Free Pickles The Parrot Returns: My Continued Adventures with a Bird Brain by Georgi Abbott Page B

perch, so the lower water
bowl perch is convenient. I don’t often get to see him playing with
the maracas these days because that is his nighttime toy, after
he’s covered.
    Musical toys are his favorite and if I hang
them all, which I don’t always do because it’s annoying to listen
to different songs going all at once, he likes to run around
turning them all on at the same time. He picks up the music easily
and copies it right along when he plays them. Usually, the last
thing he does at night is hit the button on his way to the cage for
good dining ambiance while he eats his nighttime almond.
    The cheapest stuff is usually the biggest hit
with Pickles and the dollar stores are full of great stuff.
Sometimes I’ll find a package with a set of plastic tools or
plastic musical instruments or other cool things and sometimes I
know before I buy it that there’s only one thing in that package
that Pickles will enjoy but it’s worth it for a buck. The packages
of party favors are often a big hit. It’s also where I get my cheap
tablemats to put on the floor beneath Pickles’ boings and ropes.
It’s much easier to clean those than the floor.
    Now bells – Oh My God – bells! I don’t think
he could live without those. They’re very versatile as far as
Pickles’ is concerned and have many purposes. They can be ever so
slightly beak tapped on the outside, they can be hit hard for music
or just if you’re mad and want to make a point, the clapper can be
chewed on, ripped out (on the smaller ones) or just gently tongued.
They can also be hung on, swung on and sometimes even pooped on.
They like to be talked to, sung to and kissed. You can turn them
upside down and cup them in your talon and ding with the beak on
the rim and they make the bestest helmets.
Pickles has never met a bell he doesn’t like and no bell can be
passed without pausing for a quick greeting.
    Sometimes, if he’s being stubborn and won’t
come over to me, I’ll start playing with a nearby bell and he will
immediately run up to me. Not because he’s jealous and not because
he wants to join in - he comes because I’m having fun the wrong
way. The bell must be confiscated for the purpose of proper
bell-play instruction. He’s perfectly willing to share but only if
you do it his way. He’s very good at sharing both food and toys and
the only time he wants something all to himself and won’t
relinquish, is when he snags something he’s not supposed to
have.
    He has a set of stainless steel measuring
cups – all with holes drilled into the handles and strung together
on a chain for hanging – which gives him great pleasure and makes
good punching bags. Whenever he’s angry about something, he beats
the hell out of them. Loud noise perfectly demonstrates his
frustration and nothing makes a louder noise than these.
    Pickles doesn’t like puzzle toys. He used to
work at them and did well at it but now he can’t be bothered. It’s
just not worth the effort for him even though it may be one of the
easiest puzzle toys and his favorite treat inside. I guess we could
withhold his favorite treats just to get him foraging but we
haven’t tried it, as it just doesn’t seem necessary - although,
foraging is vital for a parrot.
    The foraging opportunities we offer Pickles
are things like hanging veggie/fruit skewers, a hollowed out green
pepper with a hole cut in the side for him to stick his head in and
find pieces of grated carrot or other fruits and vegetables. We’ll
weave lettuce and other weavable food items through his cage bars.
The one thing that keeps him busiest, and also the messiest, is
ripping newspaper into small pieces and throwing it on the bottom
of his playstand over top of hidden snacks. His playstand is 2’ x
4’ so that’s a lot of paper to toss to the floor in search of
treasures. It’s fun to watch him chicken scratching among the paper
too. Sometimes we give him a large, empty potato chip bag with a
nut in it and it will