Birds were designed to forage for food all
day long. So when they live in a cage where food
comes in a dish, they get bored. Trust us, a
bored bird is no fun to be around – they develop
health and behavior problems rather quickly when
they aren’t kept stimulated and happy. Bird toys
are not just nice to give your bird, they are
absolutely required.
But you don’t want your bird’s toys to create
more problems than they solve either. Birds are
sensitive critters and can become very ill from
exposure to chemical dyes, lacquers, paints,
adhesives, and heavy metals that sadly can be
found on some bird toys. For Other Living Things
has taken the worry out of bird toy selection;
our bird toys are free of harmful chemicals,
dyes, and inappropriate metals.
When choosing a bird toy, there are a few
things you’ll want to keep in mind. Make sure
the toy has at least some parts that are small
enough to get his beak around, if he can’t bite
it, he might get bored or frustrated. Also,
different birds prefer different textures, so to
figure out what your bird likes best, try a toy
that has several different textures . Grey
Feather's Peepers
and Chop Chopy
are two chewable toys that are made with several
different materials.
You will want to give your bird a toy that
can be destroyed too- destroying things is what
birds do best. Our fumigant free s
eagrass bowls are just wonderful for tearing
apart, as is Shredd
ers, a 30 ft length of woven palm leaf toy
that can be tied, threaded, or draped around
your bird’s cage. If your bird is super
destructive, try getting a big toy that can be
stuffed with food and branches for repeated use.
We love StarBird’s Brainiac
Block and Curlycue
for this.
You can help make your bird’s destructible
toys even more rewarding by hiding bits of food
treats in them, just
like a bird foraging in the wild and finding
morsels here and there. Check out the wonderful
instructive DVD Capti
ve Foraging for lots of info on this
topic.
When you give your bird a new toy, stick
around a while to see how she likes it and to
make sure she’s not ingesting any of the bits
she tears off or able to open the attachment
clamp. If your bird seems afraid of her new toy,
it might be too big and feel overwhelming to her
and you might help her get used to it through
gradual introduction. Hang the toy outside of
her cage, where she can see it, for a few days,
and then put it in the cage for short periods of
time until she feels more comfortable with the
toy as a normal part of her environment.
Keep in mind that even a great toy will
loose its appeal over time, so rotate new toys
in and old toys out of your bird’s cage every
week.
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