Make Your Own Bird Toys
By Anne Watkins
Want to have some fun with your bird? Get together for a toy making session! Of course, if you want to get much actual work done, it will probably be best if your feathered partner watches from a playstand. And by keeping the bird at a distance, you also ensure that it won't get its beak on any scissors, needles, or material packaging.
There are many easy-to-find things you can use to make great bird toys. Some are things you may already have around the house, others are things you can pick up in stores or that can be ordered from magazines or online craft suppliers. Hand over a few pieces of whatever you're working with and let your bird chew, throw, drop, or talk to the items. Pay attention to what your bird's doing with the pieces as you work. You might be able to pick up some ideas! Here are a few favorite toy materials:
Wood
Wooden thread spools are great fun for birds to demolish and are easy for parrots to grasp with their feet. So are appropriately sized wooden beads, small wooden blocks, sections of wooden dowel rods, and craft/popsicle sticks. Most of these items can be found in the craft section of your local department store or in specialty craft shops. Once you have found a source of safe, unpainted, plain wood to use, purchase a selection of pieces in different sizes and shapes. Connect the pieces into interesting configurations, or simply give them ‘as is' to your bird to play with.
Always choose the wooden pieces with your bird's size in mind. Don't give a large bird toys meant for small birds; likewise, don't give a small bird a big toy that might overwhelm and frighten it. Just remember that all hookbilled birds love to chew and that safe, chewable toys are important for them. Even softbilled birds like finches and canaries enjoy pecking and poking at things -- small wooden beads joined into fun shapes make great playthings for them, too.
Note: Always make certain that the woods you use for bird toys are untreated with any chemicals. Pressure treated wood contains chemicals that are deadly to birds if ingested.
Cotton Rope
Rope toys are lots of fun for birds. They can climb on them, swing on them, sit on them, chew them, and preen them. A fun thing for my birds is when I take a short length of rope, tie knots in it, and hand it over. It's as much fun for me to watch the birds work at untying the knots as it is for the birds to play with the knots!
Important: Always make sure that the rope is not long enough to allow the bird to become entangled in it.
Sadly, there have been too many cases where exhuberant birds have accidentally hanged themselves when playing with rope toys of inappropriate sizes or lengths.
Rope toys can be easily cleaned. Just toss them into the washer and run them through with your laundry. If the toys begin to look too soiled, simply throw them away and make new ones. Safe rope can be purchased at many department stores, home and building supply stores, and from online craft vendors. Be sure the rope is cotton, untreated with any chemicals, and isn't too easily frayed. If a rope toy becomes too ragged or frayed, dispose of it; your bird's toenails might get caught in the frayed ropes.
Leather
Leather pieces are fun for birds to play with, and lengths of knotted leather laces can be used to join wooden beads or blocks into shapes. Always purchase undyed, untreated leather. You can take sections of leather, punch holes in them, and join them into layers, or tie several pieces into fun shapes. If you're going to use leather laces, always make sure the lengths are appropriate to your bird's size and that the laces aren't long enough to entangle your bird. Leather can be purchased from craft suppliers, leather shops and online suppliers.
PVC Pieces
PVC? Yes, good old PVC parts make wonderful, destruction-proof toys for birds! Tees, joints, elbows, and connectors come in different sizes and stand up to any beak. They are also very easy to keep clean -- simply toss them into a sink of hot, soapy water for a good scrub, then rinse well. You can string several pieces onto knotted leather lacing and create interesting toys that you can either hang in the cage or give your bird to play with when it's enjoying playtime outside the cage. PVC pipe can even be used to make playstands and perches. Be sure to rough up the surfaces with a file or sandpaper so the bird can get a good grip when standing on the pipe sections. PVC parts can be purchased in any building or home supply store and are cheap, sturdy items to use in bird toy construction.
Hint: For playstands, use sections of pipe that fit tightly into the connectors, and never use glue.
Coloring Agents
What if you want to color the toys you make? Safe ways to stain wooden pieces or cotton rope include using grape juice (ever seen a grape juice spill that didn't leave a stain??), food coloring, or vegetable dyes. If it's safe for human infants, it's safe for birds. My parrots love the colors red, green, bright blue and yellow. If given a choice, Pancho, the orange-winged Amazon, will choose blue every time, while Rio, the blue-crowned conure, will go for red, green or blue! Yellow is a favorite with both birds. Give your birds a few colors to pick from and see which they prefer.
For a look at what can be done with most of these materials, visit www.greybirdtoys.com/ Not only can you order ready-made toys, but there is an interesting selection of toy making material available. Browse around the site and see what great ideas you can come up with! Then get busy and make some new toys for your favorite companion bird.
