Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!maverick.ksu.ksu.edu!kuhub.cc.ukans.edu!zeus.unomaha.edu!network
From: network@zeus.unomaha.edu
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: INDOOR: Parrot toys
Message-ID: <7943.27b6c06e@zeus.unomaha.edu>
Date: 11 Feb 91 22:03:58 GMT
Lines: 39


   A few articles in the past have asked/talked about toys for birds.
Being one of many owners of a bird with a busy beak I thought I would
share some of the home made toy ideas that my spouse and self have used.

Before anything you need to get some string and a heavy carpet needle.
Be sure the string is of the type the bird can chew thought if a toe
would become entabled.  A light weight twine is good.  Also having a
power drill is useful to punch a hole in things to be strung up.

Some of the things our birds love to gnaw and chew (in no particular order):

Popcorn, Walnuts, Almonds, cheerios (they already have a hole in em' ;-)
empty TP rolls, string nuts inside the roll is even better.
plastic straws with wooden dowels tightly in them are chewed with delight.
A 1 inch thick tree branch cut about 4 inch long drilled with holes,
to make the branch even better force sunflower or shelled peanuts in
the holes.
The plastic shell (just the shell!) of a cheapie pen (no hard plastic pens).
any type of pasta with holes in it (cooked and uncooked)
Empty thread spool (but not if it's hard plastic)
An old canvas tennis shoe (remove the shoe lace to avoid toe tangles)
twisted pretzels
Dip a pine cone in corn bread batter, bake, cool, hang up.

Any kind of fruit or vegtable strung up seems to be of more interest than
peices in a dish.  Don't cut it up, they savor opening it themselves.
I often make up a few days worth of toys, then each night get a hanging
food toy ready in the fridge to place in the cage in the morning.

Some words of warning: avoid avacados with pits, small objects that
might get stuck going down (I always split grapes in half), don't use
processed wood (like the dowels) if your bird eats some of the peices.
Avoid sharp objects and leather items.
Make sure pine cones and other outdoor items have not be sprayed.
Remember, your bird is forever a small child.

Steven Lendt
Email: Network@Zeus.UNOmaha.EDU