You've decided to go for homemade parrot toys? Here are a few tips: Parrots need a healthy diet, a cage that is big enough, treats, but they also require toys.
Toys are a big help in shaping a healthy personality for your bird and they can also solve the problem of loneliness.
Toys are crucial to parrots as they help attain two goals: they mentally stimulate your bird and they offer some kind of exercise that allows the parrot to use his or her stored up energy.
Toys give parrots something to chew and maintain their beaks in great condition, nice and trim.
They can come in a variety of materials such as PVC, cloth or wood.
Parrot toys can be homemade or made industrially, in all shapes and sizes, but let me share with you a few tips on hand-making parrot toys.
For some it could be a good idea to buy one or two machine-made parrot toys before actually making one, just to see if the parrot likes playing with them or not.
But getting him to play with them shouldn't be a problem, and then it won't be hard to convince a parrot, even one use to brightly colored parrot toys, to like undyed handmade ones.
Just make sure you choose the size of the toy according to the size of your bird.
A macaw may prefer a large toy made of chewable wood, and cockattoos are big chewers too, while smaller birds will be happy with empty corn husks to shred up.
Destructible toys are popular with most birds, and you can make those from loofah parts on a string.
A word about safety.
Please make sure to follow sensible safety guidelines, for instance only use materials that are toxin free.
In particular be careful with anything you pick up in your yard, because it might be treated with insecticide.
Likewise, flavorings should never be used to color wooden toys, because your bird could end up masticating dyed wood and possibly even ingesting it.
You can place toys for your parrot in his cage or on any parrot stand, or in an aviary.
Make sure they are safely tied to the cage and have no loosely hanging parts.
You can let your parrot join you as you make the parrot toys.
Maybe he will even guide you that way! It should be a pleasant experience for you.
Once you've finished a few parrot toys, a judicious thing to do is to alternate them every other week or so, so that the parrot doesn't get tired of the same old one, and eventually lose interest, or on the contrary be scared when a new parrot toy is added to their cage.
Lastly, if your parrot is somewhat phobic, it will be better off with quite simple parrot toys, like simple parts on a piece of string with big knots between them.
You can also fill a small pail or food bowl will pieces of chewed up toys, and your parrot will empty it out.
Still, toys that excite your bird's curiosity and puzzle him are among the best toys for your bird and cater to his impressive intelligence, especially if you have an African Grey.
Therefore toy making for a Senegal parrot will imply more ingenuity on your part.
Among these are foraging toys that challenge him since he has to find out how to reach a treat or smallish chewable parts in a box for example.
To conclude, whether homemade or machine-made, toys are not a luxury for pet parrots, but a true necessity.
Remember that in the wild parrots spend almost ninety percent of their time hunting! In your home, they're given food and water, which leaves them a lot of free time.
Toys keep them challenged and busy.
They are key to the felicity of your bird, and will make him a happier, more playful, and dynamic companion.
Toys are a big help in shaping a healthy personality for your bird and they can also solve the problem of loneliness.
Toys are crucial to parrots as they help attain two goals: they mentally stimulate your bird and they offer some kind of exercise that allows the parrot to use his or her stored up energy.
Toys give parrots something to chew and maintain their beaks in great condition, nice and trim.
They can come in a variety of materials such as PVC, cloth or wood.
Parrot toys can be homemade or made industrially, in all shapes and sizes, but let me share with you a few tips on hand-making parrot toys.
For some it could be a good idea to buy one or two machine-made parrot toys before actually making one, just to see if the parrot likes playing with them or not.
But getting him to play with them shouldn't be a problem, and then it won't be hard to convince a parrot, even one use to brightly colored parrot toys, to like undyed handmade ones.
Just make sure you choose the size of the toy according to the size of your bird.
A macaw may prefer a large toy made of chewable wood, and cockattoos are big chewers too, while smaller birds will be happy with empty corn husks to shred up.
Destructible toys are popular with most birds, and you can make those from loofah parts on a string.
A word about safety.
Please make sure to follow sensible safety guidelines, for instance only use materials that are toxin free.
In particular be careful with anything you pick up in your yard, because it might be treated with insecticide.
Likewise, flavorings should never be used to color wooden toys, because your bird could end up masticating dyed wood and possibly even ingesting it.
You can place toys for your parrot in his cage or on any parrot stand, or in an aviary.
Make sure they are safely tied to the cage and have no loosely hanging parts.
You can let your parrot join you as you make the parrot toys.
Maybe he will even guide you that way! It should be a pleasant experience for you.
Once you've finished a few parrot toys, a judicious thing to do is to alternate them every other week or so, so that the parrot doesn't get tired of the same old one, and eventually lose interest, or on the contrary be scared when a new parrot toy is added to their cage.
Lastly, if your parrot is somewhat phobic, it will be better off with quite simple parrot toys, like simple parts on a piece of string with big knots between them.
You can also fill a small pail or food bowl will pieces of chewed up toys, and your parrot will empty it out.
Still, toys that excite your bird's curiosity and puzzle him are among the best toys for your bird and cater to his impressive intelligence, especially if you have an African Grey.
Therefore toy making for a Senegal parrot will imply more ingenuity on your part.
Among these are foraging toys that challenge him since he has to find out how to reach a treat or smallish chewable parts in a box for example.
To conclude, whether homemade or machine-made, toys are not a luxury for pet parrots, but a true necessity.
Remember that in the wild parrots spend almost ninety percent of their time hunting! In your home, they're given food and water, which leaves them a lot of free time.
Toys keep them challenged and busy.
They are key to the felicity of your bird, and will make him a happier, more playful, and dynamic companion.
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