Stacy Richford asked:


Many birds become very unhappy rather quickly due to the boredom of sitting in an empty cage. Birds have very active minds and strong beaks they need to work out in order to help keep them occupied and happy. Boredom is one of the reasons why many birds become pluckers and pull out their own feathers. This is why it is important to choose the right toys for your new pet bird.

When choosing a toy for your pet bird it is important to make sure that you choose a toy that is the right size. Some toys are specifically designed for smaller birds and are not always safe if you have a large pet bird. Larger birds have much stronger beaks and can easily break apart toys that were designed for smaller birds. This can be a potential choking hazard.

An extremely popular toy for many smaller birds are swing sets and Olympic rings. Many birds get so much enjoyment out of these two types of toys that they will in fact try to swing on both of them at the same time. Some larger birds also enjoy playing on swing sets, but the majority of bigger birds are not as fond of them as their smaller brethren. Toy ladders are a favorite of birds of all sizes but you have to make sure that you have adequate room in your pet bird’s cage.

If you have a bird that has tendencies to pluck a lot, it would be in you and your birds best interest to buy toys which can be preened. Keeping your little buddy busy preening their toys means they are much less likely to spend time pulling out their own feathers. If you purchase a toy that has been made with cotton preening strips you need to pay close attention for any threads that begin to fray. A loose thread could easily tangle around your bird’s neck or foot. Preening toys composed of feathers are significantly safer since you do not have the dangers of any loose threads.

Toy play gyms for pet birds are a lot like the gyms in which children play, and many birds get almost the same amount of enjoyment from their play gyms as children do theres. Most bird play gyms include climbing ropes, perches, ladders, seesaws as well as swings and a small bowl for treats.

There are certain toys you should think twice about giving your pet bird. Any toy that has a mirror or highly reflective surface may cause your bird to become bonded with its own reflection. Also toys with flimsy parts with tiny attachments that are not securely fastened such a small bells can also be a bad idea. If your bird manages to pull off any tiny part from one of its toys it may end up swallowing it, and the results could be fatal.

Lastly worth pointing out is the fact that many birds, just like children are quite happy playing with simple objects rather than expensive toys. For example, a paper towel tube or something like a wooden tongue depressor can be quite a joy for many birds. As always be sure to supervise and watch your pet bird closely to make sure they do not injure themselves with whatever it is that they are playing with.



Elizabeth

Lee Dobbins asked:


Birds are intelligent creatures with active minds and they can soon become bored if they had not kept entertained. Birds that are bored and start to exhibit a desirable behavior such as squawking a lot and pulling out all the feathers. One way to keep your bird amused even when you’re not around is to make sure that you provide him with a variety of bird toys.

One thing to think about when picking out toys for your bird is whether or not the toys match with your bird size. Toys designed for small bird like a parakeet might not be safe for a large parrot because the powerful beaks of the bigger birds can easily break the toys into pieces which can be dangerous for your pet.

Different sized birds do seem to enjoy different types of toys but one toy that all birds seem to like is the ladder. you want to be careful, however, that you choose the right side letter for your bird obviously smaller birds will meet once with wrongs that are closer together.

Swings and hanging ring seemed to be a bit more popular for the smaller pet birds. That’s not to say that larger birds don’t enjoy them as some do but in general the smaller birds seem to have a lot more fun. Hang a couple in your pets cage and you soon see him swinging around and hanging from them and just having a heck of a time.

The bigger birds seem to like maize toys and puzzles especially if you can put some of their favorite treats inside the toy. They also like ropes that have leather knots which they can unknot with their beaks. This gives them something to work out of their mind instead of hanging around doing nothing.

Birds have the mentality of small child and just like children birds can really get enjoyment out of a play gym. you can find these In all shapes and sizes, but typically they either sit on a table on top of the birds cage and when he is out of the cage they provide him with a variety of interesting things to play on including ladders seesaws and swings. Not only will your bird entertain himself on these though probably entertain you as well!

When you are shopping for bird toys there are some you might want to think twice about buying. Although most birds love mirrors and love to look at themselves, it does might not serve the purpose you want if they actually think it’s another bird they may bond with their own reflection and not care so much about bonding with people.

Always evaluated toy for safety purposes toys that are not well made and can come apart and harm your bird should be avoided. Also toys that have little areas that might pinch your bird’s toes or that he can get his head caught and should be avoided. Remember, your bird can get his little beak into just about anything so you want and make sure the toys are tough enough so that he can’t break anything off and swallow it which could be disastrous and possibly even fatal.

Your pet bird doesn’t necessarily need expensive toys to play with, many birds love things like paper towel tubes and tongue depressors. Just be sure that if you do you keep your bird toy like that that you make sure he doesn’t rip apart and start eating it – it might not be a bad idea to stay around and watch them whenever you give him any new toy.

Because your pet bird gets bored easily you want to rotate his toys. Put a few toys in his cage and then hide the others away where he can’t see them. After a week or two remove the toys that are in his cage and replace them with the ones you hid away. You can take this opportunity to clean the toys that he has already played with, then hide them away for a week or two. When you bring them out again he’ll think he’s got new toys to play with!



Colleen