fun things to do at playtime?

[RachelP]

Hope this isn't too silly a question, but I was wondering what you guys do at playtime with your bird? I almost feel a little awkward with him, like, shouldn't I be doing something more here? :?

I encourage toys, talk, but I could use some ideas from others!

Thanks!

[Crebain]

There are no silly questions.

Over time you'll discover routines that amuse the 2 of you. Tug-of-war and fetch are always popular.

[smallonion]

Rachel, I asked almost the exact same question a few months ago. I wanted to interact wtih my Humphrey a bit more. I will search for the thread and tell you where it is.

One thing that a lot of people suggested was playing ball with your bird. Corbett loves to do this with my mom. My mom now only has to say, "get your ball!" And Corbett runs and gets it (it's a soft, stuffed animal type ball) and throws it with his beak towards my mom. Then she rolls it to him, and he throws it back. It's very sweet.

Another thing is just allowing your bird to be with you when you are doing various things around the house. Many parrots seem to like 'helping' with the laundry. In fact I may have a video of macaws doing just that. Also, when you're chopping vegetables, he can sit and taste them. When you're watching tv, he can sit with you for some preening time.

I'll get back to you with the thread and video

Best,
Michele and Humphrey

[Chariclo]

Hi RachelP! I think it's a great question! I also would like some pointers. Sometimes my macaw just wants to cuddle, and I have a hard time encouraging her to play with me. I think it's important to help them build confidence. I'm sure we'll get some great insight on the subject.

[smallonion]

Damn, I can't find that thread! Can anyone help me? I started it and I think I called it "parrot interaction" or similiar. Many people wrote with some good ideas.

One thing I've heard before is that training your bird to do some easy tricks is a good way to spend time together. This is for two reasons - first, the bird is working his brain and learning - very good for clever parrots and avoiding boredom and seond - the fun of owing a bird who can entertain you and your friends only adds to the relationship. Some easy tricks I've heard are teaching the bird to wave, etc. A member here named Tivona has successfullly taught her bird to wave and a few other tricks. Unfortunately, I can't speak from experience because my bird is special needs! Also, your bird is new so you might just want to get to know each other first.
Even if your bird can never do any tricks, though, you can still have a loving and fulfilling relationship.

Is your bird tame yet? Can you touch and pet him? Does he step up? If not, one of the best things I have been told about befriending nervous birds is the 'eye game'. Basically, a predator or aggressor would stare your parrot in the eyes. A friend wouldn't. You want your parrot to know you are a friend. So, you can look your parrot right in the eyes, and when you have his attention, look away dramatically or close your eyes. He should 'blink back' at you. Humphrey does this and always seems friendlier after a session of doing this together.

Another thing to do when you are paying attention to your bird - if he is tame, you can help him preen. If he was in a bonded pair, his 'wife' or 'husband' would preen the back of his neck for him - the place he can't reach. You can do this and increase your bond with your bird. Just stroke and pet the back of his neck and head. If you feel any 'pin feathers' (hard pointy bits) you can *gently* roll them between your fingers to help them come away. However, if the bird jerks away of seems uncomfortable at all, then the pin feathers are still too tender to touch. Try again in a few days.

Here are some ideas for tame parrots from "Parrot Training" by Bonnie Munro Doane"

* Dance with your parrot -

* Let your bird help with housework ( the author gave her bird a small broom and he liked to pretend he was helping her sweep)

* Building blocks - Sti on the floor with your bird and build a tower. THen watch the bird knock it down. (be careful it's not so high it hits the bird on the head)

* Birdie aerobics - Encourage your bird to exercise his wings. When he is perched on your arm, move your arm up and then down, then in a large circle. Don't move so quickly as to alarm the bird or make him lose his balance

* Peek a boo - lots of birds enjoy this. My family parrot Corbett loves playing this with my mom. She plays with Corbett on the bed. She puts the cover over his head, says, "Where's Corbett?!!|" excitedly, then quickly reveals him .Once again, get to know your bird and be sure you don't frighten him. The author's macaw loved the game so much he started playing it himself, covering his eye with his foot.

* Reverse Fetch (in other words - YOU fetch, not the bird!) From the book mentioned above:
"A variation on playing ball is letting yoru parrot toss a toy onto the floor, from whence you, the lucky owner, get to retrieve it and handit back. I have never yet met a parrot that didn't play this game with enthusiasm. Perhaps it gives them a sense of power to see their owners groveling about the floor at the parrot's whim!"

* Call back - My mom and Corbett love to play this game. Either my mom or Corbett starts it (or me, when I am visiting). Corbett yells or whistles, and my mom, in another room, whistles back (or vice versa). Usually they do this with whistling. Mu mom imitates the whistle Corbett just did. Then Corbett or my mom will change the whistle, and the other participant will imitate it. One thing to be careful about with this game is to be sure that you are not encouraging your parrot to scream. You have to know your own bird. Humphrrey seems very reassured by this. When I leave the room, he loses his mind. I yell back, "it's ok sweetheart, I'm right here!' and he calms down. With Humphrey, it's reassurance, but with Corbett, it is an excellent fun game that can go on all day!

Hope that gets you thinking.
Let me know if you come up with any ideas

Michele and Humphrey

[LMPego]

I found the original thread:

http://www.birdboard.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=1121

Hope some of these suggestions help.

I thought of another game I play with Cory that I don't think I mentioned before (use your judgement). She loves to hold and play with chopsticks. Sometimes I grab another chopstick and we play swordfighting. I have a picture of "Kendo birdie" I'll post.
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[TooLover]

Playing ball is a great game; I have found the best balls to play with are the wiffle balls; they have the holes in them that allow the bird to grab a hold and toss it. Elwoodblue loves to chase his down; he has a bigger version of the wiffle that can be found at the dollar store. All of my birds enjoying chasing toes...........unfortunately they do bite if they catch you!

[The Outlaw]

If you really want to have fun with your birds, simply buy a plastic wading pool (if you have big birds) and fill it up with all kinds of fun junk. I routinely add popcorn, small toys, peanuts, cleaned and rinsed plastic bottles with things inside that rattle and whatever else you have handy. Simply add a few birds and let the fun begin!

In the winter its really funny because the static electricity makes the popcorn stick to their feathers! Oh, by the way, don't use butter or oil. Just take 2 brown paper lunch bags and add about a half cup of plain old popcorn. Microwave for whatever length of time you microwave suggests (I think mine says 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Since I have a fairly large pool, I usually pop up about 4 bags.

THE OUTLAW

[LMPego]

I never knew you could make microwave popcorn with regular popcorn! I'm going to have to try that...

Cory loves plastic water bottles that I fill with beads and pasta - she'll pull the entire label off and then try to get what's inside.

[RachelP]

Wow, thanks everyone. I think I am going to have to print this thread out for myself! Is there a forum "library" here somewhere?

On my hermit crabs board, if there is a very informative thread it is placed in the library where other members can refer to it - I'm guessing that this would be a good one for that, particularly smallonion's post!

I love good message boards :)