Birds n Ways Presents |
Make Your Own Bird Toys!
Ideas for pet parrots and exotic birds toys. Save Money!
Try the toy tips & ideas submitted by other exotic bird owners.
Then share YOUR favorite exotic bird toy ideas with us.
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We assume no responsibility for the toy ideas listed here.
Please inform us if you experience any problems.
The Activity Shirt
Submitted by: Tim - TBurgener@aol.com - November 19, 1997 Find an old shirt that you are comfortable wearing - but no longer in public. The best kind to use is a lightweight (thinner the better) button up shirt. (Or buy a cheap one that fits this task...)
Can be used for All Size Birds
Find a stash of extra buttons, beads, colored string, fancy dress trimming, lace, etc. Grandmothers are good sources for stashing wonderful collections of the oddest material and obnoxious buttons, but you can also find stuff in sewing/craft shops (even Walmart).
Now just sit down during your next favorite TV show, and start randomly sewing things on the shirt. Don't put any buttons on the back side (it might poke you), but distrubute the items all over the shirt, collar, and sleeve(s).
Now the bird(s) can spend more time on you without trying to damage your hair and jewelry, or preen your skin. If your standing a lot, put enough things on (and under) the collar. If you recline a lot, let your bird play on your toy infested stomach! I just added a zipper to my shirt, and my Quaker trys to pull it in both directions!
Lastly, when you wash the shirt, it is wise to use a protective bag like the kind that protect lingerie. It will do okay in the regular wash, but saftey is best.
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Treats In A Basket
Submitted by: Lynn Schult - August 30, 1997 I found miniature easter baskets in a craft store, and decided they were just the size for my goffin cockatoo to play with. I put treats inside, then attach a string to the handle. The basket is then suspended from the edge of the table and Casey uses the beak and foot method to bring the basket up to where he can grab it. This must be supervised, to make sure he doesn't ingest basket pieces!
Can be used for Medium&Large Size Birds
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Birdie Basket!
Submitted by: Aba Nduom and Paulina - December 14, 1998 Well, I have a Congo African Grey Parrot and I decided she was leading a much too boring life. So, I found out all the various kinds of toys that are safe for her and I have come up with this idea. Purchase a very big basket, big enough for your bird to have fun inside. Wrap the handle with rope to make it easier for the parrot to perch on. On the middle of the handle, hang a Penn Plax bell (as many as you like. Inside the basket, add paper towel tubes, sticks, golf balls,a few small food items, plastic bottle caps, balls of tissue paper, and anything else that is safe for your parrot to play with. Take your parrot out of it's cage and introduce it to it's new basket! (line the basket with shredded newspapers, black and white only).
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
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Emilie's Birdie Maze
Submitted by: Emilie Flack - emwtbonnie@yahoo.com - June 09, 1999 If you have a small/medium size bird, like a budgie, this will be a good idea. You can take a box and put hard plastic pieces in, forming a maze. At the end of the maze you can put treats (millet, seed bell, egg, etc) for when your bird figures it out. If your bird flies, then I suggest making a soft, non chewable top for it (like a soft cloth with a plastic lid). Hope your bird will like it!
Bird toy can be used for Small&Medium Size Birds
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Adventure Caves
Submitted by: Melinda Mullen - October 22, 1999 Many parrots have burrowing instincts. My African Grey loves being under beds or in boxes. Get a clean box about twice the size of the bird from a packing store, wine shop or grocery and just put it on the cage bottom with the open end so he can walk right in. You can make it more enticing by cutting some wide fringe on the end of newspaper and letting that dangle over the open end, or put treats inside. Putting a layer of newspaper on top of the box keeps it clean longer. He'll probably rush down immediately to get into it, examine every corner, chew or just stand in side staring!
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
If you have the space in your home, you can use larger appliance boxes, or create a tunnel by cutting several boxes (at angles for curves) and joining them with tape on the outside. (Monitor to be sure the bird doesn't eat the tape.) Be sure to cut air and exit holes at intervals, and place treats, safe toys inside. You can even create different elevations with angle cuts.
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No Name Game
Submitted by: Mae Jarvis - April 28, 2000 Materials: Towel, Buttons, Mini- Bell, Yarn and Safety Pens
Bird toy can be used for Small Size Birds
Step 1: Lay towel out on flat surface
Step 2: Take the safety pins and attach the buttons to the towel using the safety pins.
