Update from down under.. with questions

[momo]

Hey all,

Been a while since I've been around properly. Time seems to fly so much of late. Can't find my feet any more!

Elmo and Spotty have been doing well. Elmo went into nest mode and laid 3 eggs. She decided to be the single parent and incubated the eggs herself while driving her mummy insane with worry. She was only eating at night because she was so into her eggs.... :x After she abandoned the nest, I took her to the vets. We got the all clear considering she has just been incubating on her own. Now we have an action plan in a sense, to ensure she doesn't go into nesting mode again. Basically trying to avoid any nesting material. Now the second issue is keeping her entertained with things that couldn't possibly be viewed as nesting material.. (near impossible with a lovie ;).. )

Does anyone have any tips/tricks/ideas about things to keep Elmo amused that won't include anything she can tuck? Chewing was her favouritest thing to do! Ive been going through bird stores here, but it seems they have reduced their bird toy collection. I'm going to try to do some training with her, but Elmo is.. Elmo. Trying to keep her enticed is beyond hard! If she wants to do something else, she will do it. Doesn't matter what I say or what I have.. :rofl:

I'm also hiding the toys she used to do the swishy dance as well. This then leaves me with absolutely nothing with her current toy collection! Plastic bottle caps that she likes to throw around. hahaha. I feel so out of touch bird wise, because she went into incubation for a month, I only saw her at nights for about 3 minutes when she was eating and drinking.

Spotty on the other hand has really come out of his shell, and if I dare say it, could possibly be infatuated with Elmo. Because every time he has out of cage time, he runs in the direction where Elmo is. And now that Elmo is flying around again, if Elmo flies out of the room, Spotty goes insane looking & calling for Elmo. The sad part is, Elmo couldn't give two feathers about Spots. Elmo loves her humans.

Spotty takes really well to any sort of veggies that I put in there. If its green and attached to a peg, he will run for it. I'm hoping some of this rubs off on Elmo (keep dreamin' I know). One day, I put some veggies in, and he must have been feeling really confident and in an adventurous mood because he demolished it. Veggies seem to be to him, what millet is to a normal bird. :rofl:

[linda040899]

Good to see you here, momo!

If Elmo likes bottle caps, they are good play toys that can possibly be shredded, at least I don't think they can..... :rotfl How about a bowl full of small things like larger beads that can't be swallowed, rings that can be carried around or how about acrylic toys? None are shreddable, unless I'm seriously underestimating the power of an Elmo beak! A couple of my lovies adore playing with plastic scoops. One loves to wear a scoop on her head and talk underneath it. It's hysterical to watch!

[momo]

Mm.. maybe I do need to think outside the box. Maybe a visit to the craft store is in order. Get a bunch of beads and that style of things that she can play with. Carry around. Chew, but cannot tuck. If she can pick it up with her beak and throw it. She's as happy as a pig in mud.

I've gotten really small acrylic toys before, and yes her beak got through them! But they were this soft acrylic. She has a beak of steel. I swear if she puts her mind do it, she could get through nearly anything. She's really good at finding the weak spot in toys and then destroying it.

[FuzzyAga]

Nothing more determined than a nesting hen!

Your Elmo did it the hard way, but she handled it.

Try this: http://www.birdyboredombusters.com/smalltoys.html

I was surfing and came across this company, which is Canadian, but they ship all over. I haven't bought from them--stuff looks good, though.

I was looking for bird boing and a round swing called an Orbiter for Elmo, which was on DrsFosterSmith web site, but maybe they've stopped carrying them because I don't see them.

Gotta go, Juanita's hogging the keyboard! Ouch!

[dieflying]

i'm glad you asked that question because i'm having the same issue. kath really misses her little pinata shredder. can you give her leather squares? kath likes to chew those but doesn't tuck any of the bits she gets off. she just chucks them in the water bowl.

she really likes wooden things that she can get her beak around, too. she likes to throw them out of the cage and wait for me to pick them up so she can throw them again. maybe something like that from the craft store? i'm liking your idea with the beads. i think i need to get to a craft store, too!

