Foot Toys?

[Sadie]

Oh so i get the different types of toys. Between the foraging, shredding/chewing, problem solving...but what about the foot toys?
Do you put them inside the cage? I would assume they get dirty quick at the bottom, so do you just wash them daily? Is it a sanitary issue? Or do you keep them out and play with it outside of the cage? And do you throw it toward them, or fetch, or do you just hand it to them? lol im sorry for such a novice question!
And what size is good for an eclectus?

And while im on toys, i heard eclectus are not hardcore chewers. The best toys for them are cockateil sized chewing toys or large toys made of soft woods? Is this true?
Thanks a million, and sorry for all the question!

 

[wenz2712]

I have a large bowl in Codies cage whcih are full of foot toys!! She also has alot in the Bowl on her playstand!! She tends to play with foot toys more than anything else!!
You will get to know which yours likes best... I have found that Codie tends to like things like Yoghurt Pots and small budgie type balls ... Her favourite are the small wicker type balls that she can shred.. another fav is empty toilet roll tubes... I have spent pounds on different foot toys, but she still goes back to the simple ones!! Another one that keeps her amused for hours are hair scrunchies lol

Sometimes they do get messy, if so, I just put them in the sink and scrub them

 

[Sadie]

Thank you! I have 0 creativity so i didnt even think about finding things around the home. I'm sure my bird will though lol. I have been looking at stores and online at all the options and i was so confused about what to do with them. a bowl in the cage is a great idea. a little bird toy box!

 

[roxynoodle]

Definitely don't throw them at the bird, lol! That will probably scare it half to death. I leave them in the bottom of the cage (a bowl is a good idea). I also hand them to the birds when they are out. Even little blocks of wood are good ones. And popsicle sticks (clean, unused).

 

[Sadie]

lol yeah that sounded bad...i meant toss them TO them. like you would a cat
our pet store has those wooden childs blocks with the numbers and letters on them. i will have to pick up a few!

 

[BillsBirds]

There are so many things that you can give them to play with. Mine get wine corks, clothespins, paper towel rolls, paper cups, plastic drinking straws, new, unused wooden spoons, small cardboard boxes, whatever has no dyes, paint, unknown metal, glues, or other chemical additions.

 

[roxynoodle]

I wouldn't toss them either. You can roll them around on a table or the floor and see if they want to go after it. But, often birds are afraid of new things so I try to introduce them as nicely as possible. Today I gave Pete a new perch and he sat at the bottom of the cage cowering. I finally had to take it out again.

 

[Spiritbird]

You can also roll some of those things around the house Bill talks about in a coffe filter for a foraging idea. You can hang a clean, unsprayed basket in the cage with various safe items. The other day I had Rosie in the kitchen and I took many things out of the drawers that would be safe for her. She loves to pick them up and toss them on the floor. 2 yr. old child? Of course.

 

[Pedro]

Eclectus are a funny parrot to entertain. They can be rather reserved, my eccies are not into playing as such but love to chew fresh branches of a bottle brush tree. They love toys that they can press a button & hear sounds. They also love hanging off boings. Bells are another favorite. The little wiffle balls are fun to chase as well. So i find myself in the baby department of Big W looking for suitable toys for my birds. Rattles, teething rings & they are reasonably priced.

 

[Sadie]

ok lol so playing catch is out of the question. The coffee filters sounds fun, i have tons sitting around now since we just switched to the keurig (yum).
I never even thought about baby toys! i have so many bagged up from my kids its unbelievable. im guessing i can clean them with the white vinegar. Thanks for all the great ideas!

 

[Wulfgeist]

I wouldn't toss them either. You can roll them around on a table or the floor and see if they want to go after it. But, often birds are afraid of new things so I try to introduce them as nicely as possible. Today I gave Pete a new perch and he sat at the bottom of the cage cowering. I finally had to take it out again.

That happened to Jasper the other day. He is actually in a baby cage so they were trying to hang a bowl on the side for him to get used to that and he got scared. However when I was done with my visit and she put him in the cage he acted like nothing ever happened.

