CJ ([info]gnawingtreebark) wrote in [info]budgerigars,
@ 2004-12-02 17:06:00
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=)
I've had Soleil and Luna for a little while now(a month?), and they're getting much tamer. Soleil, in particular. He'll run over from half-way across the room, to jump up on my fingers. Luna is much more reserved, but she's more talkative. She makes clicking sounds that sound suspiciously like tapping keys, too. =X She is around me when I'm on the computer a lot, so it'd make sense if that's the source of the sounds. Soleil never makes them.

In the taming process, what's the next step after getting them used to perching on your fingers, and being around you, and such? =) They still prefer being in the cage over being on my hand, but they don't seem nervous about it.

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Play Time!!!
[info]sirdanabstinenc
2004-12-03 03:59 am UTC (link)
I would suggest playing with them. You could spend money making or buying a play gym, or you could do something as simple as sprinkling some seed on a clean floor (this creates a foraging environment). Depending on your household, you could try a game of hide-and-seek: anything to keep them entertained.

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Re: Play Time!!!
[info]gnawingtreebark
2004-12-03 04:42 am UTC (link)
Thank you for your reply. =)

I think I might try putting seeds on the floor in my room, but maybe not the hide-and-seek: I think I'd be too nervous about it getting into trouble while I can't see it.

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[info]bigmommaj
2004-12-03 04:32 am UTC (link)
yea play! use your finger to like imitate bobbing up and down, use two fingernails to make clicky sounds, my bird loves to play with fingers, his eyes get all crazy looking and he'll run back and forth bobbing his head

or for a more intimate time, what i did was gently scratched my fingernail up and down his beak and soon he loved getting his head scratched, it's weird cuz their feathers aren't so thick near their necks.. it's like their necks feel really small

also those little "cat toy" balls that are plastic with the ringybell thingie in them, if u throw one of the floor and it likes to play with it it's fun to watch a bird run around throwing the ball around... for quite i while i thought i could teach my bird to fetch it back to me but didnt work

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[info]gnawingtreebark
2004-12-03 04:42 am UTC (link)
=) Thank you.

I'll try some of those.

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[info]amarceluk
2004-12-03 04:20 pm UTC (link)
Ditto on the playing and scratching. When they molt and their pinfeathers are growing in, their heads get itchy and they love to have their chins and necks scratched. They're not always in the mood for it, but when they figure out that you're a good grooming partner, they'll lean towards you and ruffle their neck feathers when they want to be scratched. They might try to return the favor by preening your hair or clothing; to my husband's dismay, Peri's idea of good human grooming is trying to pluck the hair on the back of his hands X-)

They love anything shiny or colorful - when there aren't any official bird toys around, Peri tries to play with jewelry, zippers, coins, paper clips, or anything else she can find. I give her marbles, vending-machine rubber bouncing balls, and small rolling cat toys; she pushes them around with her beak, sometimes tries to perch on them (and then falls off, and then tries again), and, whenever possible, knocks them off the table to the floor. Her favorite game is Bird Fetch: she drops something onto the floor, looks over the edge of the table, I pick it up, and she drops it again...repeat, ad infinitum :-) To spare my back, I tied a long piece of natural-fiber twine to a ring she likes to play with, so after she drops it, I can just pull the cord to bring it back up.

They love to climb and swing on things; don't leave any dangling strings in their cage - they can get tangled in them - but hanging some cords with toys on them (or even big knots tied in them) outside the cage for supervised play is good. When I get tired of Bird Fetch, I tie the string with the ring on it to a perch outside the cage, so it swings around like a pendulum that she seems to find just as fascinating. She pecks it, it swings away, then it comes back - how does that happen? I'll try it again! Wow, it came back again! (Repeat :-D )

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[info]gnawingtreebark
2004-12-03 06:41 pm UTC (link)
Ah. Soleil doesn't like being touched anywhere on the head or back at this time, so I should probably work on that. =) Luna allows it, but just barely. They've tried to 'groom' my boyfriend like that, too. XD He doesn't really let them climb on his arms anymore.

Ah. So a lot of things can work as toy substitutes? How can you make sure that things lying around the house are safe for them, though? Is there any sort of method for it? I'd hate to give them something to play with, only to find them... choking on it, or something.

There was this swing thing suspended by a chain at the pet store that seemed like it would safe for them. I would've bought it, but that would've meant not having money for supper. =X I might try something rope related, then, for outside play. =) I was aware that putting rope things in the cage was dangerous, so I didn't even consider giving them anything like that.

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[info]amarceluk
2004-12-03 10:30 pm UTC (link)
My rule of thumb is that if it's safe for young children, it's okay for birds - durable, nontoxic, no sharp edges or easily-removable parts. (A lot of Peri's toys are from novelty shops or the baby-supplies aisle of the drug store.) They'll chew on anything they can, so I don't give her anything softer than her beak if I don't want her to eat it. Their beaks are about the same hardness as a human fingernail, so if you can make a dent in something with your nail, they'll be able to chew on it. But plenty of things that aren't actually *edible* are still okay for them to chew on: dried pasta, natural-fiber rope or twine, clean twigs, Popsicle sticks, nutshells (or nuts in the shell - hazelnuts/filberts are a great size for budgies to roll around the floor). A few different shapes and sizes of dried pasta strung on a piece of twine is one of the easiest, best, and cheapest toys. Also, Peri's fascinated by her own feathers: whenever she sheds one, she wants to chew on it and play with it and drop it off the table (of course!). I save some of the big feathers when she molts and keep them with the rest of her toys. (There's a whole shoebox full of bird toys, purchased or improvised, on the floor by her cage; I rotate them so she doesn't always have exactly the same things and get tired of them.)

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[info]gnawingtreebark
2004-12-03 10:49 pm UTC (link)
Thank you. =) I'll keep those pieces of advice in mind, when I choose toys for them.

My birds don't seem as interested in their shed feathers. I am holding on to them, though. My friends and family think the larger feathers are neat.

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[info]amarceluk
2004-12-04 05:08 am UTC (link)
I've kept all of the long tailfeathers, out of her chewing range - I've heard of people making jewelry out of them, and I can imagine them as very, very tiny quill pens :-)

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