[linda040899]

Yes, you can give birds pieces of leather, as long as it's either untanned or tanned with vegetable oil. Try stringing some beads on leather strings and see how that goes over. :)

[Jally]

I'm having the same issues with my little girl. She found a spot in the kitchen where she insists on taking off the wallpaper. She came to us with a small cat ball that she likes to toss around in her cage. She loves a toy I made where I strung a bunch of beads then tied the bunch together and hung it in her cage. She likes to get in the middle of it and shake them.

Bells are another favorite. Tiny maraca's are a hit, too but a powerful beak can break them in to 2 and choke on the bead inside.

Remember to change around her cage every week or so.

[jk1944]

I'm in the same situation re toys that don't encourage nesting behaviour. One of the things Ethel likes is a small, unwaxed paper cup. Now a cup might be too fragile for some lovies' beaks!

[momo]

It's comforting to know I'm not the only one in this position! hahaha

Thanks for the link fuzzy; but with Australian customs, they are more paranoid about bringing in natural goods, such as seagrass than illegal drugs! We have VERY strict customs and I know if i order anything it will get confiscated.


So for my shopping list on the weekend I have.

1. assorted size beads
2. straws
3. plastic/acrylic hoops.
4. leather (I've been searching for this before but came up with nothing...)
5. pine cones
6. bells.


Anything that I'm missing, probably heaps... but its 10 to 9 in the morning here and my brain is dead hahaha.

[FuzzyAga]

You're welcome!

I can understand that you don't want custom to confiscate the toys, there goes your hard-earned money.

Well, I went back and ordered the Namesake toy, which will say, "Petey," and "Juanita." I think it will be cute to hang in their cages--personalize it a bit. If they play with it, that's a bonus. I also ordered the Star toy.

Good luck making your toys. I also read on another forum that Fisher Price toys for babies make excellent toys for parrots. Buy only the toys that have the color baked into the plastic, so if you have second-hand stores, it may be worth a trip to pick up some used toys. If you don't know Fisher Price...:)

[Al and Roxy]

My hen Roxy laid one egg and ended up with a prolapsed cloacia . I have since ,sadly , had to remove all toys from her cage.
I like pine cones as I can gather and dry them myself after gathering them on a backwoods walk. I also get leather squares with holes in them and hang em with beads and and such.
I do give her tons of food "toys": I halve a hot pepper so the seeds are visible and hang it with a tiny bit of string around the split stem ( no hanging string cause she would tuck it or get caught up in it!), Half a bell pepper and because the cavity is so big I can fill it with millet or nutriberries, pasta can be strung on leather and tied(like beads), I also get her to forage for all her food : place all food on a tray and I cover with a variety of food that she is not familiar with- even covering with greens so she must seek it out. I also hang tons of thing from her cage like broccoli ,carrots , snap peas , beans and lettuce. She cannot possibly eat it all but she does have a colourful cage and I hardly notice the lack of toys! It was a lot of work for me at first but now I see how much it has improved her nestiness and I am used to it,I can do it with one eye open when I wake up. In fact it takes me as long as my coffee takes to brew! I The vet put it to me this way - the more time she spends looking for food , the less time she has to nest.
The vet suggested frequent misting- not as punishment but to encourage preening , again to take time away from nesting.
Love those hens! Roxy is very keen on seeking out her stuff, nibbling on this and that , checking it all out .
Good luck! I love to hear of more ideas so keep em coming!

[Chickobee]

I bought some acrylic butterflies that have holes drilled in them that I use over and over again as toy bases. I also bought cotton ropes and leather strips and use both of them to tie on beads, mini pacifiers, acrylic rings, bells, and pieces of wood. The cotton rope pieces are made for bird toys and are something the birds can chew through. Wiffle balls also make great inexpensive toy bases. (I made a mistake when I ordered 12 of these and got 12 dozen!)

The birds enjoy destroying their toys so I collect some parts in the bottoms of the cages every day.

Whenever I put in a new toy they check it out immediately. There is no fear or shyness at our house!

They also enjoy a dish of beads when they are out of the cages. They they will chase each other around trying to take them away. It's sort of like birdie football or rugby. :)

It's not fun to step on them with bare feet though... :omg: