Try not to leave your parrot alone for extended periods during the first year of its life. When you eventually do go out of town, have someone your parrot has already spent lots of time with house-sit or keep the bird at their home.

Make sure your parrot enjoys being stroked. Look for signs like fluffing its head feathers in excitement when you’re about to pet it. If it trembles, squats, or pants, it probably doesn’t like being touched. Petting from head to tail is typically either uncomfortable or interpreted as a mating behavior, so scratching is best kept to the head.

Then try teaching it basic tricks. Hold your arm in front of it like a perch, then say, “Step up!” When it hops onto your arm, give it a treat. Use the same technique to teach it a step-down command. You can also try clicker training your bird so it associates the sound of a clicker with good behavior and a reward.

Some Grey owners even use small spare rooms as enclosures for their pets.

Try hiding seeds or a favorite treat in a container of pebbles. Wrap food bowls in cardboard or paper so your bird has to dig to get its food. You can also find food-dispensing puzzle toys for parrots online or at pet stores. You can also get your bird a foraging feeder that’s designed to replicate how it would forage for food in the wild. [7] X Research source

Perches that move or swing can also provide mental and physical exercise. [9] X Research source Look for natural branch perches, such as manzanita wood perches, online or at a pet store. Avoid smooth, slippery perches and those covered with sandpaper. [10] X Research source

For example, spider plants and bamboo are bird safe and easy to grow. Kale is an attractive choice and can provide your parrot with nutrients. You can find extensive lists of safe and harmful plants online. [12] X Research source

An old woven wood basket from a thrift store can also provide an inexpensive parrot toy.

Make sure any store-bought or homemade toys don’t have small, hard parts that can come off and pose a choking risk.

Other good homemade toy components include wads of newspaper or cardboard, large wooden popsicle sticks, and large buttons. [16] X Research source

When introducing a new toy, play with your parrot and show it how to use the new toy. That way, it won’t shy away from the new object. [18] X Research source