TEACHING YOUR BIRD TO PLAY

By Margaret T. Wright

Margaret T. Wright, MBA Maggie Wright is a marketing consultant and the creator/publisher of the African Grey magazine, The Grey Play Round Table®. Visit her web site at: http://www.africangreys.com

“What do you mean by play? My bird just sits in his cage, occasionally beaking at a toy. He doesn’t seem to care about his toys. So, I just leave him alone.” Unfortunately, I have heard this general statement from many bird owners. Like all other socialization skills, the art of playing must be taught.

So, how does one teach a bird to play...... by demonstration. The more playful you become around your bird, the more quickly it will learn to play. The following are a few rules to follow while teaching your bird to play:

• HAVE FUN! Be a child. Be light, silly and have lots of fun!

• PLAY FIRST! When introducing a toy, play with it first. Hug it, kiss it and nudge at it with your nose (beak). Throw it up in the air (not very high) and catch it. Hug it again. Giggle. Tell your bird how much fun you’re having! Giggle again.

• BE POSSESSIVE! Once your bird looks curious, let it beak at the toy. But then grab it back! Act possessive of it. Like human nature, our birds always seem to want what they can’t have, such as the popular ink pen or telephone. They always want what we seem to really enjoy playing with. Therefore, the more fun AND possessive you act about a toy, the more attractive it may become. This works wonders, especially with African Greys.

• BE PERSISTENT! The teaching process may take a few days, weeks or months. But never give up. Sit down every day with the toy and act as excited as the day before.

• PHYSICALLY INTRODUCE CAUTIOUSLY! Our birds are generally a pound or so in weight, and a new toy may look like a predator to them. Therefore, toys need to be introduced slowly to the bird and its territory. After you first play with it, place it in an area in the room that is a good distance from your bird’s cage. Then move it closer every few days, after playing with it. If your bird appears a little nervous, move it further away. Once your bird appears totally comfortable with the toy and interested in playing with it, place it in the cage. However, make sure you are in the room to supervise for at least a three hour period. If your bird shows any signs of fear, take it out of the cage again and introduce it slowly.

• DEMONSTRATE! Show your bird what it can do with the toy. Use your nose as your beak and fiddle with the toy as a bird would.

The more you can teach your bird to have fun and play with its toys, the more balanced it will become. The key is to remember that your bird is a prey animal, and it is important to always be observant of its reactions to what you’re doing. Again, if it shows ANY signs of fear, back off.

In the wild, birds are taught by their parents and other older birds who predators are and how to protect themselves. In the home, if they are triggered into an “instinctive fear,” many birds, particularly Greys, misconstrue that their humans are predators and they become phobic or terrified of them. Any extreme teasing can trigger a bird into a phobic reaction to its owner. Therefore, DO NOT tease or chase your bird....let it chase you. Do not even chase after it if it falls to the floor, but wait until it turns to you to be picked up. We must remember that our birds are not dogs and cats, who are predators, and any kind of “rough-housing” activities with them can also trigger them into phobic reactions.

In addition to toys, there are many other wonderful ways to play with our birds. Word games are very popular with parrots that like to talk. I play the “LOOK AT THAT” game with my African Greys, Merlin Tewillager and Sweet Pea. My “girls” will say “Look at that bird!” and I run into the room to look at them. Then I extended the concept to “Look at that foot.... Look at that beak.... Look at that cage.... Look at that perch,” and so on. Then one morning as I was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, a crow flew by the window. My Sweet Pea said, “Aw, Aw! Look!” She was telling me to “Look at that crow,” and had demonstrated that she completely understood the concept “LOOK.” This game can be used to teach your bird to identify and name objects too.

Playing is an extremely important skill that must be taught. It also gives us opportunities to be free spirits, acting like children. It allows both us and our birds to be more relaxed and spontaneous. Now, sit down and play with your bird!!!

©2000 Margaret T. Wright