Q1 - What kinds of toys would my J like?
A - From editor:
Most important is to offer a variety. Some good choices are wood, leather or other items that can be destroyed. Many J's on this list seem to have a favorite toy that they can "beat up". J's are usually very playful so be sure to keep introducing your J to many different toys until you discover what he/she likes. J's are also very intelligent, so the toys that offer some type of puzzle (such as food in a treat wheel) to figure out will keep their brains busy while you are away.
Be careful to check all toys for safety. There are many toys with unsafe parts (see below). Even if at first glance a toy may appear to be safe, make sure that you observe the way your J plays with it to be sure.
Q2 - What toys do people on this list recommend that I buy for my J?
A - From Steve:
Treat Wheel Perch, The name of the company is Golden Parrot, Kirkland VA, (206) 828-2661.
A - From Ros:
Tongue Teaser, from Just Parrots, ON, Canada, (416) 543-5789 or http://www.arcos.org/parrot/
Q3 - What toys can I make for my J?
A - From GinnyR:
Try getting a small piece of PVC pipe (2" costs 50 cents). Drill holes for attaching a leather strip. Stuff rolled up newspaper into the pipe and hang. They love to rip out the newspaper. Alex has a little pacifier tied to a piece of leather that he just loves. Also, get a lava rock with a hole in it (they are in the fish department of the pet store), get a short chain-like dog collar. Tie one end to the rock and the other to the cage, they love these. I made a fruit and veggie spear by putting holes in the fruit, veggie and running a shoe lace through it.
A - From Julie:
Yesterday at Michael's craft store I bought some wood pieces made by Lara's Crafts. I called the company and asked if the wood is safe for parrots and the lady didn't even hesitate before she replied "Oh yes--it's not treated in any way." They are birch. So, I bought some round pieces meant to be tires for wooden vehicles, and they have a hole in the center. They're easy for Digger to pick up, and he likes to carry one around. I used unsweetened Kool-aid and non-toxic paint to color the pieces. I I also made a toy out of strips of fabric tied around white cotton rope. The ends are knotted to prevent fraying, and that's what he plays with the most. He "preens" until he finds a knot, then he concentrates on that.
A - From Ursula:
In the last few months, Michi's developed a new toy fetish: caps of pill and spice containers, bottles, etc. She especially likes lids that have another part inside that she can pull out. Her absolute favorite are caps of spice containers: they're red and have two parts, one is the cap and the other the part with the little holes. Right now, nothing beats this as a toy. When she's taken the two pieces apart, I put them back together, and she starts all over. Sometimes it amazes me how these simple little things keep her busy many more hours than the expensive bird toys I buy for her at the store. (Needless to say, I thoroughly wash and disinfect everything before I give it to her.)
Other recently discovered simple toys: pieces of corrugated cardboard - roll them up and tie them up with a leather string; TP rolls: Michi isn't interested in them just as they are, but when I poke holes in them and attach bits of cotton rope (laundry line) with knots in it, she likes it; also pieces of cork - not from bottles, but the ones you can buy cheaply in house wife stores (I think they're for spice containers); strung up on leather with bits of wood, cardboard and beads or a bell, they make great toys. I also received a bottle of cognac a few months ago that came in a cork box, and I'm breaking that down into pieces.
Editor's note: there has been some discussion on this list regarding cork - it is possible that some commercial cork is bound with an adhesive that may not be bird-safe if ingested.
A - From MarilynN:
Here's an easy-to-make toy: All it is is a PVC connector.(39 cents) The one that looks just like a short straight tube without bends. The size for my cockatiels is the connector for 1 inch PVC pipes. Drill a whole all the way through the middle of the connector. Stick some leather through the whole and knot it so it stays in and tie the other end to a quick link for hanging. Now it looks like a hanging tube. Roll up some newspaper and put it in the tube so that it sticks out at both ends. Now let the birds have it. My cockatiels have been shredding paper for days and a lot less at the bottom of the cage. My only concern would be a head getting stuck if there is no paper left to shred, so my cockatiels only use it outside of there cage with supervision. For larger birds, just increase the size of the tube.