Step3: Attach the bell(s) to the towel. Note: pin buttons and bells with safety pin clasp at the back of the towel. The clasp should not be on the same side as the buttons or bell(s)
Step 4: Tie Yarn into bow
Step 5: Attach bow with safety pin to the towel.Object of Game: Lay towel flat on a surface and allow bird to wander around the surface of the towel. He will soon come in contact with the bow and find much entertainment in trying to untie it.
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Egg Carton Game
Submitted by: Montana - morningglorykitten@go.com - November 01, 2000 Take a empty egg carton and fill it with little treats and toys. in no time they should trear it to shreds and find the goodies inside. My budgie loves it! You can use this for all kinds of birds but the smaller they are the better this toy will work.
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
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Wooden "Legos" for Parrots
Submitted by: David Lal - dave@lald.demon.co.uk - January 18, 2000 Parrots such as my lesser sulphur crested cockatoo love toys but quickly become bored. To solve this I've started making wooden blocks with slots and notches that are exact multiples of the width of the wood I use. Everything is made so it is too big to swallow and "chewable" enough to be interesting but not too fragile.
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
In this way, blocks click into each other so an endless variety of shapes is possible. I also use a hard wood dowel of about 16 mm diameter and drill holes of the same diameter in the blocks thus the dowelling can also click blocks together. Unused holes can have pieces of knotted rope threaded through. The key to this all working is accurate cutting and drilling. For the wood I prefer a lightweight hardwood, preferably cherry or apple (home cured trimmings from the garden will do) and sisal for the rope.
The parrot, Taffie, loves the result.
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Get the Coke Can!
Submitted by: Shelley Stein - December 30, 2000 My Red Lored Amazon loves to push, knockdown & throw empty aluminum Coke cans. He's attracted by the red color. I set them up & he knocks them down to the command: "Get the Coke can!" He also responds to "throw it", repeats it, grabs the can by the tab & tosses it off the bed. (Of course, he runs to see where it landed.)
Bird toy can be used for Medium&Large Size Birds
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Squeaky Toy!
Submitted by: Sharon - sharonkitchen@hotmail.com - January 07, 2001 hello
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
I found this game out by accident when I was playing with my dog.
Use a dog squeaky toy .... squeak it.. then throw it a bit, my parrot went crazy and ran after it and "killed it". Then I squeaked it again and he "killed it" again!!! Be careful they don't eat bits.
p.s The louder the sqeak gets, the louder the parrot gets!
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Bubble Headed Idea!!
Submitted by: DIANA VANCE - refiners@earthlink.net - May 25, 2001 While working at my daughter's carpet store, I picked up a piece of bubble wrap and took it home to my parrots. For hours they popped the little bubbles. Now all I have to do to get some quiet time is find some bubble wrap and attach it to their cage! Be sure they cannot get wrapped or trapped in the bubble wrap and smother.
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
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Birdzilla
Submitted by: Andy - BiKeRbird87@aol.com - June 24, 2001 This game is so much fun to play that you will end up wanting to play it as much as your bird does. My grey and I play this alot. Get a little play town (we use legos). The bird's role is to kill the people and destroy the town. Your roll is to play the helpless town people. My grey rips the lego people apart and destroys the castle. Then build the town again for tomorrow. Also make sure your bird does'nt swallow any pieces. E-mail me if you have any questions at BiKeRbird87@aol.com or bikerbird@bmxtrix.com
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
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Bird Game Idea
Submitted by: Farah - Milstar89@aol.com - September 13, 2001 Take some paper towel and tissue rolls and connect them together to make a long tunnel. Then construct a playpen out of anything sturdy (not paper). When they come out of the tunnel, they will see some toys and snacks (such as millet spray) which you put in the playpen. They will stay in there for a while, playing and eating the snacks and toys.
Bird toy can be used for Small&Medium Size Birds
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Birdie Hit-Ball
Submitted by: Birdieboy - October 08, 2001 Materials:
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
Small ball (I suggest a small superball), needle or clip, wobbly wire or a safe string, safe stick and tape(1) Tie the wobbly wire to the top of the stick.
