Hi, new to the forum, and I'm desperate for some input.

We've had Bowser for about 2 months, after spending 2 months at the shop/breeder. He's already starting to talk, whistle and make kissing noises, but is absolutely TERRIFIED of his toys... or anything besides fingers. He loves to be scratched, for a few seconds at a time.
That being said, he's started to bite, hard. He's even made eye contact while increasing pressure to the point of drawing blood. Testing us, no doubt. I attribute the biting to being bored of just sitting there, cowering in the corner or on a high perch.

We've tried playing with the toys ourselves, pretending to have a grand ole time, to entice him to come play with us.
We've tried rotating the toys, even finding some smaller, less intimidating toys.
We've just tried hanging some of those interlocking baby rings on the side of the cage (slightly less afraid of those, but still won't touch them).
We've even tried hanging one by his food so he has no choice but to go near it, but now I'm afraid although he's eating, I don't see him near his water dish as much.
I even tried changing up his diet to see if maybe that had something to do with it...no change.
We've even tried leaving him alone with the toys for a time to see if he'll just get used to them.

Since all he does is sit there, he wants to be out ANYTIME we are at home. He hears the slightest noise, covered or not, he will squawk until he is let out (and then he bites).

We play with him, quite often, and have him out whenever we're home. He screams too much, otherwise. We have neighbors who are not exactly pleased by his behavior, either.
I'm afraid he's not happy, and I'm doing something wrong. I've read this forum a number of times to try and find some answers and nothing's working.
I know he's young, but it seems rather odd that he was so comfortable with large humans around, yet so terrified of small inanimate objects.

PLEASE HELP!

We couldnt get Oatis to do anything with his toys either! it took weeks of pretending to play with his foot toys on the floor and we had his cage toys hung on the outside still nothing so we jumped in with both feet and hung 2 or 3 toys up in his cage all seperated quite a lot and dumped him right in and shut the door! he made a lot of noise for a few minutes until he realised we werent listening and then he perched and just kept away from toys! once quiet we let him out saying good boy with his toys! since then the same toys are there and he learnt that they were just there and werent moving and he now even plays with one of them!! oh and since then we have added a spiral rope perch and another rope perch and a wooden perch and another two toys and he didnt even bat an eyelid! just investigated!!

First, I would try to figure out if there were certain colors Bowser is afraid of. Believe it or not, it isn't uncommon! Try hanging the toys on the outside of the cage, or setting them nearby on a table where they can be seen but not touched. Leave them there for a few days, and gradually move them closer and closer.

Curiousity is going to get the best of your little one and they will go investigate. Also, you may try some foraging toys that treats are hidden inside of to get his attention.

Best of luck!

Well, that gives me a little hope that it's "just a phase", but the natural curiosity that these birds are supposed to have just doesn't seem to apply to Bowser. If you even walk within 6 feet of him with a foreign object in your hand, he takes off. Even scared of anything from a toothbrush to a tiny sprig of millet.
The only thing I was able to get him to play with was the little plastic ring from a milk carton, that he took into his beak and boobed/weaved his head like he was dancing. After he played with it once, he put it down, forgot about it, then was scared of it again. In less than a minute.
After that, I took it away from him because I don't trust he wouldn't try to eat that plastic.

It's frustrating!!! I will give it more time with your toys on floor technique, but he doesn't seem to grasp that the ones in his cage don't move. They've been in there for over a month, and he still just cowers from them.

Thanks for your input!




Oh thank you! I will try these techniques immediately! Though, it seems he's afraid of every color, right now. Thanks so much!

if hes going for plastic,buy plastic circular toys to start with maybe buy something like a very small teething ring and leave it within his eye sight or maybe just by his favourite perching place outside of his cage!
my blue doesnt seem interested in toys and was scared of millet but i put a few pieces in the food and he finally came across it and is now fine with it! infact wrips strips apart in the cage!
he hisses and attacks even new treats! some birds are just more cautious than others!!
id go with round toys for now! or maybe tie a few of the plastic rings onto a small toy in his cage! it will get him to the cage and he will have to take them off if he really wants them!! goodluck and let us all know

Please DO NOT give your fids toothbrushes to chew on and play with. They have tiny bits of metal that connect the bristles to the brush and these can cause heavy metal toxicity! THEY ARE NOT SAFE!! My vet, Dr. Kersting, just published a paper about this very subject.

Oh, he doesn't have a toothbrush. It happened to be a situation where I had passed by his perch with a toothbrush in my hand. That's just how skittish he is with everything non-human.
But that's good information to know. I've considered homemade toys and I've seen birds with toothbrushes, before. I will thus far not consider a toothbrush a friend for my QP. Thanks again!

Now he thinks my toes are toys.

does he like to chew on kleenex or paper towels? If he doesn't try a small piece bunched up, and gradually make it bigger. Once he enjoys making spit balls, and shredding it, try tying it to a toy, or putting a small toy inside. One book O read says that she ties a kleenex to every new toy, and that seems to make it OK to them. I know that my quaker is very weary of new toys as well. My CAG and cockatiel don't seem to be the least bit afraid of new things. Tiki seems to enjoy shred-able toys the most, and is not the least bit interested in foot toys.

We had the same problem with our tiel Dusty. When I got him the poor little guy didn't even know what a toy was. We had to do the same thing. Don't hang anything above the bird's head that it's afraid of, it will only intimidate him more. And I would remove the toy from his food bowl. Some birds would rather starve themselves to death than go near something they are scared of. Which is why going from seed to pellets can be tricky.

try to hide some of his fav food in a toy.. like seeds or something.. Quakers generally love to shred so try and get toys with that in mind.. our quaker also loves nosie makers..

dont be alarmed that he doesnt want/know how to play.. we have to be persistent and teach our quakers to play and for most of us they cant be around 24/7...

From here on out i would definitely NOT let your lil one of the cage anytime he squawks.. i know it seems mean to leave him sitting there but he must know that screaming etc does not get attention or very soon you have a parrot that screams for any sort of attention and this will not be fun.....as soon as he stops and is quieter.. then take him out of the cage

Plan time to take him out of his cage and do it with a purpose... if every day you take him out away from his cage and are playing with toys his curiosity may win over... and when he does eventually show some interest in what you have dont let him have it.. the more you love something and don't let him have it while playing the more he will want it lol as well as what others said./.. hand the toys on the outside of the cage and play with them for a min or two when you walk by the cage or whenever throughout the day.. laughter is very powerful and if he sees you having fun he's going to want to eventually as well

as for the biting... the honeymoon phase of being in your home is officially over with the start of biting. Try gently pushing into the bite and applying the "earthquake" technique.. where you lightly shake your finger causing him to make a decision to either balance himself or continue biting.. and distract him with something else.. he must be taught that biting (although it hurts) get absolutely no reaction or he will continue to bully you with increasing intensity...good luck and i'm sure others will be along with more advice!