Bird toys provide opportunity for our pet birds to participate in activities in our homes environment that replicate some of the natural behaviour’s we see in birds living wild, like foraging, mind stimulation and importantly exercising. Sometimes using toys/hideouts to escape a busy room and hide or rest, even sleeping at night, something like a natural nest. We can do this in the form of play with bird toys that offer parrots opportunities to be active, chewing destroying, playing – all vital activities for our birds to try through the day and many different types of toys encourage problem solving along with an active body and mind. It is important to remember that many birds will be scared of something new so a good idea if your bird is like this would be to place the toy near the cage then attach the toy to the outside of the cage so your bird can investigate and be sure they are happy for the new toy to be near them.
Foraging toys
A foraging toy is something in the form of cardboard, acrylic or wood as example, where we can hide foods, treats or other smaller activity toys inside. These type of toys encourage the bird to seek a solution to get into the activity toy and then have the reward of a treat. We can try and ensure the reward is visible then leave the bird to seek and retrieve – a great way to fill the time when our birds are on their own.
Activity toys
Probably the most popular type of bird toy, something for everyday use and easy to buy from most good bird shops or online retailers. Ideally this toy will allow for climbing and chewing, a swing or ladder – something that can be swapped out and back in from time to time, always a good idea to have a box of toys and exchange these regularly so your bird can see something new and not be bored of just one toy for long periods of time. Try and buy toys with materials that are different from the last toy, loofah, then wood, then acrylic then maybe Java.
Shreddable toys
An excellent activity toy for your bird will be the use of a shreddable toy, something they can really get into and chew to pieces. Cardboard works well in this scenario, blended with wood, leather or sisal as example your bird can really make a mission of destruction! A blend of both hard and soft materials will allow for harder chewing moments along with something easy on the bird’s beak. Guaranteed hours of fun and activity for your bird!
Bells and mirrors
Depending if you can cope with the bell ringing then a parrot bell is a great addition to your toy collection. Parrots especially seem to really enjoy making noise and playing with these kinds of toys. Mirrors also give smaller birds like Budgies hours of entertainment, especially if they live alone in the cage, chatting to the mirror like it was another bird.
Beak and nail trimming
Kind of toy themed, we can use a hanging beak trimmer as something to play with alongside a useful tool to keep beaks and nails trimmed. The same works for perches – a perch with calcium, bee pollen or bio-magnetic to help manage rheumatism can be an edible or destructive toy in the cage, serving many purposes all wrapped up in one neat parcel.
