Now comes some questions....?  I recently came upon a surrender.  (I have been waiting many months, for a matter of fact, I knew I was getting Maggie the surrender before I purchases Olive.)  Maggie is extremely loving but is very challenging because she doesn't know how to play with toys.  She does play a little with the Japanese finger traps, chews modestly on wood and I do mean modestly, and that is about it. 

I have bought so much stuff for her and she won't touch it.  Slinkies, bagels, Pepitias, papaya's, the big corner shelf, those stars that are toy parts, popsicle sticks, candy making sticks, and a bunch of other small stuff, with bells and balls and she won't tough them.  I have been working as an Avian behaviorist in training for 30 + years and this is a first for me. 

Usually I set up a toy box and with in a week the bird had dove in head first and is into them all.  Not Maggie.  I do know she liked my Popeye's push button toy, where you push the button and it talks but I don't know if she is smart enough to figure it out.  Or maybe curious might be a better word.  She does watch the other birds bath in a huge dog food bowl I bought for each of the birds, just for bathing, but no bathing.

If you have any toy idea's that she might be more interested in as I need to find something to keep her from barbering her feathers.I will take any and all advice I can gat.
 
Thank you for all your advice.  We play all together here but Maggie seems to distance herself from the toys and the other birds too.  I set up three Huge gigantic dog bowls, plastic ones, that hold every toy I have ever purchased just about.  Each has their own stock of toys and they take turns in each others toy boxes, but Maggie just sits on my knee while I take her turns. 

She only plays when no one is looking and so far just with those finger traps.  I re- stocked her bowl all with brand new toys from your shop last night.  Little stuff.  I need to buy her some balls with bells and I want to in the future buy three of the hanging balls that make the animals sounds.  Once I have the hanging one my pups can play with the one that drives them up the tree.
 
Cheryl

Hi Cheryl 

Here's a tip.
 
Often when people buy toys for their birds, they bring them home, stick them in the cages and then go off to play on their PC, watch TV or write or something else. The birds then "may" think, that what you put in his cage is nothing special but your remote control, your keypad and mouse, your pens and your books would be MORE fun because YOU are playing with them.

When the toys are brought home, and it should be done early in the day, before late afternoon (shadows may be scary) spread them out in front of the cage, on a table close enough for them to see them, Then YOU play with them all, coo about how great they are, wiggle them, mock chew them, jingle them, then let them lay there awhile while you bird sees what you have left out, many will come out and steal some away, but once they are in the cages the birds are more interested because YOU thought they were interesting too.

My own bird played with NOTHING. We sell bird toys, 100's of them and he wanted no part of any except an occasional finger trap, but the love of his life was the Chirp toy and over his 20 years he went through 10 of them.





http://www.windycityparrot.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=46202611001
 
You just never know what will please them. But can only try again and again.

Catherine
Windy City Parrot