(2) Tie the other end to the needle.
(3) Poke the needle into the small ball.
(4) Tape the bottom of the stick to any kind of floor (for example: to your bird's cage floor, to your house floor, to a table).Now your bird(s) can peck at ball back and forward!
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Chairlift Ride
Submitted by: Farah - Milstar89@aol.com - November 18, 2001 Hi. This is a very simple technique that will have your birds chirping for hours! This is what you need:
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
1) Rope (A long piece of rope or jumprope)
2) A Basket- The size depends. Whatever your bird can sit in and be able to fit in will be great.Tie one end of the rope to anything, so it's sturdy. Put the basket onto the rope. DO NOT tie it. Just make sure that you are able to move the basket along the rope, so that it looks like a chairlift ride. Now put your bird in the basket and move the basket along! Enjoy and have fun! If you have any other ideas on bird toys, please email me.
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Parrot's Hideout
Submitted by: Amy and Zeka - November 24, 2001 Birds love to "burrow" whether in boxes, under blankets or strange places. Birds also love chewables toys and variety. Why not combine all of the above?
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
Make a tent out of light weight materials such as bedsheets. Make sure there's enough room for your bird to walk underneath by putting tall supports under it. With a little practice, you can make a variety of rooms. In different areas of your tent, put hidden treasures such as treats, foot toys or boxes to hide in. Your tent can stretch across the entire room, or just a little ways. Set your bird loose and watch him have fun finding all of the surprises.
To be sure of your bird's safety always observe to be sure that the sheets don't fall and trap your bird.
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Can You Find The Seed
Submitted by: Steven - Cracanuk25@hotmail.com - May 22, 2002 Hey Bird lovers,
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
This is a game I play with my budgie. It's simple, just shove one of your budgie's favorite seeds in a cut off piece of brocolli head. He loves this game and can usually find the seed in less then five seconds. When he finds it he gets a reward. Try it.This can also probably work with bigger birds. Use a peanut or something larger.
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Bird Circus
Submitted by: Gracey - Tracy@Psyber.com - May 27, 2002 You need string, legos, swimloops, a peace of cloth, clothespins, large box, markers, small boxes, bounceyballs and prizes. Cut a square in each small box. The large box is for the circus. Put in small boxes. My parakeet loves it. Your bird will spend hours playing in it. ENJOY!
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
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Fun Gym/Playground For Your Birdie
Submitted by: Stephanie - WingsnThings13@aol.com - June 12, 2002 My idea is pretty basic, but my parakeet Addy loves it. Here's what you need:
Bird toy can be used for Small&Medium Size Birds
One or Two shoeboxes, depending on if you have a few toys, or a lot of toys for your bird. One or two old toilet paper rolls. (Or, if you don't want to glue the toilet rolls together, use one paper towel roll). Treats, toys, and anything else your bird favors.Cut a hole in one of the shoe boxes, just wide enough for one of the paper rolls to fit in. Glue the toilet paper rolls together to make a tunnel. Put one end of the roll in the shoebox with the hole. Now you should have a shoe box with a tunnel sticking out of it. Cut a hole in the other shoebox and connect the tunnel to the shoe box. You should have two shoe boxes connected by your tunnel. Put your favorite bird toys, treats, seeds, etc in the two shoeboxes. Try to have variations in the two boxes, so it will be like going to two diffrent playgrounds for your bird to have fun. You can make it as long as you like by adding more toilet paper rolls and more shoeboxes. I hope your little birdy has as much fun as mine does in her little playground!
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Bite-a-Button
Submitted by: ~Angelshark~ - July 07, 2002 Take a piece of cloth and sew lots of buttons onto it. Use lots of different shapes, sizes, and colors to keep your bird interested. When you are done drape it over your shoulder and sit your bird on it. I got this idea because my two female cockatiels are always pecking at buttons on my clothes. Another idea is this: sew a zipper onto a piece of cloth, your bird will love playing with the shiny pull, and zipping it up and down, though this might be hard for littler birds. My tiels just like pecking the pull!
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
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Birdy Fun Fair
Submitted by: Katherine - FxyLilAngl@aol.com - July 16, 2002 I do this with my Cockatiel, Pepsi. Just find stuff you think a bird would enjoy. Here are some ideas I used to make my birdy fun fair:
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
Tram Ride - Use a jump rope and a basket that fit your birds size and then slowly pushed the basket back and forth.
