budgie toys and dyes

[lucysmom]

so i have a questions regarding a toy my son bought for my budgie. it was a bird toy new in package when he gave it to me. i washed it off and the dye from the wicker balls attached to rope was just coming off in the water.. my question is -- wouldnt this dye be bad for birds? or because its a bird toy the manufacture will use non toxic dye? does anyone prefer to make their own toys or buy toys. any suggestion on fun toys id love to know about them.

thanks everyone

 

[JerseyWendy]

Food dyes tend to wash off/lighten up considerably when washed, unfortunately. It doesn't necessarily mean the manufacturer used unsafe dye.

 

[gracebowen]

I buy my toys but would make them if I knew a place locally to buy safe parts. I did fix one toy I bought after they destroyed the popsicle stick.
Now they don't play with it.

I look for toys on sale.

Right now I have 11 toys but they don't play with them much.

They prefer to fly or play with each other.

 

[RavensGryf]

I agree with Wendy on the dye. I buy and make my own toys. After a while, you will find that you end up with lots of toy parts. When a toy is ready to discard, save the usable pieces. Online stores such as mysafebirdstore.com sell different types of bird safe "string" for toy making. They have tons of toys for all sizes of birds, as well as a section for loose pieces for toy making. Just beware when looking at the website... it can cause you to spend more than you expected to!

 

[lucysmom]

i will check it out for sure. thanks for the info. what about baby toys. i see o utube budgies/parakeets playing with baby toys that make noise/music. does anyone agree these could be ok for birds?

 

[RavensGryf]

Many people use baby toys for birds. Use common sense as to whether it's size appropriate ie. budgie cannot get head or body stuck in any enclosed ring shaped object. This also goes for toys made for birds. Many birds love musical toys. I would think most baby toys are too big for budgies though.

 

[Aandeg]

My birds favorite toys are sticks. And the packaging that toys come in.

 

[lucysmom]

that is very good information. i would not think to make sure lucys little head might get stuck in some baby toys. i will definately take into consideration while shopping for toys for her

 

[getwozzy]

I have found that making my own toys has saved me a lot of money~ mainly because I know what each of my birds prefer, so then I buy those types of materials and build toys with them. I also buy my toy parts from mysafebirdstore~ on the left-side menu scroll to the bottom and choose "toy parts" and you'll see several categories of toy parts.... Be careful- like Julie said: their store is addicting!! Lol

If you want to dye your own toy parts http://www.parrotforums.com/do-yourself/40852-how-make-your-own-wood-dyes-tutorial.html

My budgies are like ting beavers~ they love shredding yucca, paper, wood, vine balls, etc

 

[lucysmom]

thanks for your info. my lucy has not really shredded anything of big notice. she chews sometimes on her popular perch , but that really it. i put paper in and thought she was eating it, so took out, but when i put in again now knowing she is not eating it she wants nothing to do with it. i am waiting on a perch from amazon that she can eat

 

[RavensGryf]

Mine are like tiny beavers too lol... They both REALLY love balsa wood. It is a very soft wood. They also love dinging bells. It's so adorable!

 

[lucysmom]

i will have to see if i can find some of that wood. thanks