Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 10:27 am Post subject: Great Kike Toy
Hello All. I'd first like to thank you for all the posts on this site. They have beena real eye opener to me, and I'm sure my Kikes will benefit greatly.
Here in Canada, Kikes are regarded more as a mid size indoor cage bird. One that you would house in a teal cage. When I bought my first kike ( my current avitar ) I had never heard of them before. I bought her instantly and then went off and joined this group. My breeder recommended a teal cage which was about 16 inches in dia and 24 inches tall would be perfect for a pair. Now I am contimplating going to an even larger flight than I have them in now ( aprox 1m x .75m x 1.5m ). I think I will have to fit a small bathtub somehow, as my newest kike ( a red-fronted green hen ( I think ) spends more time in her water dish than on a perch it seems. I also have Lovebirds, Quail, Ringnecks, Budgerigar and a Parrotlet. A single toy stands out as the clear favorite amongst all my birds ( except the ringnecks, the quail sleep in it sometimes ), one that you might not consider normally as associated with a bird...... a Hamster wheel.
Not the kind that sit on the bottom of a critter cage on a tripod arrangement, but one that clips on the bars and spins around a central hub. There is no bar across the entrance for the bird to avoid on this type.
My Budgies and Lovebirds use it almost constantly, and the kike caught on to it immediately. When I noticed her watching the other birds in the wheel, I put one in her cage to try and she loved it. However I will say that you need a larger unit for the Kike, as the 6 inch is a little too small for her to use comfortably. She hits her back on the center hub. It must be free wheeling or the bird will not be able to turn it. Seems to be a great toy for any active bird.
Wow great idea thanks for that!!!! my boy dosnt seem to fussed on the toys ive got for him somtimes he will chew on the wood or leather but he dosnt seem to be much of a player. . I will try and find one big enough for him. Not too many people on this site seem to keep them as an indoor pet so sometimes it can be difficult for these kind of tips. Thanks
Occasionally a deformed chick is hatched, sometimes they survive beyond the nest for a few weeks. Usually they also have internal deformities also. In the wild they are culled naturally and most breeders do so manually...A subject rarely talked about, not something that one likes to have to do.
Sort of like a person with 'green fingers'...rubbish...there are those gardeners who pull dead or dieing plants and replace and would be gardeners who just leave them and take the -ve..."I don't have green fingers"
Anyway, we have a, what looks to be a very active (climbs everywhere)heathy female, but with a missing claw and no flight feathers on one wing...time will tell. We are going to bring her inside as a cage pet.
I have never been impressed with cage toys with parrots, within hrs, they have either destroyed them and/or got bored with them.
This hamster wheel sounds interesting...I can see it as a great exercise toy, and developing balance and dexterity and confidence....plus many humorous crashes . I think one would have to be a little careful of design/positioning, so as they cant put their legs thru the rungs causing damaged or broken legs.
Great idea (-> _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
How is the "special needs" hen going LOL I hope she survived past a week. Do you have her inside yet??? How is she coping???? I can't find a hamster wheel big enough ant the local pet shops around me I think I will go to one of the bigger ones on the weekend if I have time LOL
She looks fine..healthy, thu I wll have to build a larger cage for her.
Yeah I can find a large enough 'wheel either...so I think its out to workshop when I get time and make one. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
Glad to hear the girl is doing well.
Here I have found a wheel that has berings in it so it turns real easy, and had a solid ring so no toe problems. There are two sizes, an 8 inch and a 12 inch for larger pets. They come in funky colors as well. 15 and 24 dollars cdn respectively. If you can not find one, I would be happy to send you one/two/three etc if you really want one. They are made by a company called "Super Pet" - Pets Intl, Elk Grove Village, Illinois, USA - www.superpetusa.com
It also has a much smaller center hub. Easier on their backs. These types of smaller birds are plentiful here, and all are considered cage birds, right up to the Hyasynth McCaw( gorgeous bird ) so there are zillions of toys available here, but I find my birds seem to like the simpler hand made toys better.
I'm up to 3 birds ( Kikes ) now. 2 hens and 1 cock, with a line on another albino cock! Let the good times roll m8's!
Hey appreciate the offer...
My wife and I went out for a quiet Sat afternoon coffee, passed by a pet shop, and they had a a wheel approx 10 inch diam, that I can can use a section of a plastic bucket or something similar to slip over the outside circumference. AND she saw a large wire cage 750x 500 x 1500H on a stand for $140....We had the little 'japper' (Toyota) I knew we should have taken the Z28 , so it wouldnt fit in the car, the store owner as it turned out only lived up the road so he dropped it off after he closed up shop.
So last night ripped all the dowel perches swings out, grabbed some old branches laying around, made new perches and swing...then put in the little Kike along with a young burke for company.
So far they are each just doing their own thing as if the other doesnt exist.
Kike climbs around everywhere, the burke just sits there, as burkes do. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
Other than the Burke landing on the wheel, it turning, then crash to the floor, they haven't bothered with the wheel...The Burke is an Aussie bird
The Kike (disabled) is like most deformed birds that occasionally crop up. She is loopy, so, sort of tame but not what one would call friendly.
She spends most of the time climbing up to where the finch and Burke happily perch close together, walks over, the verbally goes ape at them.
They move to the next perch, then the Kike has to climb all the way down, all the way back up the other side does it again ..big cage.
Also she has never made a proper Kike machine gun sound, or chirp.
We like all breeders, get the occasional 'deformed ' bird, these are normally destoried...ours we tend to let run loose for a while, then nature steps in and they die. Usually there is more than 1 deformity, internal and mental, they are sometimes plain thick as 2 bricks, or occasionally real loopy and/or aggressive...
This leads me to wondering, those who have excessively aggressive birds (as has been mentioned in other threads)...Are these like the above?
Are these from breeders who will sell anything for a profit?...
Sure I accept, abuse etc happens..I have seen and worked a little with abused birds, and they calm down once a trust is slowly built, often remain a little "stand offish".....
I have to wonder about some Parrots that are just crazy. What sort of breeder they did come from?
This subject needs its own thread??
I get the feeling, from books, talking to breeders, around the web, this is not a popular subject, if covered at all...almost as if its a politically correct thing....Advisers HAVE to have an answer that is not "sounds like u have a pet that should never have been sold"
Breeders never admit freely to having occasional deformities or it may reflect on their breeding stock...or their skills of rearing young. If they do in is whisper.
Bottom line..every species on this earth have birth defects, nature culls these out, or their community and/or supports...what makes parrots any different...other than some are very expensive, and dollar signs pop up. _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 11:26 am Post subject: Update
hello all. Just thought I would update my findings on this subject.
I guess like all toys, some get tired of using it. Of late the wheel has been used less and less, and now I find they still use it, but not near as much as they used to. They seem to have mastered "skipping" over the top of it, as using as a slide more than anything. The "tire" is the most popular toy for them now. I won't remove the wheel, perhaps it will come back into fashion in the winter....
Hopefully...
Wolf.
Take the tyre away then
Ours just use to jump on the sort of rool to the ground...sometimes.
They have wire to grip onto on the outside.
So I was thinking, what if it was suspended, land on it, it turns, they end upside down
I wounder if they would then try to climb back up _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
u setting up automatic watering?
Start a thread in the avaiary section asking questions its a subject thats not covered....we use automatic watering...work hard at being lazy _________________ My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You can download files in this forum