Horse Ride - I have a musical wind up house that turns slowly in circles. It's just my tiels size and made a great ride (this is my tiel's favorite)
Birdy Pool - Get a small shallow container. Fill it up to one inch deep to make the birdy pool (when your birdy dries, make sure there's no draft)
Tour Ride - I use my 6 year old cousin's barbie car and slowly push my tiel around in it.Make sure you do all the activities slowly, so your bird doesn't get scared. Have fun with the Birdy Fun Fair!
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Hampsterball Fun
Submitted by: Lynsey - September 22, 2002 All you need is a hampsterball, the ones you put your hampster in for exercise. This game is great for lovebirds. Just put your bird inside the ball, close the lid and let your bird venture round the room inside your house. My bird Peetree loves this. She can play in it all day long!
Bird toy can be used for Small Size Birds
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Birdie Exercise Wheel
Submitted by: Jane - May 26, 2003 When I saw the exercise wheels for mice at pet stores, I wondered if they had one for birds, too. They don't. So I've come up with a way to make a cute exercise wheel (that my cockatiel LOVES).
Bird toy can be used for Small&Medium Size Birds
It's made out of popsicle sticks glued together (with bird safe glue, of course) in a circle, about 10 inches in diameter and 5 inches wide. On the inside I glued popsicle sticks perpendicular to the others for traction.
To use it, I put my bird inside and slowly turn the wheel. She runs around in it just like the mice do, and really seems to enjoy it!
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Wooden Playblocks
Submitted by: Karen - April 26, 2004 I was scared by blue and gold Macaw would choke on Lego pieces, so I bought him a game of Jenga (I don't know if thats the US name for it). He loves building towers from it and knocking it over and he can chew it as much as he wants.
Bird toy can be used for Medium&Large Size Birds
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Hoopla
Submitted by: sarah - June 02, 2004 This is a game for your wing trimmmed bird.
Bird toy can be used for Medium&Large Size Birds
Buy a kids hoola hoop and get your bird to sit on it. Say 'up' and lift up the hoop. Say 'down' and bring the hoop down. Do it slowly and if he likes it he will hang on and you can help him build huge muscles that he may not be using otherwise.
When the game is over, place him on his perch and if he had a good time he'll shake out his tail feathers. Mine flaps so hard I think that he may take off with the hoop now.
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Shoe Box Soccer Field
Submitted by: steven - February 05, 2005
Bird toy can be used for Medium Size Birdsyou will need: 1 shoe box, coloured pencils and a bird ball with bell.
Cut lid off shoe box, make hole in the side big enough for your bird to fit in. Draw a soccer feild inside with goals at both ends.
Put in the ball and your bird will love to roll around and score lots of goals.
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Maze To The Cage
Submitted by: Grant Listro - bossygrant@yahoo.com - March 08, 2005
Bird toy can be used for Small Size BirdsAll you need is a cage, crates and some towels or blankets. Get a bunch of crates, turn them upside down and put them next to each other. Make sure the handle holes are next to each other so your bird can go crate to crate. You could make deadends if you want to. Then take your towls or blankets and cover up all the holes on the sides so your bird doesn't escape or cheat. When you put your bird in the start hole, cover it up so your bird doesn't walk back out. Also you don't have to use a cage you came use other things that your bird likes. The good thing is that you can watch over your bird through the top. I hope you and your bird enjoys this.
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Lego Maze
Submitted by: Anonymous - April 07, 2005
Bird toy can be used for All Size BirdsThis is a good gym for birds with clipped wings as they can't cheat in the maze but if your bird nibbles plastic I wouldn't recommend it.
