Toys for Parrots are crucial. Imagine living in the wild, waking up when the sun rises, heading out to forage for food, digging in cavities, dive bombing bugs, picking berries and then flying back to the nest to feed the young, turn around and do it again. And this goes on all day until close to sunset.
Now imagine waking up in a cage, and your human friend brings you fresh water and food every day. Leaves for work, is gone for eight hours, and perhaps the same thing happens in the evening with a bit of human interaction. What a boring life and certainly a real lack of exercise.
This is an invitation for feather plucking, nail biting, squawking and in worst cases, self mutilation. Unless Polly has tons of things to keep her busy while you’re away, you may end up with a moody and unhappy Parrot, not to mention the more time she spends in her cage the more protective she is of it and may not want hands touching her cage and just generally become less tame.
There are insane amounts of awesome bird toys out there and believe me, they can cost a fortune! Ranging from just a couple of dollars to $40-$50, Bert the budgie can keep your pocketbook flowing. What amazes me is how no two birds are alike. Rocky might like massive chunks of wood strung on heavy chain while Songbird Sally prefers colorful little plastic pails and bells to ring. It’s really just a trial and error at first. But one thing is for sure, they need toys to keep them busy and stimulate their minds just as a child does.
Parrots are extremely intelligent (what other pet watches you get out the food for dinner and says “I wanna bite”? They LOVE puzzles. There are many foraging toys available that require your genius to hold down a cup while lifting the lid to find a treat. The harder they have to work to get a special treat, the happier they are staying busy for several minutes trying to figure it out and the closer it is to nature.
As I mentioned, toys can get very expensive, but we’ve found a few cheap back ups. Fresh Pine Cones (untreated with any pesticides!) are one of our Moluccan Cockatoo’s favorites as well as our Eclectus. They are easy to hold on to and make a delightful crunching sound as they destroy them.
New, unused popsicle sticks, small tree branches, toilet paper and paper towel rolls are great as well. Just be sure everything you offer is free of harmful chemicals, pesticides and paint.
Almost every Avian vet has some bird toys for sale and there are several online websites to order from.
One of my personal favorite bird toy websites is Parrots Treasure.
They have a wide variety of toys in all sizes, shapes and materials and are VERY REASONABLY PRICED!
A must have is the pine block with a pine nuts embedded in the middle. Not only is the wood the perfect crunch but when they reach the center, they are rewarded with a Pine nut! Almost every bird I’ve met enjoys these tremendously and they carry several different options.
Parrot Treasure carries all shapes, sizes and types of Parrot toys, are fast shippers, and their customer services is awesome!
Another website which carries a few Parrot toys The Parrot Posse. You will find Parrots for sale as well as toys.
Located in the St. Louis, Missouri area, this knowledgeable group is very active in fairs and shows, breeds and owns several types of Parrots and has the websites available for all of your Parrot needs.
