How to Choose Toys for a Quaker Parrot

Like other parrot species, quaker parrots are highly intelligent birds that need constant mental stimulation. One way to provide this is by giving your quaker parrot a wide variety of appropriate toys. Toys that allow a bird to act on its natural instincts will help it to feel content and prevent boredom and bad habits like screaming and plucking. With a few simple steps you can make sure that your quaker parrot has the best toys.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Give your quaker parrot toys that appeal to each of its natural instincts. In the wild, quaker parrots search for food, build nests, and groom flockmates. In captivity, you need to provide toys that simulate these activities. The main needs your quaker must fulfill include chewing, shredding and preening. Wood is good for chewing, paper or straw chinese finger traps are good for shredding, and a feather toy gives a solo bird a fake flockmate to preen.

2. Choose a wide variety of toys. Quaker parrots can be very fussy and may prefer one type of toy over another even if they are very similar. If your bird doesn't like wood toys with chewable disks, try one made up of squares. If it doesn't like straw chew toys, try ones that are made from paper. Experiment until you figure out your quaker parrot's preferences.

3. Rotate your quaker parrot's toys. Like any other intelligent creature, a quaker parrot can get bored. Keep a supply of toys on hand, and when your quaker parrot seems to lose interest in a particular item, swap it out for something else. By continually rotating your quaker parrot's toys, you'll maintain its interest.

4. Don't limit your quaker parrot to bird toys from a pet store. Quaker parrots love common objects like a roll of adding machine paper, drinking straws or plastic drink cup lids. Just be sure the object has no sharp edges, small holes that could catch a toe, leg or neck, or toxic coloring.

5. Give your quaker parrot toys that provide a reward for playing. Some quaker parrots are reluctant to play with toys. In the wild, their efforts would reward them with food. If you offer forage toys, this simulates that natural interaction. You can purchase forage toys like puzzle balls, or you can simply wrap a treat in a ball of newspaper that requires the bird to rip it open to get to the goody.

Tips & Warnings

• Give your quaker parrot time to get used to new toys. Quaker parrots are creatures of habit and can be disturbed by abrupt changes to their environment. When you purchase a new toy, hang it outside your quaker parrot's cage for a few days so the bird can get used to it. Move it inside once your quaker seems to be used it.
• Before giving your quaker parrot a toy, check it over thoroughly to make sure that there's no way your bird could catch a toe or leg in the toy, entrap its head, or otherwise injure itself. Just because you bought the toy at a pet store doesn't automatically mean that it's safe. Some toys are meant for larger or smaller birds, so these could pose a hazard to a quaker.

Resources

• Forum with a Wealth of Information About Quaker Parrots.