The art of keeping your parrot interested with toys can be challenging. This becomes less of a challenge when you use a little creativity.
The safety of your parrot should always be considered when creating or modifying toys.
Make sure all materials used are bird safe. When using rope of any kind, make sure it is free of any processing oils or treatments.
Inspect all toys for loose parts that could cause your parrot to become entangled or where feet and claws could be injured. If in doubt, simply don’t use the toy or the materials. Always supervise your pet when he becomes familiar with a new or modified toy.
Parrot toys are classified into several categories. In this article, some of the most popular categories are explained.
1) Foraging Toys: They are a wonderful way to enrich your bird’s life and satisfy the natural instinct. For a larger parrot, an outdated phone book is a great resource. Drill holes of varying depths through the phone book making sure at least two go all the way through. Secure the new toy to the parrot’s cage by inserting bolts of the appropriate length through the holes and securing them with washers and nuts. When considering smaller species, some excellent feeding toys can be purchased in several different designs. The addition of paper shreds cut from paper bags or lunch bags turns these toys into irresistible treats for your parrot.
2) Foot Toys: These are great for developing your parrot’s foot coordination and strength. These toys are manufactured and sold in many different forms. Some of these toys consist of small wooden or plastic blocks that can be purchased from many vendors. A great foot toy can be made by using a small piece of sisal rope and securing a large wooden bead at each end with a square knot. Another alternative is to cut pieces of cardboard or use small cardboard boxes.
3) Shredding Toys: These are great for exercise and concentration. These toys can also be purchased and modified by securing strips of paper to items for longer shredding. A great alternative is to wrap small toys and treats in newspaper and place these trinkets in different parts of the cage.
4) Rope: It is good for exercise and coordination. Climbing ropes are great, but many times the rope stays installed in the same place. It is recommended to relocate the climbing rope to different areas for your parrot. To give the parrot more incentive to climb, secure a ribbon or smaller sized cuts of string to the main string at different spacing intervals.
5) Swings: They are great for coordination and strength. These can be purchased in many different sizes. A great way to make your swing more interesting is to add things out of the way of the swing. This allows the parrot to reach these items while swinging.
