Bored Cockatiel?

[cockatiel92]

I think my cockatiel may be bored. He has 9 toys in his cage at the moment. But i think he may be bored of them. I want to make some toys for him since i have no spare money to buy more toys. I have around 500 pony beads and a lot of shoe laces. Do you have any ideas of what i can make for cockatiel toys. Give me any suggestions and ill see if i have any of those things around the house. Thank you so much. Also pages with how to make toys will also be helpful, iv searched google and havent found anything really that i think my cockatiel will like. once again thank you so muc.

[tielfan]

Cockatiels aren't as toy-driven as some species so the problem might not be boredom. Maybe he just isn't very interested in toys!

[cockatiel92]

ooo alright thanx

[Jannabellsmom]

He might just like to shred some paper. I don't give my tiel glossy or overly inked papers tho. Or some wood, a chopstick, a toothpick, a popscicle stick....

[Addicted to Tequila]

Phonebook. They love the thin type of paper in phonebooks!

For a foot toy (supervision required)... try cotton swabs. The kind with the paper "lollipop" sticks. My guys will do ANYTHING for one! LOL

[lola31]

i made a foraging/shredding toy for pepper out of a wooden kebab stick and cup cake cases. i attached it to the cage with a plastic cable tie and threaded goodies like apple and grape onto the stick followed by a paper case i made it so the fruit was hidden in the cup cake cases and pepper had a ball!
pepper wasn't very interested in toys when i first got her but I'd find ways to thread millet or some other foodstuff to them so they were more attractive to her, maybe you could give that a try.
i also made a foraging toy out of a kitchen paper holder (the cardboard roll when its done) i cut holes in it and the hid goodies wrapped in tissue paper in the holes again i attached it to the cage with a cable tie.
you could also make some toys using the shoelaces, beads and old plastic bottle caps

[cockatiel92]

these are all good ideas ill try them out. whats weird is he sits on the door of the cage but wount come out. i cant take him out by hand he is really afraid of them for some reason but he seems to be liking me now he even calls for me to come back intto the room, but when he sits in front of the door he seems so bored. probly dosent feel like playing is my guess.

[Jannabellsmom]

Ya cockatiels can be pretty mellow. Probably just checking things out. I'm so glad he's bonded to you tho, in time I am sure your relationship will evolve and become more fun than you know what to do with! One of the REALLY good ideas mentioned is to tie millet to a toy, it gives them the idea..... and also, I personally used lots of verbal praise, "good girl, playing with your toys! What a good girl you are." That helped her get the idea it was good to 'do stuff' and she gradually built up her stamina. Now I laugh at her when she spends hours shredding some wood toy, I tell her she's 'doing her work'.

[Oviraptor]

Originally Posted by Jannabellsmom

Ya cockatiels can be pretty mellow. Probably just checking things out. I'm so glad he's bonded to you tho, in time I am sure your relationship will evolve and become more fun than you know what to do with! One of the REALLY good ideas mentioned is to tie millet to a toy, it gives them the idea..... and also, I personally used lots of verbal praise, "good girl, playing with your toys! What a good girl you are." That helped her get the idea it was good to 'do stuff' and she gradually built up her stamina. Now I laugh at her when she spends hours shredding some wood toy, I tell her she's 'doing her work'.

Hmmm, the tie millet to a toy idea is actually a pretty good one. I'll have to try that.

[tielfan]

Tearing stuff up seems to be the cockatiel idea of fun. It's easy to make toys out of thin chewable wood like popsicle sticks or disposable ice cream spoons, which you can get at craft stores. Drill a hole in the sticks and string them together, alternating with beads if you like. Here's a toy I made using ice cream spoons and plastic links:



The birds have a lot of fun chewing these up, and it's really easy to make a new one. The materials: