jenphilly
Active member
- Oct 15, 2013
- 1,950
- 25
- Parrots
- BE2 (Ivory), B&G Macaw (Max), Budgie Group,
Granbirds- tiels; GCC (Monkey & Monster); Sun Conure (Loki); Bare Eyed Too (Folger); Evil Green Monster YNA (Kelly); B&G (Titan)
When you go the dollar store... few things to keep an eye out for (everyone is different and thats the biggest problem!!).
Many will have the chinese finger traps in the party section, those are great tied into a basket or stuff with shredded paper.
Shredded paper / basket filler... look for white or natural untreated kraft.
Rolls of crepe paper - I only get white to be safe and avoid any dyes that might be an issue.
Rolls of desktop calculator paper - my Ivory loves those, usually have two on the outside of her cage and there are days there is literally a pile of pulled paper under the hanger.
Coin wrappers - the type that look like little tubes. Tie them into baskets, stuff with shredded paper or cut up straws into 2-3" sections and put sisal or jute thru it, put a few coin wrappers over them so they kinda slide back and forth, then put couple larger beads or buttons on ends to make a foot toy for medium - large birds.
Raffle tickets!! These are a huge hit with our guys, weave them thru bars, tie them into baskets.
Coffee filters... you can stuff these with nuts and tie into little bundles so they have to rip it open to get to the treat. Or just tie a bunch together and cut the pleats to make what looks like a flower. There is a link in this section about shreddable carnation / flower toys, a much prettier version of this!
Baby teething rings... great on their own as foot toys.
Kids foam letter puzzles or sheets of foam cut up and tied into baskets or strung with beads or cardboard pieces. Just be sure the foam does not have glue or magnets on back. And if you can, smell the foam before you buy it. The foam at michaels sold in the smaller packs, like 5x7 rough size, usually in different colors and textures, that has been safe, but the larger packs of sheets, we've purchased and they have a horrible smell... never use anything that smells offensive to you, the fumes could be dangerous to the birds, and who knows what is in them to make them smell!!
In craft stores you can find the raffia type ribbon... I get that in natural, no dye for that either. You can use that to make strings of beads or cardboard or just tie into knots and use jute or sisal to tie into a basket.
Once you get started, you'll be surprised how you will walk into a store and think, oh the birds can play with that
Just about any plastic beads are okay, just be sure you don't get anything that feels brittle or easy to break. If broken, the sharp edges would be a worry.
Oh, and cotton swabs!! Ivory is a nut over cotton swabs. She snaps the tips off to watch them fly, then picks at the sticks until bored and moves onto the next one You can cut straws and stuff them into straws and use plastic gimp / lacing to tie the middle tight to hold it all together.
And gimp with beads is a big favorite... most small to medium birds just love to bite the gimp and hear / see all the beads go crashing to the bottom... is a favorite pastime for my daughter's cockatiels...
Hope my babble helped a bit!!!
Many will have the chinese finger traps in the party section, those are great tied into a basket or stuff with shredded paper.
Shredded paper / basket filler... look for white or natural untreated kraft.
Rolls of crepe paper - I only get white to be safe and avoid any dyes that might be an issue.
Rolls of desktop calculator paper - my Ivory loves those, usually have two on the outside of her cage and there are days there is literally a pile of pulled paper under the hanger.
Coin wrappers - the type that look like little tubes. Tie them into baskets, stuff with shredded paper or cut up straws into 2-3" sections and put sisal or jute thru it, put a few coin wrappers over them so they kinda slide back and forth, then put couple larger beads or buttons on ends to make a foot toy for medium - large birds.
Raffle tickets!! These are a huge hit with our guys, weave them thru bars, tie them into baskets.
Coffee filters... you can stuff these with nuts and tie into little bundles so they have to rip it open to get to the treat. Or just tie a bunch together and cut the pleats to make what looks like a flower. There is a link in this section about shreddable carnation / flower toys, a much prettier version of this!
Baby teething rings... great on their own as foot toys.
Kids foam letter puzzles or sheets of foam cut up and tied into baskets or strung with beads or cardboard pieces. Just be sure the foam does not have glue or magnets on back. And if you can, smell the foam before you buy it. The foam at michaels sold in the smaller packs, like 5x7 rough size, usually in different colors and textures, that has been safe, but the larger packs of sheets, we've purchased and they have a horrible smell... never use anything that smells offensive to you, the fumes could be dangerous to the birds, and who knows what is in them to make them smell!!
In craft stores you can find the raffia type ribbon... I get that in natural, no dye for that either. You can use that to make strings of beads or cardboard or just tie into knots and use jute or sisal to tie into a basket.
Once you get started, you'll be surprised how you will walk into a store and think, oh the birds can play with that
Just about any plastic beads are okay, just be sure you don't get anything that feels brittle or easy to break. If broken, the sharp edges would be a worry.
Oh, and cotton swabs!! Ivory is a nut over cotton swabs. She snaps the tips off to watch them fly, then picks at the sticks until bored and moves onto the next one
You can cut straws and stuff them into straws and use plastic gimp / lacing to tie the middle tight to hold it all together. And gimp with beads is a big favorite... most small to medium birds just love to bite the gimp and hear / see all the beads go crashing to the bottom... is a favorite pastime for my daughter's cockatiels...
Hope my babble helped a bit!!!
