Physical exercise and mental stimulation are both essential for all parrots. Many people only think of flying when it comes to exercising your bird, but there’s much more that you can offer your feathered friend:
- Recall and Stationing: Training your bird to fly and to a station are valuable skills, but they also provide the opportunity for essential exercise. Flight fitness is something to be encouraged at every opportunity, as it is necessary for a bird’s overall heath. Training your bird to fly at steep angles both upwards and downwards is also essential for building up muscle, and giving them the skills to navigate safely.
- Play Games: Whether it’s peek-a-boo, hide and seek, or tidy up training; playing games with your bird can be great to get them moving and thinking!
- Toys to Climb On: Offering your bird large toys with hidden treats can encourage them to climb aboard and explore! They may also have to hang upside down or grip on tight to shred and forage, which can keep them busy and active.
- Floor Toys: Items such as foraging trays, novel training toys and DIY creations can all be used on flat surfaces such as a floor or table top for your bird to explore. This is a different experience to climbing around with hanging toys in their cage, bird room or aviary. Make sure everyone in the house knows your bird is on the floor, and ensure that no other pets have access to the room when your bird is playing on the floor.
- Obstacle Course: Similar to floor toys, providing an obstacle course either on a table top or the floor can be great fun and enrichment for your bird! Tunnels, small hurdles to climb and even objects to navigate around will provide both mental and physical stimulation.
- Target Training: This essential skill can be used in a variety of ways to get your bird moving, as they know all they need to do is tough the end of the stick gently for a reward – the only limit is your imagination!
- Dance Party: Our birds love to dance, and it is a fun way to get the whole family involved in exercise! Pop on some funky tunes, sing and dance, and watch your bird feed off your energy and get involved too! Some birds may get overstimulated with all of the excitement, so let them have some cooling down time before asking them to come to you.
- Running: As long as your floor is clean and everyone in the home knows that your bird is playing there, encouraging them to run around, or even chase you as you play on the floor is great exercise!
- Stretches: You can use target training to ask your bird to stretch up high, lean down low, or even from side to side. Stretching is a low intensity exercise that all birds can take part in!
- Swings: A swing is a great way to provide passive exercise – your bird has to use their feet, chest and leg muscles to keep balanced on the swing which is great for working different areas of the body.
Best Behaved Birds 