I sort of did the same thing like Pedro said..I was checking out the infant toys. At the place I am buying Jasper they have a little plastic thing in the visit room filled with toy bits and pieces and a couple rubber tub toys. He likes to dig through it when I visit and he was obsessed with the tub toy this trip. On the way home I stopped and bought a plastic storage bin it's about 8x12x4 so it's probably big enough for him to perch on. I'm going to fill it with toys but this one won't go in his cage, probably on the playtop or somewhere handy nearby. I picked up a package of bright coloured tub toys since he liked that and some rings in infants that was on clearance. They are hard plastic and bright colours. I'm sure like the cats' toy basket it will fill up with little trinkets in no time.

I plan on putting some toys in his cage but obviously stuff that is easily cleaned. There are two smaller bowls on the playtop I will probably just use for foot toys as well.

 

[lizardsmells]

Kazi has a toy bucket in his cage that has various foot toys in it, some of them are also forage toys. He has a willow basket attached to his playgym that has various foot toys in it as well. I've also taken some of the hanging toys and removed the hangers because he likes them better as foot toys.

His very favorite foot toy though is a simple wooden ring about 2" in diameter. I bought a bag of a dozen when I ordered some other things from a wood toy supply company and just a single one is his favorite thing to play with on the floor. He also likes q-tips, especially if he can put them on top of and then under his wooden ring.

 

[Sadie]

i love all these ideas! i was really planning on spending tons of money on designated "foot toys". Going to make a list of things and buy some baby toys and take inventory on what i have here left over. i know i have those linking rings.

and i would have never thought of putting a basket of toys in or around the cage. you guys are awesome!

 

[lizardsmells]

It's amazing what they'll take to. One of Kazi's other favorite foot toys is the prize from a Kinderegg. They're not legal here, but I have a Canadian hookup who sends me a dozen every so often. (Don't tell the FDA, they might have a stroke.) The (surprisingly well made) toys are kid safe by default and many of them are safe for birds too. Kazi loves a little dog hockey player that came out of a Kinderegg and it's the one toy that doesn't ever get cycled out of his cage.

The one thing to keep in mind when looking at potential bird toys out of things that aren't bird toys are any possible issues. For instance, the baby section in my grocery store had a toy that I nearly bought for Kazi, but I realize after I dropped it in my cart that he could actually get his head caught in one part of it.

I'll also tell you that the Wacky Whirly was the best two bucks I've ever spent. 10 straws spiral cut then cut in half and cinched together with a cable tie in the middle occupied Kazi for a good half an hour one after noon. I also like to cable tie bundles of them to willow wreaths with almonds and large beads wrapped in tissue paper and attached to the wreath too. That's good for several hours the first day and several more over the next week. I love this thing and straws are cheap. I keep thinking I need to buy a couple more just to have some backups.

 

[roxynoodle]

Yes, I was going to caution any baby toy rings (or bird toy rings) to be sure they are large enough the bird can't get stuck in.

I have to be very careful with Pete and plastic as well. He shreds plastic like you wouldn't believe and I worry he will ingest some. He hasn't (yet), but even very hard plastic seems to get shredded by him. Acrylic seems to be safer with him.

 

[Sadie]

oh, wow ok. I guess i will hold off on getting any ring toys until he is home so i can better judge his head size. Thanks!

Jealous about the kindereggs by the way! I have had 2 and they are so much fun! I swear i couldnt taste the chocolate cause i was too excited about the toy lol.
Foot toys sound like they are gonna be a lot of fun!

 

[lizardsmells]

oh, wow ok. I guess i will hold off on getting any ring toys until he is home so i can better judge his head size. Thanks!

Jealous about the kindereggs by the way! I have had 2 and they are so much fun! I swear i couldnt taste the chocolate cause i was too excited about the toy lol.
Foot toys sound like they are gonna be a lot of fun!

I don't even eat the chocolate! I give it to my husband or use it in baking. But I am such a little kid about the toys. They're just so neat and really well made!

 

[roxynoodle]

I would eat the chocolate

 

[Rio Mom]

I would eat the chocolate

Me too! I couldn't possibly sit aside perfectly good chocoloate! Lol

 

[JensFlock]

I use the foot toys to play with and teach my ekkie when he's out of the cage. They're not in the cage with him, so he doesn't get bored with them. I scatter them all over the floor and let him explore.
I have a toy with pegs and different colored rings, and he's learning his colors now.
He loves to watch me get all excited when he takes the right color.