Some Birds Are Easier Than Others



PJ Gettin Down and Dirty

 PJ is visiting!  She is a hyperactive goffins who is difficult to keep challenged as her attention span is usually one minute at the most.  That sentence, if said fast, exemplifies PJ's personality.

Unfortunately, when she gets bored, she pulls out her feathers.  After watching her "get comfortable" in a stainless steel cup, I realized she is quite hormonal this week and interested in "feeling good".        She can see her image in the shiny cup and then she can position herself for pleasure...need I say more?

This is not a good state of mind to be in if you're an anxious goffins.  I diverted her attentions to another cage, sans stainless steel cups, and inserted some treats inside a pink foraging wheel.   


PJ Enjoying A Better Pastime

 Imagine my surprise when she spent over 20 minutes working on excavating the almond from that toy! This toy is a simple Jungle Talk toy!  Cheap and yet challenging.  It really helps to have oodles of foraging toys and just keep them in a bin handy to fill and hang each day for something different.  You could even pre-fill them if the treats won't spoil.  Almonds in the shell are great because they become a new challenge when they are finally retrieved from the toy.  http://www.everythingbirdie.com/jutamamutrdi.html

Having an intelligent active and eager parrot is not for everyone.  A bird such as this takes lots of time, work, patience, and creative ideas. 

In return, you get an engaging, interactive, talkative, entertaining, little companion.  But with that comes an enormous amount of guilt.  It's nearly impossible to create an environment that keeps these guys stimulated and busy all day long, year after year. Definitely possible, just not easy!