Many parrot owner have complained over the high price of parrot toys, and a fun solution is to give your parrots hours upon hours of enjoyment from homemade toys.
Not only are they fun to make, they won’t break the bank! They are also a great way to help your new parrot settle in.
Materials
When making your toys, be mindful of the materials you use. You never want to introduce something potentially harmful or fatal to your bird just to save a few dollars. Chains should be stainless steel, or nickel plated.
Pine, balsa, maple and birch are good choices for wood but only use if the wood is untreated.
Natural rope such as cotton and sisal are best to use as is vegetable tanned leather.
Always use caution when giving your bird toys that have small pieces they can choke on, or plastics that can break into small pieces.
These will be different according to the size of bird you own.
Making Parrot Toys with Plastic Straws
Hands down, plastic straws are one of the easiest materials to use when making a homemade parrot toy, and allow you to be very creative.
Make a chain of straws by first tying a straw into a knot. Thread a second straw through the knot and tie it into a knot. Thread a third straw through the knot on the second straw and tie it into a knot. Continue in this manner until you have a chain.
Another fun straw toy requires a zip tie. Take a handful of bendy straws and tightly cinch them together with a zip tie.
Bend the straws in all different directions to give your parrot’s toy a wild and crazy look.
Hang the straws from the top of the cage. Your parrot will love chewing on it.
Making Parrot Toys with Coconuts
Purchase a whole organic coconut at your local market, and let it work double for you.
Your pet parrot love to eat the delicious fruit, and you can repurpose the shell into a toy.
Cut the shell in half and drill a hole in the bottom of it.
Thread a rope through the hole and knot the rope on the other side, so it hangs like a basket. Once they eat the meat, use it as a basket to hold foot toys, treats, or to chew on.
Another option is to saw off about 1/5 of the shell and remove the meat from inside the coconut.
Drill a hole in the top of the shell, and affix a rope for hanging.
Through the large opening stuff shredded paper or treats and use as a foraging toy.
Making Parrot Toys with Pine Cones
Pine cones can be used in many different ways to provide endless enjoyment for your bird.
Screw an eyelet in the top and hang the pine cone from the top of the cage – your parrot will love chewing on it.
You can also make it into a foraging toy by stuffing bird treats inside the pine cones.
To get the pine cone ready for your bird’s cage, bake it at 200 degrees for 30 minutes.
Turn off the oven and let sit in the closed oven for up to 2 hours to dry it out and kill any bugs.
Avoid pine cones that have sap on them since the sap is sticky and doesn’t mix well with feathers.
