Pieces of wood, such as pine, will be much appreciated by most parrots. If they were provided a REAL nest such as a dead tree log, they would spend a great deal of time excavating the interior of the log. The least we can do is to provide them with an outlet to sublimate this natural urge by giving them pieces of safe, clean wood to chew and destroy. For the non-breeding pet parrot, time spent by the owner interacting with the bird is important. One should not acquire a parrot as a single pet if there is no time to spend with it.
Human companionship is the only social outlet for a single pet and therefore very important.
One should set aside a regular time to interact with the parrot. Even a thirty- second session of sweet talk or a quick snuggle first thing in the morning and last thing at night could make all the difference in the security level of a lone pet parrot. Add to this the stress of noisy children and other pets that could represent potential predators to caged parrots, and one can easily understand that their lives in captivity are stressful. Being confined to a space that is not large enough for them to get adequate exercise and activity that they need is another cause of anxiety. When the natural sleep cycle of birds in the rainforest is replaced by electric lights that stay on half the night, sleep deprivation can add to the problem.