toys made from common things in the house?

[amazonlvr]

Ok so my Amazon goes threw toys like crazy.in the last month I have prolly spent over $700 on toys that he just destroys within a week or soon. I have thought about making toys to save money. I have no idea where to start though any advise on what I can use?

 

[mrgoogls]

you can either use straws as foot toys or bunch them together and hang them. um, my quaker likes a bit of food wrpped in paper. after a while give him 4 or 5 of them but only 1 or 2 with food. that way he shreds them all but gets less fatty nuts/seeds. ill be back with more ideas later!

 

[JerseyWendy]

Making toys yourself can be the easiest thing in the world

Go to a local lumber yard and buy UNTREATED pine. I regularly buy 2"X4"X96". Cut the lumber into chunks/pieces. Drill holes. Color with food dye if you like. Then use either sisal rope or polyrope and string together. Voila'. You will also need stainless Quick Links to hang the toys.

Here is an example of a toy I just recently REMADE for my Macaw:

Here is a toy I recently made for my Amazons:

 

[amazonlvr]

Ok looks easy enough I'll defiantly give it a shot and see how it turns out. Thanks

 

[elseg]

even the simplest items can entertain my bird.
mine enjoys such simplicities as:
1. spent roll of toilet paper, foil, saran wrap
2. 3 squares of toilet paper rolled up like a straw short-ways
3. section of paper towel rolled up
4. short sections of rope or leather
5. small cat sized stuffed animals
etc...

now,... Wendy's PRO. Anything resembling her work would be a A+++

GL

 

[mrgoogls]

even the simplest items can entertain my bird.
mine enjoys such simplicities as:
1. spent roll of toilet paper, foil, saran wrap
2. 3 squares of toilet paper rolled up like a straw short-ways
3. section of paper towel rolled up
4. short sections of rope or leather
5. small cat sized stuffed animals
etc...

now,... Wendy's PRO. Anything resembling her work would be a A+++

GL

i agree, she does make good toys! haha.

my bird seems to like colored popsicle sticks hung on some string. thats his most used toy so far(he really doesnt use his toys, but out of all them thats his favorite). but an amazon would probably destroy that instantly. hah. you could always just giv him a popsicle stick to destroy. iv heard a lot of bigger birds like that

 

[mrgoogls]

wiffle ball

 

[ConureCrazy]

wiffle ball

Wiffle balls are the bigger ones used for t ball. I believe those teeny ones are golf training balls. Right?....

 

[triordan]

things around the house to use~
paper plates
cardboard rolls from toilet paper/paper towels/wrapping paper etc....
yogurt/fruit/applesauce cups
straws
popsicle sticks
shredded paper
plastic lids (like pringles can)
small empty boxes(pasta, quinoa etc..)
buttons

that's all i can think of right now~

 

[JerseyWendy]

wiffle ball

Wiffle balls are the bigger ones used for t ball. I believe those teeny ones are golf training balls. Right?....

I have no clue, honestly, I do believe they are wiffle balls though.

 

[Birdlover11]

How can you use boxes ? I would love to know , I am a big pasta eater and we have a lot of boxes hanging around

 

[triordan]

How can you use boxes ? I would love to know , I am a big pasta eater and we have a lot of boxes hanging around

I will take an empty box and stuff it with shredded paper, add a few nuts, wood pieces, treats, stick popsicle sticks/straws through it and hang it in the cage as a foraging toy

 

[KBEquine]

I'm actually here, looking for toy ideas for big birds - the cockatoo is a true termite, the way he goes through wood. The macaw thinks the quick links are the best part of the toy - he unscrews them, removes them from the cage, drops the toy off and bends them until they are completely useless.

I have a stainless steel toy-bucket hanging on the side of the macaw's cage & an unfinished woven basket on the one amazon's tree stand. I fill both with toys & nuts, so they have something to explore. The other birds get their toys hung or on the floor or however seems to appeal to the individual.

Inexpensive stuff my various birds have enjoyed at little/no cost:

Popsicle sticks - from making toys for the budgies to handing one to the macaw to chew and/or scratch a pin-feather.

Newspaper fanned like an accordian - becomes part of budgie toys, I poke it through the bars of the Grey's cage so he can shred something other than his own feathers.

Old paperbacks and phone books - again, so the Grey can shred things other than his own feathers. The cockatoo likes them, too.

Gilbert with his head in a good book

Cardboard boxes - not a good toy if your bird is hormonal & nesty, because they might protect it as a nesting site. Otherwise, I agree with whoever stuffs theirs with shredded paper, sticks & goodies to be discovered by an enterprising parrot.

Paper lunch bags make great toys - I use a hole punch to make some holes & stuff the bags with shredded paper, popsicle sticks, twigs from my apple tree (washed, rinsed in vinegar - this tree hasn't been treated with any chemicals for at least the past 8 years), nuts, small toys, dry pasta, and the like. They pull the twigs & paper out the holes & happily destroy the whole thing.

We live on a farm, so I often gather fallen hay with good seed heads, rinse (for dust) & tie bunches to the budgie cage & they enjoy the hay tremendously. I can also gather pinecones, dandelions (again, no pesticides) & the like, although some people will not give their birds anything they bring from outside.

A local woman uses those small pumpkins that are about 3" to make foraging toys. They can be set in a dish or on the floor - or hung on one of the kebob skewers. In fact, my birds will attack food on one of those steel kebobs - food that they might never touch if it was in their bowl.

The unbleached coffee filters make good containers in which to wrap nuts and toys. I hang them in toys or on the cage and the birds shred the filter to get what is inside.

Anyhow, those are some things I use, along with the chunks of untreated pine wood that others have mentioned.

And I recycle toy parts like crazy - as soon as the amazon/macaw/cockatoo flings a toy-part across the room, I gather it up & put it with the other toy-parts so I can create something or another for their future pleasure.

And I buy toys at the local rescue. If I can't bring home another bird, I can at least support the rescues & small parrots stores with my purchases.