Play with a Green Cheek?

[ldallas04]

I don't know if this subjects been touched on before but I did a search and nothing immediate came up on the forums

If you've read mine and Mockmaw's introductions, then you know we're the proud new owners of a green cheek conure. His name is Max. Max is very sweet, and we know he loves to play. The problem we're having as new bird owners is that we don't know how to play with him.. He seems less than interested in rolling a ball with a bell around. He likes to shred his parrot piñata, but that's a singular task, I'm pretty sure. Any suggestions on what we can do to entertain him while he's with us?

Thanks!

Lindsay & Max

[Roger P]

My Maroon Bellied, Merlin, likes to climb a length of rope I found in our camping supplies, he LOVES playing with anythings with buttons on it, like any remote control we have in the house. I also have my clicker on an elastic wrist band, and Merlin will spar with the clicker if I hang it from my wrist. But by far the thing he likes best is to train tricks. When he comes out on to his perch he just starts running through the list of tricks he knows, hoping I will give him a treat!

It kills me not to treat him every time (he's so cute), but I am only treating him when I ask for the trick. I get around this by asking for a different trick when he offers one (when he is nodding I will ask him to turn around instead, so he still gets a treat). Sorry, a bit off topic, but training can often be your best interaction with your bird.

[ldallas04]

Sorry, a bit off topic, but training can often be your best interaction with your bird.

Oh not at all! Actually I have a parrot training book I've been meaning to look more at. I think it's an excellent idea. Thank you Any books/media you'd recommend?

[Roger P]

Michael's blog has some excellent information on Taming and training, and the videos for the tricks are also very good. Anything from Barbara Heidenreich is also very good, her videos are excellent.

I found the "turn around" to be a good starting trick, as you just need to get them to follow the food at first. Or watch Max for something he does regularly that you find entertaining, give it a name, and every time he does it, say the name of the "trick" and give him a treat. Be consistent and soon Max will begin doing the "trick" when you say the name. That is how I got Merlin doing the "bat" and "wings" tricks. Sometimes the best tricks are the ones they already do.

[ms_tayb]

Where do we find Michael's blog and Barbara Hiedenreich???

[ldallas04]

Where do we find Michael's blog and Barbara Hiedenreich???

Michael's blog appears at the top of the navigation bar on any forum page. Just click the link that says 'Parrot Training Blog'

[Jenny]

& here's a link for B. Hiedenreich

http://www.goodbirdinc.com/

[ms_tayb]

ok thank you so much. I need to familiriaze myself with the parrot pet lingo...What is foraging and a perch? I keep reading people talk about thier birds plucking, my freddie was pulling at his wings like trying to pull them out (atleast that's how best I can explain it), is that plucking?

[captwest]

no that;s preening , cleaning and alinging his feathers,plucking is removing the feathers as in a bird with bare spots , a sign of a stressed out bird or unheathy bird.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Foraging is the act of seeking out and obtaining food. We simulate that for our pets by hiding food in boxes or special puzzle toys and/or making it somewhat difficult to get at, so the bird needs to do some work to get the meal or treat. Can be as simple as spreaading it out around the cage or playstand or hanging large chunks of fruit on a skewer type thing rather than cutting it up in bite size pieces, or as complicated as toy that needs to have several steps carried out before the food is released.

A perch is really any surface the bird can sit or stand on. Usually wooden dowels or branches, but many other substances are available. Ideally, your bird will eventually have many perches in his cage, a gym or playstand of some type with multiple places to hang out and a training perch that's relatively simple and isolated.

Plucking is when a bird actually pulls his feathers out and leaves himself with big bare patches of skin, most often, I think, on the chest. Not pretty. Normal birds preen quite a lot, and they may pull at their feathers while doing that, but they are getting them all properly lined up and, in most cases, oiled. A normal bird will also molt -- the feathers periodically fall out and are replaced by new ones. This is supposed to happen once or twice a year, but some birds do it almost continuously in captivity. A molting bird may look somewhat moth-eaten, but shouldn't have big bare patches. Your bird is probably perfectly fine!