Buy one or two of those big containers of Lego. Start by drawing a plan and make sure the width and height of every tunnel is wider than your bird's wingspan and taller than your bird's height.(S)he might stretch his/her wings in the tunnels and you don't want them to break a blood feather or sprain a wing. Start building the maze on the floor. Make sure there is space where he can walk and turn. Birds sort of hobble when walking so a turn has to be awfully big.Place treats in some dead ends and maybe a few toys in other places. Place lots of treats and toys at the destination to treat your pets hard work. And because Lego can be pulled apart you can make different mazes all the time for him/her. Mazes can range from just a few feet of a room for a small bird like a budgies and cockatiels to the entire room for African Greys and Amazons. You might want to cover the top with some plastic or cloth so they can't cheat if they can fly or suddenly give up and fly straight to his little treasure trove. Hope your bird has fun! Note: Not recommended for finches or canaries. They are too small and fly too much and would probably end up splat on a wall somewhere in your maze and you probably wouldn't find them until about 2 hours later and you'll need a new pet later.Ugh.
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Musical Fun
Submitted by: JoAnne Boucher - jmfpaint@execpc.com - July 17, 2005
Bird toy can be used for Medium&Large Size BirdsMy Grey loves her See&Learn Piano by Leap Frog. Not only does it have color coded learning keys, it also has a variety of different instruments to keep it fresh. The buttons are large and it has a cute little girl voice that will coach your bird. The center mirror is ringed with lights. She loves it so much that it is hard for me to play with it. It is clearly her toy - don't touch - mine!!!!
Very educational and fun.
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Racing Track
Submitted by: Jason - September 23, 2005
Bird toy can be used for Small&Medium Size BirdsMy younger brother recently got a flat racing track (with toy cars that you control with a handset) and I noticed our tiels watching the cars go round and round. So I thought they might like a go :)
I used their "poo pots". The pots were originally hooked onto the cage, full of food, but they sat on them over night. So we put the food into a tray at the bottom. I tied a pot onto 1 of the racing cars and drove it around until I managed to keep the pot and car under control. By then the tiels were screeching to have a go!
I got 1 of the tiels and put her on her pot and slowly drove around. She stayed on for a couple of seconds, but flew off when it got to the first bend. She eventually got round the whole track and loves her rides as does our other tiel. We slowly race them. It's great fun for all of us. You might like to give your bird ago but don't force them to stay on if they dont want to, theyll realise in time it can be fun! We've even started putting big bridges and hoops for them to go under and climb thru!
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Birdie Pinata
Submitted by: monet - guchiebirdshop_monet@hotmail.com - October 02, 2005
Bird toy can be used for All Size BirdsFind something that you would like to be your pinata inspiration. Then paper mache (using water and flour) to the shape of your inspiration using cardboad (not newspaper toxic for birds). After letting it dry, cut non-toxic tissue paper into half inch thick strips and glue it onto the paper mached pinata using egg whites. Then cut a hole in the botton of the pinata and fill it with your birds favorite treats, new toys and trail mix. Hang it in a room and let your birds pick it apart. Eventually the pinata will break and the birds will have all new toys and treats.
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Bowler Hat
Submitted by: Teresa - December 10, 2005
Bird toy can be used for Small Size BirdsGet a plastic Bowler Hat from the toy shop or party shop, cut 3 openings on the sides so you bird can enter from one and come out from another.
I'll roll a bell or something in from one opening, my bird will happily jump inside, play around in the hat, poke his head out from one of the openings and have fun!
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This section is reserved for special toy tips and ideas.
Do you have one? Please share them with us!
Storm's Little Bed
Submitted by: Mary K. Graycloud - DQQDEL BUG@aol.com - October 08, 1998 My Nandy Conure Storm loves his basket. I get all natural wicker baskets. He chews on it until he gets it just the way he likes it. Then he takes the paper towels I give him to play with and puts them in the basket. That is where he sleeps and does alot of playing.
Bird toy can be used for Small&Medium Size Birds
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"Kids Meals" Have Great Toys!
Submitted by: Cruise - dgale@daytona.com - November 04, 1998 Heya!
Bird toy can be used for Medium&Large Size Birds
My best source of bird toys for Hoot, my timneh african grey, is the Kid's Meals toys from your favorite burger chain. Not all of them are appropriate but you can usually find one that is.Plus you get a great snack (if you're my size) or meal as the case may be. Only problem is my girlfriend keeps selling them on ebay.
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Towel Tent
Submitted by: Katie - January 15, 1999 I took a hand towel and put it through the top bars of the cage over the highest perch (if your highest perch is a swing, this idea doesn't work as well). Then I put it back through the bars about an inch and a half over, and pulled it down so the bottoms were even. This creates a cozy little "tent" for your bird to sleep in. If your bird is reluctant to enter the tent, make it a bit wider, and gradually make it as narrow as your bird likes it.
