Heya all! Well, I've had little Pippin for about a month now, and he is doing wonderfully with nibbling different foods and playing with some toys outside of the cage ....

 

... but as soon as I put anything INTO the cage, he gets scared out of his wits!

I have tried everything - a little bell, some wood toys, rope toys, even a small mirror (even though I HATED doing that!!). The reaction is always the same - he bolts to the opposite side of the cage and will not move, trying very hard to ignore whatever is there. The obvious exception to this was the mirror, which he sat in front of and chewed on. I also had the same problem with trying to put fruit and vegetables in to his cage with pegs - he wouldn't go near anything for quite a few days.

 

However, the bigger problem is that he is chewing everything else! His perches, the sides of the cage .... He has discovered his reflection in his water dish (the vet recommended metal water and food dishes) and spends hours sitting on the side of it trying to pick it up or hanging upside down to talk to his reflection in the side of it!

 

Does anyone have any other suggestions as to how to introduce toys in the cage, and what toys would be best to introduce?

Whenever I put in a new toy into my aviary it gets treated like a potential axe murderer for days. No one will go anywhere near it. Eventually they decide to investigate it and then it becomes the new favourite to fight over.

Does he play with the toys outside of the cage? The same ones? If so, start hanging them/sitting them closer and closer to his cage. Move them a few centimeters at a time. You'll eventually get them hanging on the outside of the cage. Once he's okay with that, sit it on the bottom of his cage and see how he goes... Hopefully you'll slowly be able to get them to hanging up stage in his cage.

 

Does he like millet? You could also trying hanging it in/with the toy too. If he has issues with his reflection, I'd ditch the metal bowls, I wouldn't add the mirror again and probably not a bell, unless you can get a plastic one he can't see himself in. I'd probably start with something small, maybe a ball?

 

Let us know how you get on. Good luck!

Our bird used to freak out about anything new. We had success by hanging toys outside the cage at first so he could get used to seeing them, then putting them inside a day or two later. Also, our little guy Bogie loves bells, and toys with bells, so this gets him comfortable with toys quickly. (Either we choose toys with bells or move one of his bells over to the new item. Bell has many times been used to coax Bogie into trying new things and going new places!)

 

After a while, our birdie became more bold and curious, now we can put new foods/toys/whatever right into his cage. The only thing he still acts scared of is the vacuum!