevue-Products-Rainbow-Acrylic-Dominoes/dp/B0009SNU3M/ref=sr_1_74?ie=UTF8&qid=1417706923&sr=8-74&keywords=parrot+toy+acrylic]Amazon.com : Prevue Pet Products Rainbow Acrylic Dice and Dominoes Bird Toy : Cockatoo Toys : Pet Supplies[/ame]
(To see if he likes 'foot toys' better)

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JLC6ZM/ref=sr_ph?ie=UTF8&qid=1417707022&sr=1&keywords=jellyfish+toy"]Amazon.com : JELLYFISH LARGE BIRD TOY cage toys cages bulletproof plastic african grey amazon : Pet Supplies[/ame]
(This is a favorite of Kiwi's, he likes to snuggle and preen it It may be good for a bird like Patches who is learning healthier preening habits too)

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Platinum-Tweeter-Toys-Foraging-Feeder/dp/B00COFZXGA/ref=sr_1_78?ie=UTF8&qid=1417707256&sr=8-78&keywords=foraging+toy]Amazon.com : Platinum Tweeter Toys Foraging Feeder, Small : Pet Toys : Pet Supplies[/ame]
This is a little more expensive, but would be a good starter foraging toy, as it is simple to figure out and a bird can see the favored treat inside

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DJ1AK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1]Amazon.com : Polly's Cactus Tower Pet Bird Toy, Small : Pet Supplies[/ame]
A "starter" chewing/shredder toy

 

[Dopey]

I know what wheel swing your talking about (debated it myself a few times). I think that size toy may be a tad intimidating for a bird who's never played before. He may not know where to begin! I would start with smaller, simpler toys and work him up to the great big ones. While we just shake our heads, birds feel it's a major accomplishment to destroy a toy. Perhaps Patches needs to make some little 'accomplishments' first Here would be some (relatively inexpensive) suggestions I would try him on (or similar toy types) just to see what he likes and introduce him to small toys then move up to the great big ones:
Good thinking - should I do it now...or wait until I put him in his new cage after quarantine?

 

[Allee]

I don't have an Amazon, but I have a rehomed Quaker who refuses to play with toys. She even turned her beak up at toys from MSBS. She was a plucker so she needs foraging toys more than any of my other birds. I've bought toys, made toys, ordered toys, rotate them constantly, she doesn't care. She sees her flock mates playing with toys every day, she laughs at them. Shirre/getwozzy is making some toys just for Harry, designed to be irresistible. I'm very optimistic about her toy order. Harry had the same opinion of food, other than seed, but she's very enthusiastic about meal time now. I refuse to give up.

I think April's right, if parrots aren't introduced to toys at a young age, they don't know what to do with them. Some parrots catch on fast and some take more time and effort.

 

[Dopey]

Amazon.com : JELLYFISH LARGE BIRD TOY cage toys cages bulletproof plastic african grey amazon : Pet Supplies
(This is a favorite of Kiwi's, he likes to snuggle and preen it It may be good for a bird like Patches who is learning healthier preening habits too)

This page no longer exists. But I googled it and I have the idea. Maybe the swing I have for him is too big.

I pasted all of the pictures into a document so I can take them with me this weekend.

 

[Dopey]

I don't have an Amazon, but I have a rehomed Quaker who refuses to play with toys. She even turned her beak up at toys from MSBS. She was a plucker so she needs foraging toys more than any of my other birds. I've bought toys, made toys, ordered toys, rotate them constantly, she doesn't care. She sees her flock mates playing with toys every day, she laughs at them. Shirre/getwozzy is making some toys just for Harry, designed to be irresistible. I'm very optimistic about her toy order. Harry had the same opinion of food, other than seed, but she's very enthusiastic about meal time now. I refuse to give up.

I think April's right, if parrots aren't introduced to toys at a young age, they don't know what to do with them. Some parrots catch on fast and some take more time and effort.

It is so sad. We try to make their life so much fun and they don't care. I haven't given up...and I won't for a while. Let me know how the new toys work for you...Getwozzy might get an order for me.

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Zilla only had one super duper big mac size toy in her cage that looked new except for the faded colors when I got her. No beak marks, scratches, or anything except a rusted chain and faded colored blocks. (It got tossed immediately)

I've worked with her every day to get her to play with toys. I rotate them at least once a week, I try new things, I've bought almost everything I see in stores I think she might like, I make toys, I take toys apart she doesn't show interest in and make them into new toys.

The only thing she shows any interest in is her hanging gym above her cage (an she only wants to chew on the rope knots on that) and one toy in her cage I made out of those bright colored "vine" balls with a couple pieces of wood in between the balls.

When I play with her toys she will come check out what I am doing and then do everything she can to get her head under my hand so I will pet/scratch her head/neck instead of play with the toys!

 

[Kiwibird]

Amazon.com : JELLYFISH LARGE BIRD TOY cage toys cages bulletproof plastic african grey amazon : Pet Supplies
(This is a favorite of Kiwi's, he likes to snuggle and preen it It may be good for a bird like Patches who is learning healthier preening habits too)

This page no longer exists. But I googled it and I have the idea. Maybe the swing I have for him is too big.

I pasted all of the pictures into a document so I can take them with me this weekend.