Bird toy can be used for Small&Medium Size Birds
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Leftover Lego?
Submitted by: Jake - jake_99_2000@hotmail.com - December 14, 1999 If your child has any lego hanging around that he doesn't want anymore, ask him to make something like a maze or a tunnel for your bird. Be careful that the bird can't chew any pieces off, and make the toy big enough for him. Most Lego comes with a green, flat 'platform' that you can place the toy on. Enjoy!
Bird toy can be used for Small&Medium Size Birds
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Attacker Ball (a fun wrestling toy!)
Submitted by: Audrey Smith - January 09, 2000 1. Buy a plastic toy ball that can be taken apart in two halves, or take a plastic ball (or even a plastic egg) and cut it in half.
Bird toy can be used for Small&Medium Size Birds
2. Take a small piece of cloth and wrap enough pebbles in it to make a nice weight for the bottom half of the ball. (Super-glue it with nontoxic glue.)
3. Put the ball back together using nontoxic glue or tape...(if concerned about your bird ingesting the glue, wrap the finally glued ball in a cloth or something.)
4. You are done, unless you want to add an item to the top of the ball, such as another ball, or a plastic bird, or a chew toy. YOU decide! Go with what your bird would prefer! :)
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Chewable Pine Cones
Submitted by: Carole Lewis - Txparrots@aol.com - February 07, 2000 While vacationing in New Mexico we picked up pine cones in the mountains. After cleaning & baking them, I placed our parrots favorite treats in them. For larger parrots use as fist toys & chewies, or tie them to their play area.
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
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An Inexpensive Air Cleaner!
Submitted by: Laura Bothman - August 14, 2000 Living with 7 Cockatoos, the dust can get pretty amazing!! I wasted so much money on air cleaners until I thought of this.
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
I bought a box fan and a 20 X 20 inch furnace filter. I then took some duct tape and attached the filter to the intake side of the fan and set the fan on low in my bird room so the air circulated in a circle around the room. The amount of dust this removes from the air is incredible. Every day I take it outside and blow it out with the leaf blower, or you could use an air compressor. The vacuum just doesn't seem to get it clean while rubbing the filter with the brush destroys the surface of the filter.
Make sure the fan isn't blowing directly on your birds and don't turn the fan up any higher that the low setting because it won't clean as well and will make too much noise. One of my little birds was sneezing all the time until I did this. Now she doesn't sneeze at all!
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Paper Twister
Submitted by: Kelly - December 08, 2000 Hi, I have two Parakeets and they love the toys I make them, but one of their favorites is the paper twister. First you take newspaper or brightly colored paper and cut it into long pieces. Then fold the strips of paper in half and tie with a twister in the middle, and there you go, a costless homemade bird toy for your parakeet or other small bird.
Bird toy can be used for Small Size Birds
Norman and Birkly also love to chew the paper off of twisters. You can put twisters in your bird's cage if you make sure he won't get hurt from the sharp metel ends. You can avoid this by twisting the ends into tight balls. THESE TOYS ARE FOR SMALL BIRDS ONLY. LARGE BIRDS MAY CHOKE ON SMALL TWISTERS. Hope your bird likes his toy! PLEASE think about how safe you want your bird to be using homemade toys.
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Box Frinzie
Submitted by: Antonia - June 16, 2001 My idea is nothing but stacked shoe boxes, with holes in them. Get 6 shoe boxes and cut holes in them. Stack the shoe boxes. Your bird will have hours of fun.
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
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Bird companion CD
Submitted by: Meghan Power - November 14, 2001 When a bird is alone and lonely, and all you can provide is a mirror to make them feel like they're not alone, make a CD/tape of that specific bird's calls and happy chirps so that it thinks its talking to another bird? I know my single lovebird needs love, and my chirping just isnt cutting it.
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
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Rubber Band Toy
Submitted by: Charleen - parakeet7@lycos.com - November 19, 2001 Put a rubber band around a perch. It may take a few days for it to catch the birds attention. My budgie started pulling on it, and it's her favorite toy (and the only one she will use). You may need to supervise your bird a bit, especially if your bird is a chewer.
