NuNu Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 I've had Ziggy for about three weeks now (I adopted an older bird) and things are going really well. She has accepted me as flock leader very quickly, and is quite affectionate. I'm still learning her food preferences by looking at the floor around her cage - she tosses anything that doesn't suit her fancy. When I got her, the cage and her toys came with her. She has zero interest in the toys, nor any of the recent additions I bought. She wants to be out of her cage, walking around on the floor. But she wants to chew all the wood baseboards and furniture - I'm amazed at the damage she can do in a few seconds! What can I get for her that will satisfy the need to shred wood? I think she'd probably love some particleboard that looks like pressed wood chips, but it is likely full of harmful things. Any suggestions will be appreciated. NuNu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 NuNu, go out and buy an untreated board, what we call a 2 x 4 and cut it up into sections, drill holes in the middle or anywhere on it and hang them up with chain or a good piece of rope, you can color them with vegetable dye if you like but it is not necessary, that will provide many hours of chewing. But you will still have to keep her away from the furniture but at least if she has something else to chew that may be enough to keep her satisfied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eckobird Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Hi NuNu, I agree with Judy! You should buy her her own wood to chew and maybe she will leave your furniture alone. Also try getting a big wicker basket for her to chew, my bird loves to chew up his wicker basket. It keeps him occupied on that for hours. Maybe you bird will like them too. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Hi NuNu, as others have said toys of wood would be great. I have a lot of foraging toys for my FIDs, I make they hunt and work to get their treats. So far I have been very fortunate that they have not decided that my cabinets and wood trim should be theirs!!! I'm glad you have decided to join us. Welcome to the family!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranaz Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 Hi NuNu and welcome in our grey family. In addition to the wooden toys that everybody suggested, I recomend a wooden playstand for your grey, preferably one made out of tree branches, which would provide your grey all the wood they need to chew pon and still you can hang things on it and it will be similar to the trees they stand upon in their natural environment. Off course these tree branches can be replaced when they are totally chewed. You can make one yourself and its really not very difficult and you can change the way it looks by changing the toys. Im attachng a picture of the tree I have for Kookie which he loves so much. Hope it will give you some ideas and also you can find many pictures posted by other members. {Nature-00020095} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranaz Posted May 15, 2009 Share Posted May 15, 2009 and with few changes it can look like this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrayGirl Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 This thread reminded me of something RudyTheParrot said on Twitter: "You say it looks like a cherished 25-yr-old dresser. I say it looks like a tasty tree that I must shred. WHO IS TO SAY WHICH OF US IS RIGHT?" I'm lucky in that Nickel doesn't like to be on the floor, except the bathroom floor, so my furniture & the baseboards are safe so far. She has a tree perch like Ranaz describes and plenty of wooden toys in her cage that she loves to shred, which seems to satisfy her urge for destroying wood. I also put plenty of straw/raffia-type toys around for her to pick at so she'll leave her feathers alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NuNu Posted May 21, 2009 Author Share Posted May 21, 2009 Thanks everyone for the great ideas. Ziggy now has wood blocks from a 4X4 board - I drilled holes in them and strung some on a rope, and some I left loose and put treats in the hole. I also got a small tree branch and made a perch for her playstand, and hung some small wood, wicker and raffia toys from it. I found she also likes to chew soft plastic toys that belonged to the dog before Ziggy claimed them. So I bought a few for her, for foot toys. This all keeps her pretty occupied. If she gets down on the floor, the entertainment armoire and dining room china cabinet still lure her, but I can get her distracted now. Again, thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Well I am glad you found a solution to your problem, giving her something else to chew on will help keep her busy and away from the furniture, a busy grey will not be looking for trouble, at least that is what it is supposed to be, thanks for letting us know what you did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Kathy, wow you are much more handy than me. Ziggy loves your handiwork too. So glad things are looking up!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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