chewing paper

[emmab]

when my two (very untame!) lovies are in their cage they are scared stiff of new things - I recently bought them a swing, which is now the biggest evilest thing on God's earth ( :roll: ) yet.....

when they come out the cage they chew up magazines (is it dangerous for them to eat them? :( ), swing from various points they find and have a WHALE of a time! :happy:

now I tried tying bits of paper in their cage and they completley ignored it - typical!

any advice to help them to be more playful? :confused:

[butterfly1061]

I wouldn't let them chew on the magazine paper if you can help it. It has a finish that is not good for lovies. I keep a ream of white computer paper for my lovebirds to chew when ever they like.

One thing I do it take a square of Avi-Cake and put it in a small square of paper and connect it through the bars of the cage. It's called foraging and they have to work for their treat. I also let my lovebirds play with heavy-duty plastic cat bells. I don't use the thin plastic ones. Each bird cage has one on the bottom of the cage and they love them. My Olivia just beats hers up - the evil little hen :lol :2cents:

[wilkiecoco]

jackie - how do you connect the paper to the bars of the cage? i love the idea of doing this for a foraging toy! :)

[butterfly1061]

I'll take a picture for y'all & try to post it tonight. It's hard to explain how I get it to stay. :)

[butterfly1061]

Here's a link to the pictures. I use a square of computer paper. An 8x11 sheet makes four pieces. I put the treat in the middle twist the paper in the back and then slightly untwist so I can weave the paper through the bars. Usually I don't put this in the cage unless they are out of the cage. All my lovies get so excited when they know I'm putting this in their cage. I also usually put the paper treat somehwere in the cage for them to find (not so obvious like in the pictures). http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2092370269

[emmab]

I put a treat in one of their toys and they still haven't worked it out! silly birdies! LOL

[wilkiecoco]

jackie - just saw your pm today. thanks for posting the pics - it is real clear how you do it now. i'm gonna try tomorrow!!!

[shortncrazy2]

I like to shred newspaper into strips and have part of it hang in the cage. The lovebirds love it. Just don't use the pages with tons of color and advertisments.

[wilkiecoco]

It worked!!!!!!! I put in a nutriberry, his favourite kind, spicy red pepper, and after a little arguing with the paper, (him, not me) he chewed until he got to his treat. YEAH!!! He has never shown interest in any of the paper I have threaded through his cage bars, so this was a great idea. Nothing like food to get Kiwi's interest. Thanks again Jackie! :)

[butterfly1061]

:happy: I'm so glad you tried it! It's amazing what sparks their interest, huh? Everytime I put this in Daisy's cage, he sqeals with excitement when he finds it. :D