Bird toy can be used for Small&Medium Size Birds
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Hair Twisties
Submitted by: ~*Angelshark*~ - January 06, 2003 My two cockateils like to play with hair elastics. They like it when I hang one around their neck and they peck at it and try to get it off. Once they get it off, they like to chew it and flip it around. Just make sure that your bird won't choke if you put it on and don't leave them alone. That is why this idea only works for smaller birds.
Bird toy can be used for Small&Medium Size Birds
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Teach your bird to talk
Submitted by: Jade, Crystal and Ruby - March 12, 2003 Every day at around the same time sit on a chair next to your bird, and repeat the same few words over and over and over (... You get the message!) again. Do that for about an hour a day. Start by saying easy words like...
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
-Hi
-Bye
-Welcome
Your bird will only repeat the words it likes, so you might want to try 5 words at once. Keep teaching the same words for about a month or so and then keep adding to it's vocabulary. Whenever you pass by it's cage remember to say "Hello" or "Hi". This will keep the progress going on.
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Necklace Toy
Submitted by: Anna - annakegley500@hotmail.com - August 18, 2003 My tiels love to chew on my necklaces while sitting on my shoulder. I decided to do something about this after they began to break my necklaces. I took a safely-cured leather string (vegi-cured), and beaded a bunch of non-colored, no shine jewlery shells on it. They haven't broken it yet, but they sure seem determined to do so. I leave it out in my living room, so if I get busy, the necklace makes a great babysitter/entertainer.
Bird toy can be used for Small&Medium Size Birds
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Birdie Bath Time
Submitted by: Debbie Brannock - January 24, 2004 My conure loves his bath. It's impossible to keep him out of the water when I am in the tub. He is constantly jumping in there with me. So now he gets his own bath tub. I fill up a paint rolling tray with nice warm water and set it on the toilet seat there next to me while I lay in the tub. It is the perfect birdie pool since it gradually gets deeper. He splashes and sits in the water and takes his own bath and waits for me to get his towel to dry him off.
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
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Kleenex
Submitted by: Melissa - June 05, 2004 I have paid lots of money for my cockatiel's toys, but who knew he'd like Kleenex the most!! I just put it in front of him, on the cage, cover him with it, or play peek-a-boo and he absolutely adores it!! Plus its incredibly cheap! Who would have thought, of all the things, Kleenex!! ^^ (Oh and by the way, I dont know if its very good to let your bird eat it)
Bird toy can be used for Small&Medium Size Birds
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Rock Bath
Submitted by: Lynn - July 26, 2004 Get a bowl, depending on the size of your bird, put smooth rocks in it and add some cool water. Your birds will get cooled down as well as having lots of fun splashing around.
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
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New Trays For Old Cages
Submitted by: Annette - nettsie@aol.com - September 09, 2004
Bird toy can be used for All Size BirdsThis is a great idea for anyone that just can't afford to buy one of those massive cages for their Macaw when the trays finally rust all the way through... and believe me it doesn't take long for that to happen.
It's simple... call up any heating and air conditioning installation company. The aluminum they use to make the ducts to run air throughout your house is usually wide enough to create a tray plus a 1 1/2" fold over lip on all sides. I have recommended this to friends a bunch of times. Depending on where you are... prices range from $20 to $45 a tray depending on size and how much work they have going on. A lot of times when you see one of the HVAC guys at a job you can ask them to do it and they can bang it out for you in about 15 minute. Specify no jagged edges and a folded back "hemmed" edge (so you or your bird won't get cut)They have a tool that can make a crimped edge in seconds in one shot. It's sort of a folding technique.
ONE WORD OF WARNING: Some companies us Zinc coated metals also called Galvanized metal. Zinc in high doses may be bad for your bird BUT there is a way around it. Home depot sells a solution that can resurface it and make it paint-able. Special Krylon paints have been developed for this sort of purpose that are non-toxic and won't make your birdie sick.
Ask your HVAC guy what he has and get some price quotes. You'll be thrilled with the results. Most cages have 2 trays... for less than $90 you can have new trays that don't leak!!! And best of all you aren't spending a fortune on a new cage every couple years.
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Sisal Rope Knots.
