Solving Screaming with Toys and Training Pt. 1

You often hear people suggest more toys to solve attention screaming, but equally often you hear people lamenting that they tried that and it didn't work. What you don't hear often is the specific piece of advice to try foraging toys that have actual food treats inside (as opposed to shredder toys, or shredder toys labelled as "foraging" toys that are actually only stuffed with inedible items like shredded paper).
Our 8 month old Lutino cockatiel spends roughly 9-10 hours outside of the cage playing and interacting with me daily, so when he started screaming constantly for the 1 hour each day that he's caged (while I cook dinner) I knew already that the number one piece of advice (more attention/hours outside of the cage) was not going to solve the screaming. Taki also already had about 10 different toys in his cage, and his cage is 3 feet wide, 19 inches deep, and 38 inches tall so the other two most common pieces of advice (providing more shredder toys and a large cage) were also already proven not to work for my tiel.
The only other pieces of advice the internet had to offer sounded like harsh and mean methods to stop attention screaming, and from anecdotal stories I was also reasonably confident that it had a very, very low success rate- those methods were to "cover the cage and isolate the bird". That, to me, sounded like one dangerously small step away from creating yet another situation where a bird was covered and caged all day in a garage or basement with little to no human interaction. In my personal opinion, if the bird is not benefitting from whatever solution you're implementing to any behavioral problem, the solution is inherently not appropriate. There are solutions to every behavioral problem that make the bird happier in the process, so anything that makes the bird less happy is automatically not the best solution available. This method of covering and isolating degrades the bird's quality of life, and ironically, boredom and lack of social interaction are both major causes of excessive screaming, so this "solution" frequently backfires and causes even more screaming.
I started looking in to methods that certified avian behaviorists use to solve screaming problems, boredom problems, biting and plucking, and literally any other behavioral issues I could think of. One interesting bit of overlap in each of the methods to solve each problem was providing lots of foraging toys with food treats inside.
My bird didn't really play with his shredder toys much if at all- but what he did do was eat. So I started slowly introducing foraging toys into his out of cage play time to get him used to the idea that his toys might contain treats. Any bird who does not forage either doesn't understand that there is food inside the toy or doesn't understand how to get it out- so if your bird doesn't play with foraging toys that contain food treats, take some time to demonstrate to your bird how to get the treats out. It may take a few demonstrations over the course of a few days, but even the pickiest birds will use foraging toys if it's the right kind.
A combination of turning every toy of his I could into a foraging toy and playing the "Red Light Green Light" Game (to form a connection in his mind that being quiet is rewarding) got him to stop screaming. Any time he starts screaming excessively, we become more consistent about playing the Red Light Green Light game and we rearrange his cage and change his foraging toys out for new ones. We try to rearrange his cage once a week, but we find he can usually go 2-3 weeks without changing anything before he starts to get bored. A bird who is in their cage more often will obviously need a change of scenery more often.
To find the toys shown here, go to the following links. As stated in the video, I do not recommend purchasing rope toys for your bird, particularly if your bird is a chewer/shredder (unlike mine). Please use your best judgement. If you are unsure, there are thousands of other toys you can purchase made from safe materials that will not cause crop impaction. I am in no way affiliated with or compensated by DrsFosterSmith.Com or MySafeBirdStore.Com
Sola Ball: www.mysafebirdstore.com/produ...
Sunflower Head: www.mysafebirdstore.com/produ...
Shredded Paper (inside TP roll tube): www.mysafebirdstore.com/produ...
Rope Hanging Toy: www.drsfostersmith.com/product...
Shreddabe T-Swing: www.drsfostersmith.com/product...
Polycarbonate Push & Pull Forager: www.drsfostersmith.com/product...
DIY foraging toy tutorial (made from paper!): • 3 Quick and Easy Forag...

[@deniselayer802]

Great video! Very helpful! My little guy is with us all day too and when we walk away he screams until we return! I’m always thinking of ways to keep him busy.... where did you get Taki’s favorite toy from and what is the name of it?

[@takithetiel6854]

Thank you 💖 We get all of our toys from MySafeBirdStore.Com (I'm not at all sponsored by them, just think they're great).
I'm going to be releasing a video soon on my "Red Light Green Light Game" that helps with attention screaming so keep an eye out for that 💖 The first step to following along with the game is making sure that your bird's general environment is set up for success. Part of that is providing tons of fun toys to play with and also taking the time to teach your bird how to use them, so you're on the right track! I find it useful to actually do a formal training session with new toys that my birds aren't interested in right away.
I start with a toy that they *are NOT scared of* (that would be a different and much slower/gentler process than this one!) I set the toy nearby them and click/reward every time they "make eye contact" with the toy or take a step toward it. Eventually they get the idea that to earn a reward they need to do something with the toy. I click/reward for playing with the toy as well. Then they eventually make the connection that it's something they can play with and that the toy is fun and they'll typically move to playing with the toy on their own even in the absence of any rewards. Food filled foraging toys are the best toys to start that type of training with because those toys are especially fun for birds. Once your bird understands the concept of being introduced to a new toy you can introduce other types of toys like swings or shredder toys and they'll make that connection much more quickly.

[@jayneliou]

Great Video! What's the pull and push toy called and where did you buy it? Thanks

[@deniselayer802]

I bought that push and pull toy for my cockatiel “baby”....I can’t get him to play with it.... how did you get him interested in it?