Help!!! Strange Behavior!

[Mandyz84]

Hi I have a 9 year old gray IRN who has always been very calm and quiet. Almost four years ago we introduced him to a new toy, a bell with a rubber ball around it. He loved it! He would ring it, swing on it, and even eat off of it. A year ago the ball fell off and we didn't fix it right away. We noticed that the same time the toy broke he began to squawk non-stop and make noises we had never heard before (he kind of sounded like a monkey). He also stopped playing with other bells in his cage. We were able to fix the toy and the strange behavior stopped. Well about a week ago the ball started to fall apart and we felt that it was no longer safe for it to be in the cage with him so we threw it away. Knowing how crazy he got the last time we had a replacement toy ready to go. However, he is not happy with this new ball/bell combo and has started to squawk like crazy again. He will play with the other bell in his cage, dance as he usually does (swinging his head side to side) and whistle in between his squawking fits. He seems happy and healthy and the only thing that has changed is the toy. Please help!!! I would really appreciate any ideas or suggestions anyone can offer to get him back to his old self.

[ellieelectrons]

Hi Mandy

It sounds like your bird was bonded to that toy - he saw it as his girlfriend. Can you get an exact replica of it? Can you fix the old toy? Would you consider getting him a real girlfriend?

Ellie.

[Mandyz84]

Hi Ellie,
Thanks for your response! The only replica we could find came in a different color...I'm not sure if that makes a difference (His old one was green and the new one is blue). There is no way to fix the old toy...we threw the old ball away, but we did keep the bell. After a few days with the new toy not cutting it for him, I put the new ball around the old bell (that didn't work either ) My husband has pretty bad allergies and I don't think he would be able to handle a second bird I was thinking of cooking some yams (mashing them) and putting it on the ball to see if he would eat off of it like he used to or at least to make it smell more appealing or less rubbery. I'm not sure what else to do. Thanks for your help.

Amanda

[ellieelectrons]

Have you tried the online stores? You might be able to find a replica there? Do you know the product name of the toy? Your pet store might be able to help you... but certainly try the yams and see if it works.

Ellie.