It's from bonkabirdtoys.com (they also sell on amazon). I know everyone on here loves MSBS (and so do I), but I like bonka more personally. They have such fun and unique toys I've never seen anywhere else. HUGE selection of acrylic options, one of the best I've found (which happens to be Kiwi's favorite toy material, which is why I like their toys selection better).

 

[Dopey]

As soon as I come into the room Patches comes to the front of cage. when I open the door she comes to the top of the door and sits there. I can give her a shower there, play with her beak and toes there, give her sunflower seeds (if she decides to take one), but I can not touch her otherwise there. She isn't interested in crawling onto the top of her cage. (that's okay with me because I want her to play on the play gym in the living room) I will have to do more playing with her toys in front of her than I do.

 

[starrynightxxi]

Like others, I had this experience with Leonard. It's been a long road to finding toys he will play with. When I got him he wouldn't play with anything, he wouldn't even look at a toy, large or small. And when he finally started playing with things, it was the sort of things that you don't make a toy out of, plastic bags and metal like my nail clippers or toy PARTS; wingnuts, bolts, etc. Actually, those are still some of his favorite things lol

The problem was two-fold; it was due in part to the fact that my one year old bird had spent 10 months of his life in a pet store with the same two toys and had either NEVER played with them, or had simply grown so bored of them that he no longer bothered, and the fact that I was not buying him toys that appealed. Not for lack of trying, I bought all the things that my bird was SUPPOSED to like, and he hated them, and then I bought things SIMILAR to toys he actually does like (now,) but there's no such thing "close enough" for Leonard.

How long have you had Patches, and what was her previous lifestyle? It might be that you just haven't found The Toy yet, or maybe it's a level of comfort. It was probably 6 months before I saw Leonard even LOOK at a toy, and longer before I found a toy "ingredient" that he REQUIRES. He loves this particular straw stuff and will destroy this in a day or two, but plastic straws, corn husk, coconut fiber, bamboo, wicker, meh!

 

[Dopey]

Thanks for the pic. Wow - 6 months before you saw him look at a toy. At least Patches looks at the toys.

I have had patches...20 days.

If I remember correctly the cage the previous owner had him in didn't have any toys. If it had toys I don't remember seeing them. The toys I first had for him were too big for him. So I bought him a bunch of new smaller toys and he still doesn't play with toys.

He seems to be a happy boy even without playing with his toys.

 

[starrynightxxi]

It was frustrating! And expensive lol! The toys in his cage weren't objects of interest to him, they were just obstacles. Some were acceptable as perches, others were just totally in the way.

Twenty days isn't so long, not if he's never had toys before, plus he's probably still adjusting and may not have reached a point where he'd be willing to play in front of you. Even once Leonard started playing with toys, he wouldn't do it when anyone was around, and even though he'll now play in his cage next to me, I still have to watch him on the sly. There's a level of vulnerability in play because their attention can't easily be on you AND the toy. There's also a certain independence to it, which not all birds come by easily.

 

[Dopey]

Thank you so much.

Yep - the toys just seem to be in the way right now...but I keep trying. He crawls right over them if they are in the way of getting to the front of the cage (me and the food). I bought some small foot toys (well small toys from the $ store) last week that maybe he will play with. I will put some of those and some food in a foraging toy and see if he will play with those.

He has one perch that he loves and a couple that he will go to when I put him in the cage but he only sits on one. He has plenty of places to perch. He also likes to perch on the bowls that hold his food.

I am happy with the progress we have made - I just want to see him well adjusted and happy.

 

[Urgula]

My parrot doesn't like parrot toys. I've spent lots of money, all of them remain untouched.
Construction wooden levtovers - perfect! Specially, if u get a piece of wood and drill holes in it, it's just perfect.

We also go to the dollar store, so he picks up his toys. Bracelet section is his favorite.

Mascara tubes are awesome too.

He does not touch anything from the pet shop.

 

[CaptainBeaky]

My cockatiel used to play all of the time, then one day he began plucking and didn't touch his toys for months...
It took many months to solve the feather ripping and finally in the past couple of weeks he has been playing again - I can only hope it continues as I will never know the true cause of his unhappiness.
Good luck with helping your bird

 

[Dopey]

My cockatiel used to play all of the time, then one day he began plucking and didn't touch his toys for months...
It took many months to solve the feather ripping and finally in the past couple of weeks he has been playing again - I can only hope it continues as I will never know the true cause of his unhappiness.
Good luck with helping your bird

Did you change his food or his water that might have caused him to start plucking? I'm so sorry. I'm glad that he is playing again.

 

[veimar]

I'm sorry for not following before, but what species is Patches? Name sounds like a too. I dunno about big birds, but I have a rescued tiel who never plays with toys, but doesn't seem to have any problem with that. He sometimes pulls the "hair" from the fluffy ones, but otherwise he has no interest. You mentioned Patches has "many" - couldn't that be intimidating? I usually start with just 1 toy for the new bird and observe the reactions. With my IRN the "kebob" worked the best - he is chewing up one in a week (I cannot afford to buy so many!! LOL). I usually buy all sorts of handmade toys at the bird fairs, and sometimes one would hang there for a few months until they discover it and start ripping it up!

 

[Dopey]

Patches is a white front amazon.