Submitted by: Justin - March 08, 2005
Bird toy can be used for Medium&Large Size BirdsI buy a roll of Sisal Rope from Walmart and cut it into 12-15 inch strips. I then dye each piece using Vitacritter bird safe dyes. All I do is tie each strip in knots throughout my birds cages. I tie some in single knots. Others in 3 or 4 knots. My Blue and Gold spends hours trying to figure out how to untie them. My African Grey was a little more hesitant to try them at first but once he figured out they were not about to kill him he really enjoyed them. It's a simple, safe and cheap way of helping to satisfy your birds curiousity.
*** Just keep an eye on the sisal for frayed ends and trim them back if you come across some ends that are frayed. I've never really had a problem with it but do keep an eye on the birds when they are playing with it just to be on the safe side***
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Bird Phone
Submitted by: Krystalyn K. - May 16, 2005
Bird toy can be used for Small Size BirdsYou will need:
"pom-poms" (medium-sized)
a narrow box but long box with a lid (about 3in. x 7 or 8in.)
9 medium sized pom-poms (about an inch)
a small mirror (an inch and 1/2 by 1 inch)
scissors
glue and tape
glitter (optional)
pipe cleaners
First, cut 9 holes that are as big as a pom-pom evenly spaced (leave about 3" of empty space at the top) into one side of the box. Glue each pom-pom into a hole (make three columns so they look like buttons on a phone). Next, neatly center the mirror and glue it so it looks like the screen on a cord-less phone (do it on the same side as the buttons). To make it safe, use a strong tape on the edges of the mirror so they're not sharp. Now, you can fold the pipe cleaner in half so both pointed edges are on one side. Then, poke it through the top of the phone (on the left or right side) so it looks like the antenna of a phone. To help make it stay, neatly put glue around the botton. You can also twist different colored pipe cleaners to make it really colorful. If you chose to use glitter, NEATLY put glue on the tape and put glitter on it. If you want, you can always write on it or add more glitter, just make sure it dries all they way. Now, let it dry and let your bird enjoy it!
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Playing Area in a Cage
Submitted by: Alyssa - xoxbrokenxox@hotmail.com - August 02, 2005
Bird toy can be used for All Size BirdsI recently got a new, rather large cage. I wanted to spiff up the design and give my Budige more activites. This is a very cheap idea to try! It would be inside the birds cage.
You'll need:
> Either perches that don't go half way through the cage, or bird safe sticks from outside.
> A good strong, bird safe rope.
> Twisty Ties (the things on bread)
> A cheap 1 dollar bird ladder with beads. OR your own made ladder.
> Tape
Opptional:
> NON TOXIC Glue
> Beads
> SAFE, vegetable tanned leather
> Shower curtain rings
If using sticks be sure to bake/clean them very well to kill of pest before giving to your bird and make sure they are safe as your bird will probly chew a lot on these!The basic idea is to have a little 'play area' in the corner of a birds cage. This is for a budige but if you get the appropriate size sticks/perches, it could be used for any bird.
First, pick an area of the cage. Horizontal bars works best. Start off by putting your first branch/pearch onto one of the bars and secure it with rope, bread ties or NON TOXIC glue. The point is that this does NOT to go the other side of the cage; the end of the stick should just be laying out for now.
Second, attach another branch/perch the same size a little farther up from this perch and over to the left/right by a few (3-4) bars. Again, sercure it.
Third, Above your *first* perch, add a bird safe, thick rope. Tie one end to the bars and one end to the top of the cage. Let it hang down a bit to provide climbing/perching areas. The second perch/branch you addes should be higher than this by a few bars.
Now, take another stick or perch and make it long enough to go from the top of the cage to the bottom of the last perch/branch. Tie/tape/glue it in place at the top. Take the other ends of the perches that are laying out and attact them to this vertical stick. > Optional:
-You could instead use a length of bird safe leather and string beads to it. OR you could wind the beaded leather over the stick, a stick would provide a less wobbly foundation and the beads would be for color.The last step is to add the latter. It should sit on the bottom perch and lay 'upwards' but out a little to the rope. You can sucure in place by tieing/gluing.
Lastly add shower curtain rings. Your bird will probley love to climb through these. You may feel like surcuring them in place as well. You can add a favorite tree to attract your bird here.
If you don't quite understand this send me an email and I will show you pictures!
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