Hi:
As I have said that we just adopted our baby girl KeKe a b&g. While my green cheek has more toys than he can play with and will go from one to another choosing a new favorite it seems each day. My question about KeKe is she didn't have many toys and while it seems that we have gone a little toy mad getting her things so that we can rotate them. I don't want to over whelm her with to many things. I have been introducing toys slowly and she has played with them. While in her former home she was not in her cage except if she had done something wrong I keep her in her cage at night and when we are not home for safety reasons as she has gotten off her cage . I have put the most intersting toys in her cage as I want to show her that the cage is a good place. Am I doing the right thing with her. She goes to KeKe's condo at night very easy but during the day will not go into her cage unless she is on our arm. Any hints to make this easier for her. We are trying our best with her and she is getting more vocal and talkitve with us she has not seen a spray bottle since she came home and seem to respond to the love and our sharp no when she does something we don't like. We are working hard to gain her trust and she has really responded to us in a positve way but like any small fid has her moments and we don't expect she will every be perfect. She has ignored her old toys completly and had a bad reaction to some so we left them out of our house. She was eating a mostly seed diet with very little fruit and veg and we have had to switch her out to a better diet because of a bug problem in her old home. I have limited her to a little seed as a treat and she seems to be eating the new food but not in the quanity that I would like except by hand feeding so I am worried that she is going to get the associtation of hand feeding and the pellet food(I alway have pellet food in her cage for her to munch on) any thoughts you have we will welcome. While I always have maplebird to call on it is nice to know that I have a whole wealth of people here so Iam not always sending her e-mails all the time she has been great in helping us from leting us visit her fids and they were great in helping us to know that a large bird was right for us. It also helped us to choose a re-home over a baby. Thanks for and suggestions you can make

Ruby's favorite food is french toast made with egg, milk, baby food sweet potatoes with wheat bread. She loves her plexiglass toys with marbles in them. Sounds like you all are doing well.

Keke may not know how to play with toys. My Kady didn't know how and was scared of them as well. I started teaching Kady how to play with one small item at a time. The first thing he ever played with was a piece a paper.

I move new toys in very slowly. I leave a new toy in view, but at a distance so he gets used to seeing it. Each day or two I move it a little closer. When it's near the cage, I play with the toy. I don't pay any attention to Kady at first while I'm playing. I make high pitched squeals, rub the toy on my face, laugh and have a grand ol' time. Before I know it, he's trying to get to me to see what all the fun is. Then we play together with the toy for a few days and then after that it is welcomed into his cage. I don't move any new toys into his cage until they have been broken in and approved by Kady.

Also Kady has always preferred smaller toys. The big Macaw toys are just too over whelming for him. So you may want to experiment with different size toys.

Another thing that may help Keke to learn that her cage is a good place is to have a special treat that she really likes that she only gets while in her cage. You can show her the treat and have her watch you place it in her dish.

Introducing new foods has been difficult here as well. Serve it all different ways, steamed, raw, grated, hanging, chopped, whole, etc. Hide finely chopped veggies in birdie bread, eat with her, fruit juice can go on pellets. Just keep trying.

Thanks for the tips I am a baker and will try the birdie bread. We have all been eating better since getting Simon he is always willing to try anything we eat. The fids join us at the dinner table and we have noticed that KeKe watches Simon and if he is trying it then she too will try it. It just goes to prove that good things come in small packages. Simon may only be a green cheek but at 2 he has 35 words and KeKe is try to say some of the things that Simon says I expect her vocabulary will increase within a short time. Simon has shown us that parrots not only understand but can talk to us he responds to things with words that fit the questions. Non bird people keep tell us they mimic we ask Simon he always says no to them the looks on their faces is amazing.

Gail, Karen has given you some great advice there. It's just a matter of trying a whole bunch of different things and figuring out what works for KeKe. The food thing can take FOREVER! Maple still isn't eating as "healthy" as I would like her to. But both of mine love pellets so I am ok there. Toys, well it all depends...Maple loves plastic rings, and climbing toys, where as Harley loves to chew chunks of wood and couldn't live without his puzzle/foraging toys.

As suspected you continue to do a wonderful job with KeKe. It will take time but she will come around. She already has come quite a ways.

You know how to find me if there is anything I can help with.