unusual bird activity

[Purple]

Hi everyone I'm new to this forum even tho I'v had my Yellow Indian Ring Neck male bird for 12 years and his friend Green Indian Ring Neck (male) for 10 years.
The green one is less tame. They spend lots of time out of the cage and toddle around the kitchen.
About 6 months ago they started to chew holes in my linoleum floor. I also have a tiny dog and we put newspaper down for her to pee on. Now the green bird is making confetti out of the newspaper.
There are toys in the cage and on the top play area. We feed them fruit and seeds and spend quite a bit of time in the same room with them.
How do I stop them doing the confetti!!! Have a video but don't know how to add it to this forum
Thanks

 

[bigfellasdad]

Hi there, maybe this is the start of a nest building thing. My female CAG constantly makes confetti out of any paper/card etc and especially when she is broody.

 

[Purple]

thanks but its a boy bird! do they build nests too?

 

[bigfellasdad]

oops, sorry I have bad news for you regarding your male IRN.....

As far as nesting, id have thought it was just the females but do you know, im not 100% sure.

 

[ChristaNL]

As far I know if it has "parrot" somewhere in the name, it loves shredding stuff.
So nope...get used to confetti (and no more intact newspaper, toiletpaper, books etc. etc.)

 

[EllenD]

I'm assuming you know it's a male due to it having a ring, correct? Because it does sound like "nesting" behavior, but with Ringnecks their genders are pretty easy to spot, lol.

Any sex of bird is going to love to "shred" things, this is why they make specific bird toys for "shredding". So they are definitely going to go after anything that is paper, cardboard, etc. that they can shred. That's just normal bird behavior. The best thing you can do is to give them their own alternative to shredding things they can't have. They make all kinds of bird toys out of thick paper or with paper meant for them to shred. I actually bought a package of multi-colored shredding "ribbon" made of a kind of cardboard, that is made specifically for parrots, and I got it at Petco in the bird toy section. You get a roll of this stuff, probably 50+ feet of it, it's a lot. And you just hang it all over their cage, weaving it through the cage bars and around their stands, etc. And my Senegal will spend all day long tearing it apart. Also, making them a "foraging box" out of a medium/large cardboard box that you fill will tons of crumpled-up paper, newspaper, etc., and that you hide their favorite treats throughout for them to dig for and find is also a great activity to keep them busy for hours. I hide nuts, pieces of dried fruit, etc.

Basically, your birds need to not be bored, and they need something to do at all times. And if they want to shred and there is an available option to shred, they're going to shred it. So you need to give them a safe and appropriate alternative that they are allowed to shred, to keep them busy and from not becoming bored.

 

[Scott]

Welcome to the forums! Best method for posting a video is via YouTube. You can become a member free of charge, uplink videos, and use the link to paste to this and other forums. Unfortunately there is no "direct post" feature.

Seems to be nesting and/or playful behavior for sure. I'd be concerned with chewing a linoleum floor, from the POV of ingestion and various harmful substances. Birds can be very stubborn, might have to restrict access for them to understand what is off-limits.