A - From Michele:
I made a great toy for Moe over the holiday weekend that he absolutely LOVED, I thought I would share it with you all. I had bought these little wicker fabric type witch hats (maybe 4" from peak to brim and maybe 4" diameter brim) in the craft store around Halloween. They only cost about 25 cents each on clearance & he had loved chewing up untreated wicker in the past. Well, I had 2 & tied one to each gym, but for a month, nobody wanted anything to do with these things. Not scared of them, just no interest in playing with them.
Well, over the weekend we had gotten some nuts in the shell. So Jeff took an almond & wedged it into the tip of the hat. Hat was clamped onto the end of that stupid harness I bought that Moe wanted NOTHING to do with, that I thought if I left it rigged up to the gym then he'd get used to seeing it all the time & maybe one day I'd get it on his body.
Anyway, Moe went wild wheeling it up & trying to get the nut out. Apparently first attempt was most humorous but I missed it. Moe stuck his beak into hat to try to get out nut & ended up with hat stuck on top of his head! Guess he didn't quite know where the hat or nut went OR what that scratchy thing on his head was. anyway, then he started trying other techniques but kept dropping the nut to the floor. So, we bent the hat brim & sort of folded it together & tied with a piece of twine. Can you believe he played with this thing for HOURS?? He absolutely had a blast. Kept him busy all turkey day. I think he got the nut out in pieces & there is still a nut shell in the hat. Then, he played with the toy again on Friday, even though there is no treat, just an empty nut shell. Spent at least another solid hour.
Q4 - What toys should I NOT give my J?
A - From Alys:
Rule of thumb: If you can bend any of the metal parts of your bird's toys with your fingers, teeth, or light pliers, your bird can bend it with his beak.
A - From Rita:
There are several common sense guidelines to use when selecting toys for your bird.
First and foremost - KNOW YOUR BIRD!! Ruckus is NOT an avid toy destroyer - therefore toys that would be safe for her, WOULD NOT be safe for most Jardine's.
FASTENERS - Any fastener with a sharp prong edge or protruding piece of metal should be removed. Regarding key rings, the weaker (thinner) the metal - the more likely a parrot is to open the key ring and get their beak caught. If you observe availability in a hardware store - you can see a difference. A stronger metal is more safe, less likely to be pried open. HOWEVER, never use key rings around birds that seem to disassemble and destroy their toys. A key ring on a toy for Ruckus would be safe, but not for Lucas, the BF Amazon.
The C-rings or quick links are good replacement fasteners if your toy does not have them. HOWEVER, I have heard of a bird impaling its beak on these also. My suggestion is to tighten the C-ring real well with a needle nose pliers after you have tightened it by hand. Even our TAGs, who live to open these things, cannot open one tightened well with pliers.
If possible, find smaller diameter C-rings and eliminate some of the rings, etc., that attach toy parts to chain. These smaller C-rings are not easy to find, especially ones that will slide over a thick cage bar - but they do exist. I have found them - but not very easily. The idea here is too loop the C-ring directly through the chain link and eliminate the ring connection all together.
COTTON/JUTE Rope toys - always be sure your bird's nails are trimmed when offering these toys. Monitor the toy - trim frayed pieces regularly. If your bird is typically destructive with these types of toys, offer them only under human supervision. NEVER place the "Cotton Candy" rope toy where it can be played with unsupervised - several birds have been hung once they became entangled. Even Sally B. cautioned the use of this toy, recommending supervision, at IAS (after myself and several others had forwarded tragic stories of birds injured or killed with this toy). Booda ropes can also become frayed so regular trimming should be maintained as needed.
Make sure that a small fragment of rope does not wrap around a part of your birds body - especially the foot or toe - twine fragments can be almost microscopic. If your bird plays with these types of toys, check them regularly for constrictions.
PLASTICS - I utilize plastic human baby toys for babies - but these toys are not necessarily recommended for adults who learn to chew and destroy as they get older. Babies are mothers, and like to "tongue" everything and learn and explore the various textures of objects.
Never give adult birds hard plastic toys - such as those often made into baby rattles and many kinds of baby keys. Note that the popular penguin toy offered for smaller birds is made of hard plastic. Fine for a budgie (unless the lead weight is still in the bottom of these), but not alright for a Jardine's. If busted and ingested, these sharp pieces can puncture the GI tract, and require surgery - IF the problem is discovered in time. Many birds like the texture of beaking softer plastics, I have some baby keys that are a soft, rubber like material. However, if they are breaking these pieces off, watch carefully for ingestion tendencies and discontinue this type of toy if warranted. Again, perhaps only offer under supervision.
