Parakeet toys?
I want to know how to make parakeet toys! Does anyone know a website or something that show you how to make a toy. Also, which kinds of toys do they play with the most? Is it okay to put colorful toys in becuase they might chew on them?
- CheRRy BloSSom
Birds like bells. You can put a bell on a twisty. They will ring the bell and chew on the twisty. Birds also love paper. I used to have a love bird that would take a whole sheet of paper and entertain herself all day long by tearing it into little shreds and putting it into her nest.
Check this one
Merry meet,
You can use wood blocks (soft wood such as balsa) if it is colored with a FDA approved, human safe food dye.
Budgies like to chew on things and take things apart.
I would suggest a natural hemp or sisel fiber that has been washed a couple of times to remove impurities that could harm the digestive or internal organs.
That is what I give my tiels to chew and play with.
I don’t know of any websites off the top of my head; I’m afraid I can only give you a little general advice.
I had a parakeet a long time ago who was very playful and loved all of his toys. These included a ladder for running up and down, a bell at the end of a chain of five hoops (he would do acrobatics through the hoops, or he would just pick up the bell and drop it so it would ring), and, his favorite, a wiffle ball with a jingle bell in it. I called this his “budgie ball”, and he could play with it for hours, pushing it around and running after it, picking it up and throwing it, and even laying on his back to play with it with his feet!
My mother’s two parakeets ignore all toys except one we found at Petco about half a year ago. It’s made of about six balsa wood discs that hang on a thin rope. They absolutely love shredding the discs and, when they’re done with that, they start in on the rope! We have to replace it every 1-2 months or so. We buy ours, but I’m sure it would be easy to make, since it just takes balsa wood, string or rope, and a clip to hang the whole thing up by.
As for making your own toys, keep the following in mind:
1) Most parakeets love anything they can shred, that’s brightly colored, and that makes noise when played with.
2) Think of your parakeet as you would a toddler; make sure anything you use in making a toy is too big for the bird to choke on.
3) Stick with safe materials. For shreddables, try paper, balsa wood, or nonsalted peanut shells, not plastics or cellophane (birds may love it, but it can asphyxiate them!).
4) Don’t paint or stain any materials you use for your toys. If you want to make colorful toys, you can try all-natural food colorings from your local grocery store, or use very sturdy plastic pieces like those used in factory-made bird toys.
5) Avoid glues if you can, but if you really need to glue some pieces together, talk to a vet to find out which nontoxic adhesive would be best for your purposes. Remember, whatever you give to your bird for a toy will almost certainly end up its mouth!
6) If you want to use natural materials like twigs, be sure to disinfect them by bleaching, before using them.
7) If you use hoops, loops, or holes in your toys, make sure they are big enough that your bird won’t get a foot caught, or small enough that he can’t get his foot in there in the first place.
Hope this helps!