The Munchkin Foraging Baskets are a favorite with most of my parrots. I was putting new ones in the cages and noticed Irving was dancing from side-to-side and ringing his bell while watching me put a Munchkin toy in Elvis's cage. I made one for him and I'll share that experience with you here.
Introducing a new toy to Irving - Part 1
In Part 1 of this video Irv is not keen on the toy. You will see he approaches the toy through the cage bars, but then backs away when I attempt to put the toy in the cage.
Part 2 of this video shows another toy I give him that has new items strung on it but it is one that he is receptive to because it has the same shape and form of toys he had previously accepted in his cage.
Though I consider Buddy a very experienced forager and a parrot accustomed to all sorts of new toys and experiences, I still take the same precautions with him when adding something very different to his environment.
I'm mindful of one time I thought I'd cover his food dish with newspaper to have him forage more. You can see from the SS Measuring Cup Foraging toy video on the "Foraging Toys" page that Buddy is not shy at all about tearing into the paper on the stainless steel measuring cups. I had put those newspaper covered measure cups in his cage over a dozen times. Buddy was perched by his food bowl eagerly awaiting his breakfast. I put the paper covered bowl in the cage and Buddy fell off his perch trying to get away from it. The newspaper covered food dish frightened him - where the newspaper covered measuring cups didn't. I learned a valuable lesson that day. Never take it for granted that they won't be afraid of a new item - no matter how adventurous they are.
Introducing a new toy to Buddy
Click the link to watch Buddy let me know in very clear body language that he isn't ready for me to put a pair of "Casper's Overalls" in his cage.