BUTTONS - Ruckus has removed many buttons off of my overshirts. She cracks the plastic in the center of the button - holes with thread - thus removing them. Most buttons are hard plastic - make sure your bird doesn't crack the centers out of these and ingest the small piece of plastic.
Be careful when selecting buttons for the sock toy that has been mentioned. Monitor to see if your parrot is breaking the buttons, and use ONLY buttons too large to be swallowed whole. An option to buttons would be to scout your craft store for the kids jewelry items. Thanks to Marilyn's idea, I make baby leather charm toys. I simply string plastic charms onto a thin piece of leather with knots in between each charm, or bead. It is a very popular hand toy for babies and adults alike. These particular charms (wish I could remember name and brand - Marilyn, can you help?) come in various miniature shapes - pacifier, horn, rattle, etc. There are four shapes. The bright colored charms are a hard plastic, the more translucent charms (not in stock as often) are a softer, more rubber like plastic, and the birds seem to prefer this texture. These charms are too large to be swallowed, and may make a good sock stuffer. You can also stuff socks with sturdy marble beads, stainless steel nuts and bolts - just suggestions. Check out craft stores for stuffing ideas - small wood shapes would be great also - like miniature spools, etc.
ALWAYS give the appropriate sized toy for the appropriate bird species.
NEVER give budgie toys - like the plastic whiffle balls with jingle bells inside - to a bird with a stronger, more destructive beak. I have had to rescue an amazon who broke through the plastic mesh and impaled a jingle bell onto his beak. Breaking through the plastic, the entire whiffle ball can become stuck on the bird also. As soon as you note a break in the plastic mesh - throw the toy away.
Leather is a great texture toy - and the strips make a good fastener. I have had birds destroy the entire toy - all but the leather knot and about 2" of the strip remain at the top of the toy when the rest has been demolished. So using leather IS a good, safe fastener. Tie several knots and pull hard for strength - a spritz of water on the knot will dry and make the leather hard - thereby more difficult to come loose or unknot.
With cockatoos and birds who live to disassemble knots, purchasing some of the toy hangers now offered by Expandable Habitats and now some other companies may be a good alternative.
Several avian publications over the years have warned time and time again about using toys with jingle bell type toys. Even budgies can get their beaks caught in these - THEY ARE NOT SAFE and any conscientious toy maker would not be using these in their toys. When buying bell toys - check the clappers - those with an open slit in the section that attaches to the bell are dangerous for most bird beaks. You want a clapper that has solid welded construction. Birds of Play and Perma Play both have safe clappers in their bells.
A - From Alys:
I agree with Rita.
I personally had to pry one of those bells off the side of a lovebird's beak. That was after I had to free his buddy's head from inside the ball the ball came in.
Mental Picture:
One green lovebird with a purple spaceman's helmet completely over his head, with his brother rolling around on the floor trying to remove the bell from his beak. I found them at 10 am when I went down to feed them, the sun was rising around 4:30. Poor little guys were exhausted.
Might as well take this time to remind you all about the danger of too--small clips on toys. Someone once gave a BFA in the store I worked at a set of Budgie Olympic rings. Before we realized he had it, Chico had the clip thoroughly stuck on his lower mandible: curved part into his mouth and the catch part into the hole for his neck under the beak. That was extremely difficult to remove, we worked on him for half an hour when we decided: one more try, then off to the vet to be sedated. Fortunately it came off with that one more try.
A - From editor:
Examples of toy parts that may be unsafe are:
Carefully examine all toys you purchase for safety. Often you will see a toy you like but it has an unsafe clip or other part on it. It is usually fairy simple to replace that part with another safer clip, such as a C-clip or with a piece of leather or cotton rope.
Q5 - How can I make a jungle gym for my J?
(THIS was supposed to be where I put Marilyn's description of the laundry rack thing. She typed it in so many times, yet I don't seem to have a post handy)
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Last update: March 04, 2003