Do Quakers Play with Foot Toys?

[Chico's Mom]

...or is that only something that the larger birds do?

And if so, any suggestions to get him tempted to play at the bottom of his cage?

I'm gone all day, so if he could play with stuff on the bottom, he'e have more of a variety.

[Greycloud]

That's an absolute yes! Little balls, cardboard rings and tubes, whicker stars, etc....Why is it important to you he play at the bottom of his cage? Quakers really like height. Have you ever seen their nests in the wild? If you want to keep you bird busy teach him how to forage. Provide several different foraging toys with hidden treats and toys inside. That is fun and busy for them.

[slic102]

Well, my quaker won't play with anything on the bottom of his cage...as Greycloud said, they prefer to be up high. Mine is not a huge foot toy fan, but will occasionally play with balls, loves anything cardboard that he can tear up, and loves to dunk his stuffed squeaky toys (the kind for little dogs) and plastic animals into his water bowl and beat them up!

Many quakers are "builders", and love to build elaborate "nests" in their cages if you give them something like coffee stirers, skewers with the sharp points cut off, popcycle sticks, etc. Mine isn't much of a builder, rather a destroyer...lol! He loves tearing up tissue so I give him foraging toys and wrap treats in paper towels and stuff them all in. Makes a huge mess, but he loves it.

[Astrid660]

My quaker never used to build nests (loved the happy hut ), but she loved foot toys. I remember she used to 'beat up' her toys from inside her happy hut.. it was comical to watch.

[Chico's Mom]

This may be a stupid question, but if he doesn't like to go to the floor of the cage, how is he going to get the foot toys and the sticks, etc.? Am I missing something? I've put a couple of things down there, but he hasn't touched them, so that I why I was wondering if they liked foot toys. Maybe I just haven't found the right ones.

[Greycloud]

First of all I noticed his hatch date, so he is still a baby. Leave the toys down there and every week or so move them to a different spot on the cage bottom. Put a little flat bowl filled with a couple treats, such as nuts or nutriberries on the bottom of his cage. Eventually he will begin to investigate.

[Chico's Mom]

Oh, very good idea! Thanks! He finally figured out that you hold a peanut and break the shell open (after I showed him how). I love to watch them hold stuff in their little feet.

[LovelySydney]

OH yea quakers LOVE foot toys. My painted conure LOVES cat balls, LOL its hilarious. I think they partly scare him and partly amuse him.

[Chico's Mom]

Went and bought a few foot toys this morning, and a HUGE bag of peanuts in the bird store. Jasper on my shoulder did investigate the toys, and beaked them a few times, then he went to his stand and I put the toys on the bottom of the cage with a little dish containing 3 peanuts in the shell. He watched me the whole time, so I think he will eventually check them out. Thanks for the good tips!

[SMH]

My quaker Ola loves her foot toys. We have a stainless steel foot toy bucket that hangs up high in the cage. The bucket only cost a few dollars. Usually by the time I get home all the toys are scattered at the bottom of the cage after a day of fun!!! Ola will not go to the bottom to re-visit tossed toys but her cage mate a Meyers parrot goes down all the time searching for lost treasures. Once your young quaker masters using its feet to hold objects such as food items, soon enough your quaker will be playing with foot toys.