Playing?

[Mandolin]

I am a firsttime lovebird mommy and I have a young lovebird, Kameko. I guess it is like having a new baby, it is a case of reading books and trial and error. But i do have a question that i haven't found an answer to. How do i play with Kameko and know she is enjoying it? When she is out she hops all over me and likes kissy games but she gets bored and i don't know how to actually play with her other than giving her her favorite toys (paperclips and hair ties). But then she is playing with those and not with me. She has problems with biting so i am trying to establish and maintain a strong bond through playing. Any suggestions?:confused:

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Well, playing with my birds pretty much involves me acting like a complete goofball for their entertainment. I make up and sing little songs to my birds. Milo in particular loves this; he'll stand on my collarbone and stare at my lips while I sing. (Probably because I do it SO badly.) I also play peekaboo with them. Sometimes I just talk to them in an excited tone and they go crazy over it.

As far as playing with them using toys, I haven't had much luck with that. They play with their toys when they're in their cage. They play on their big playgym (that would be me) when they're out of their cage.

I hope this helps a little!

[kimsbirds]

Playtime in our house is simply Mommy "playing" with birdie toys ie: ringing bells, tapping sticks, etc, and birdie just gets sooo dannngggg curious...VOILA....they're suddenly playing too !!

[Mandolin]

Thanks so much for the advice. My Kameko loves it when i talk and sing with her too. I play music for her and she goes nuts singing along and running back and forth. I am glad i am not doing anything wrong and that i am not missing something huge regarding playing with a lovebird. By the way both of your guys' lovebird's are adorable. Thanks so much.

[Janie]

:lol, Kim's lovebird is a green cheek conure....a cute one, for sure! :D

I think that talking and singing and just hanging out with them is what they consider play. Mine do love to play with their toys but only when they're in their cage or on a play gym. They're favorite game with me is climbing all over momma!

[Z28Taxman]

Ditto loves it when I talk to him, or sing songs for him. I change all the lyrics to Ditto or Dittobird or some combination and he goes nuts and does his little head bobbing dance (he bobs his head and shakes it around). Sometimes he even walks like a pigeon, that kind of goofy strut they do while they extend their neck foreward and back. :rofl:

I also make a climbing gym with my hands and he has a blast climbing and hanging upside down from my fingers.

We also play fetch with some little cat toys (plastic balls with bells in them). Well Ok, he throws it, I fetch. :rofl:

He also loves to stand on my shoulder and sing and dance along with the radio.

Of course me acting like an idiot and chirping is always a hit too.

There are lots of ways to have fun with lovies. :cool:

[butterfly1061]

I guess you could call me a "playstation for lovies" :lol Yep, playtime consists of all lovies just being on me and doing what lovies do best. When I sing, Molly and Daisy go nuts. Piper just hasn't caught on to what mommy is doing. They will stand in front of my mouth and watch - "I know where that noise is coming from". Molly's the more intelligent of the three and I get more out of him than the other two combined. They are all too much fun. I bet if my non-birdie friends spent a day with me and the babies, they'd have me locked up for sure :whistle:

[Mandolin]

lol... Sorry for calling Kim's bird a lovebird. After i posted and looked again i realized my mistake... oops :lol . My bird seems to like all the same things your birds like. Do any of your birds play in the shower with you? That seems to be one of Kameko's favorite places to play. She sits on the little face cloth holder. sings away, and calls me a pretty bird hundreds of times. But i think her favorite toy is my boyfriends feet. She goes to great lengths to find his socks to chew on. It makes him laugh, so she thinks it is great and scrambles under the covers to find them when he tries to hide them from her. It is hilarious to watch.:rofl:

[Mummieeva]

:eek: your lovebird talks? Mine do not. They can chirp like budgies though. Mine like to either play" prean moms hair" or "torment the budgies". The last game they play by sitting on budgies cage and chirping.



Steph

[Mandolin]

LoL... Yeah my loviebird has been talking for a few months now. One night when she was in her cage singing herself to sleep she just started saying pretty bird. I said it back to her and she was thrilled. That was all i heard for a few weeks. Then a little while later she started mimicing the "Pretty Girl" whistle (thats what we call it). Right now she is working on her name. She has said it a few times but it is a bit harder. It is funny, she says pretty bird whenever she is in trouble too because she knows it makes us laugh and we forget what she did. She's a smart little cookie.:whistle:

[Janie]

Well, I am pea green with envy! :D I would love to have a talking birdie! I know that some lovies do, usually the hens, so with three males, I doubt I'll have any talkers.

My older lovie loves to sit on his perch on the bathroom counter while I take a shower. We call back and forth and some of the calls he comes up with are hysterical. I never hear them any other time but then. Now, if I attempted to take him into the shower with me, he would freak! He's not too keen on a bath! :D

[Mandolin]

I don't know what it is about the sound of the shower but it seems that lots of birds just start freaking out at the sound of the water. I had two budgies before my lovie and everytime the shower was running they would start singing like crazy. Kameko is such a goof, everytime i even run the tap she thinks i am having a shower without her and i never hear the end of it. I don't understand how some people can say that birds don't have personalities of their own.:D
I didn't know that it was the hens that normally talked. I heard the males talked more often so i thought it was pretty crazy to have a hen that learned to speak. She is always good for a laugh with the sounds she mimics.:rofl:

[Janie]

I'm not sure about other species but in lovebirds, it's the hens that tend to be the talkers if there is any talking at all. I am not saying that a cock has never talked but that it's more common in the hens.

I found an old video clip that I'd saved to a folder and it was a lovie who could say several different phrases. I'm sure that it originated on this board cause this is the only place I visit for pet bird info. Anyway, it was amazing to replay it after forgetting that I had it. Heck, I saw a talking dog on Montel Williams today! Never had one of those either! :D

[butterfly1061]

I kept the video of "Pika" the talking Lovebird. She looks just like Molly and I play it every once in a while. Molly goes nuts trying to find the lovie in the speakers. Here's the site (click on movie)

http://lovebirdproject.com/talk.html

[Janie]

That's it, Jackie! Where did it come from? It's the same one that I saved and yes, it does look like Bela and Molly! :D Pretty YELLER bird!

[butterfly1061]

Someone posted it on the old board and I saved it. I just thought it was too neat. Plus it helps me dream of Molly talking one day :D

[Mandolin]

LOL... That sounds a lot like Kameko :whistle: . I am trying to catch her on my digital camera's video recorder. Once i put her on it of course she does have anything to say... she is too preoccupied with the string on the camera. I'll keep trying for you. If i catch a good moment I may need help posting seeing as i have no idea how >o . She gets pretty funny once she gets going.