Petey Blog

The last palm leaf toy was obviously too small, even though it lasted pretty long, but we had to step it up a notch with the Spiked Pinata by Planet Pleasures, a large one to be exact. After seeing the enjoyment that Petey got out of the little Octopus Pinata, I decided that this would please him even more. It might look big for small bird like a Conure, but he is determined to destroy this thing. Maybe he will stop chewing on my sweatshirt's zipper, oh wait, he broke that zipper already.

Comments:
blueyes : Holy crap that's big. I guess it might take him 3 weeks to destroy this one.
YummY! : Nifty. And, it appears that birds and rats go through toys equally quickly.
Beth : Awww seeing Petey makes me miss my rats even more! I think I spent more money on those two critters than I have on anyone or any animal in my life- I became resourceful, though. They loved to rip apart maxi-pads and tampons.
Albert : Write any question to my mail

People have asked if Petey will let people pick him up. Petey is a very social bird, and is in fact spoiled with attention. He uses his beak only as a tool to help him climb up you or keep from falling off you. The only time he will not step up on your finger from inside his cage is when he is tired or you are new to him, but even then he most likely will step up on your finger. If he is with someone he knows, he will gladly be passed around the room to new people. Right now he is tickling the back of my neck and ears. He is also randomly pulling out small hair he finds that are out of place.

Previously we had no means to quickly give Petey positive reinforcement. He already is a pretty well trained bird; he steps up on anyone's finger just about every time except in the evenings. But we would like to see if he can do more advanced activities. He loves banana chips, but he takes quite some time to finish them. To help with his training, we needed something that he would work to get, and could also finish eating it quickly. We found out that he goes crazy for dried papaya bits. At first he did not have much interest in them, but soon we found him climbing out of his open cage to get the bits left on top of his cage. The brand we used was made by Kaytee and named Healthy Toppings. We had experimented with another Kaytee treat, Yogurt Tropical Mix, but Petey has no interest in those yet. I would recommend that you don't give up too quickly when testing a treat with your bird. I have read that Conures and other parrots may benefit from seeing other birds or even humans eat a food before they have much interest in it.

Comments:
Charlotte : I love your parrot Petey! Is it a sun conure? I have a Meyer's Parrot who is ugly. xD