Mopping this house requires furniture/cage shuffling as I go. One of our computer desks has a posture ball rather than a computer chair. I put that giant ball on top of the desk to mop. For a human that's a reasonable idea to finish a goal. For a parrot that's a mindboggling opportunity to play and try something new.

What is reasonable for a human, is rarely reasonable for a parrot. A human's expectations are unreasonable as well. Choosing a parrot is not choosing a pet. You've chosen a lifestyle. A Parrot Lifestyle. You'll be meeting your feathered friend in the middle on many negotiations. One of them being what is and isn't a reasonable toy.

Butters, our blue and gold macaw, decided perching on a giant ball set on top of a desk was reasonable. Very parrot reasonable. Cirque du Butters! This added 30 minutes to mopping because she wanted so badly to successfully land on that ball. And that ball rolled right off the desk every attempt. She needed a spotter. She needed a playmate.

She needed me to see her new toy as she saw it. And I took the time and allowed her choice. Because choice and our time with them is the two most important gifts we can give our companion parrots. 

Standing ovation for Cirque du Butters! Perched on a giant ball on a flat computer desk! That was fun.