Built to Play!

One of the many positive aspects of parrot toys is that they are created to offer your bird something to do.  Something to play with when you’re not around, something to spend some time doing.  They are useful in relieving boredom and inactivity.  And our birds seem to enjoy them, because they keep going back to play with them. 

Some of the most played with bird toys are ones that are easy to destroy.  The tactile joy they have in shredding, tearing, and chewing is unmistakable in most birds.  For that reason, my first choices in toy offerings are types that encourage destruction and foraging.   Foraging and playing with toys are great alternatives to offer birds with problem behaviors.  Time spent foraging is less time spent engaging in less-than-desirable behaviors.         

I don’t know that you can ever have enough opportunities for foraging.  They can be created by buying toys, or with some creativity, you can make them at home. 

Piñata toys are great choices that you can fill with your bird’s favorite treat.   Also good are wood blocks that are easy to grab onto and pop apart.  Jungle Talk © has an endurable toy called the “Smart Bird Pyramid Puzzle”.  It is a pyramid shaped toy with big beak-sized holes in it.  These holes make it possible for your bird to sort through anything stashed in there.  It hangs from a chain, and thus requires your bird to figure out how to steady the whole thing in order to get to the goodies.  It’s refillable and provides good exercise! 

An example of a homemade foraging toy is a toilet paper tube filled with nuts, seed or dried fruit.  That can be used as a hanging toy or as a foot toy.  Other foraging favorites include hanging peanuts, bits of fruit, etc. from natural wood branches at the top of the cage, or from another perch.  You can tie them on with small sisal twine, and with the right placement, provide ample opportunity for a good challenge.  As your bird gets the hang of seeking out food in different places, try making it a bit more challenging by placing paper, cardboard, or dried palm leaves in the way.   You can even make it as simple as placing chewable wood shapes on top of their food bowls.  They’ll have to move the toys before they can get to their meal. 

Remember, if your bird is busy chewing up her Parrot Piñata ©, she can’t be screaming or destroying your window molding.

Starbirds © makes a toy called “SeekaTreat” which consists of different sized wooden blocks stacked on top of each other that rotate to reveal ‘hidey-holes’.  These can be filled with small treats, thus offering an excellent opportunity for foraging.  After the bird is done foraging, they can destroy the toy itself.  In this case, toy destruction may be total; leaving you with bits and pieces that are unrecognizable as the toy you put in the cage that morning.  

            It’s reported that some parrot species in the wild spend up to 26% of their time foraging for food.  It’s a behavior that may need to be learned in many cases, so be prepared to show your bird how to get to the treats if they don’t figure it out on their own.  As with anything, supervise and use caution.  If a bird is afraid of the toys you use, the toys then really aren’t that useful.

Remember, if your bird is busy chewing up her Parrot Piñata ©, she can’t be screaming or destroying your window molding.  And that’s good not just for your bird, but also for your entire family.J  Kelly Ballance  2005