African grey doesn't like toys ??

[closer]

Hi i have a 9 year old african grey called monty. He was my dads but he hates my dad and loves me so i have him now and trying to find my dad a female.. anywho.. monty doesnt like toys, his previous owner told us this.. well i tried him with one the other day and hung it on his cage well he wouldnt go in his cage at all, he wouldnt sit anywhere near it and wouldnt go in side his cage. I was just wondering is there anything i could do? i just dont want him to get bored when im out my room and start plucking at himself as he has already done this when he was with his previous owners. If someone has some advice that would be great. Thanks

[liz]

Buy him a toy with a bell and play with it. If you open his cage he might come out to investigate. You can put foraging in his cage. I have used paper lunch bags with a treat in them. Their instinct is to destroy anyway.

If he has never played with toys you will have to play with them to get his interest.

[Avialae]

Toys are really, really overrated. I suppose it is because it is something we relate to so easily. Not to mention most common pets (dogs, cats) have been neonatanised, meaning they continue to the show the same behaviours as babies do for a much longer time, and to a greater extent than they would have done naturally. One of these behaviours are play.

Indeed, parrots can be described as "playful", although play is much more common when it comes to young birds. Of course adult birds play to, but not nearly as much, and how much they do it depend both on genes and learning. They also tend to play differently, and chew a lot more than young birds.

Wild birds do play, but it takes up very little of their time. When awake, about 70% of their time is dedicated to foraging, about 25% to grooming and hygiene, and the other 5 to play. What we're doing in captivity by serving them food in a bowl is skewing this ratio to the point where it becomes unnatural and unsustainable.

To sum it up; play is an important part of an adult parrot's behavioural spectrum, but it is only a small part.

I would start by teaching him how to forage. You don't necessarily have to buy epensive foraging toys; these can be a good addition to the foraging experience, but they're seldom effective enough to use eclusively.
I divide foraging in to qualitative and quantitative foraging. Quantitative foraging is what you want to do on an every day basis; hide food around the cage, bury some pellets/seeds in a tray with wood-chips, cover his foodbowl with paper, use bird kabobs, hide food in toiletpaper, drill holes in perches and hide nuts, etc. I.e: things that doesn't necessarily require lors and lots of brains to solve, but take a lot of time.
In addition to this, some days you can use complicated foraging toys that he has to figure out how to use.

The great thing about foraging is that it often promotes the birds willingness to explore and play with objects. When you have gotten so far that you can serve 50-100% of his food so that he has to work with it, then i'd start teaching him how to play with stuff. Again, start out small. Provide him with natural branches, and uncomplicated toys that aren't that scary. Most greys loove natural leather toys; a leather strip with knots on it is a perfect thing to start with.

Also, make sure he get's a lot of room to fly- and explore in, (i'd get a minimum vage size of 2*2*1m for a grey or two) excersise is something most birds do not get enough of. It releases a lot of serotonin and dopamine, much in the same way that play and foraging does.

hygiene is also important, if he likes it, give him a shower before you leave, set a mister up to a timer or make sure to provide him with bathing opportunities. That way he has to spend some time getting his feathers back into shape.

I would also suggest getting him a buddy if that is possible, easier the younger he is. Parrots really shouldn't be kept alone if it is avoidable and it has a huge impact on their well being.

Hope this all made sense, havn't had my coffee yet so my writing is a bit off.
Good luck with your grey!

[aisell]

Buy him a toy with a bell and play with it. If you open his cage he might come out to investigate. You can put foraging in his cage. I have used paper lunch bags with a treat in them. Their instinct is to destroy anyway.

If he has never played with toys you will have to play with them to get his interest.

I'm agree with you "Their instinct is to destroy anyway." so I buy only wood, plastic and toys with bells. And all are for week only

[macbrush]

Lately, I noticed my grey Spencer doesn't really play toys when he's alone, he mainly does his flock call whistle, talk a bit, and dance in front of the window. However, he destroy toys extremely quickly while I am playing with my dog or on computer games to get my attention, he also play his puzzle type toys when trying to wake me up.

So I guess he doesn't like toys very much, he just use them as tools.

[DustyTheGrey]

My african grey is very cautious of new things and can either take an immediate liking to something or a dislike to it, and sometimes it takes him a while.
from just reading this post it sounds like he is still quite new in your home and maybe needs a bit of time to adjust first.
If I was you I would try smaller toys! most of the toys that are suggested for medium birds such as an african grey are just too large for my grey and I find that he really enjoys the smaller toys.
This can be troublesome because finding small toys, that are not made for budgies, and made from sturdy parts that are better suited for medium size birds is quite difficult.

you can find cute acrylic toys that might be more appropriate.
or buy medium toys and take the parts apart to make smaller toys..

and remember to encourage your bird lightly, without creating a phobia of the toys.

ooh one last trick, attach a toy to your pants or shirt, wear it on you the whole day for him to see, come home and play wiht that toy... eventually his interest will be sparked and he will want it