Toy's

[TakRail]

Let's face it, anyone with a Macaw knows that they have an iron beak and can destroy pretty much any toy is no time flat.

Our local pet/bird stores carry some toys that will last a short while but for the most part they either don't carry any thing good or what they do carry, that will hold up, my birds are not interested at all with it.

So where is the best place online to buy toy's that Macaws like to play with and will hold up?

 

[Ria]

My IRN doesn't really play with his toys. The only thing that's good for him is rope to Shred, everything else he just stares at :/

 

[alleycat39402]

Look into making your own. There are several youtube videos. I know the wood needs to be colored with only food coloring. Some use baby blocks. I don't know much about it, but I know you have to make it parrot safe. I bet you can order parts on line.

 

[suebee]

i even use every day things for nut to play with, unbleached paper coffee cups, i fill with foot toys, corks (from wine bottles after soaking over night in boiling water to be safe, and NOT to be confused with the plastic corks!) then hang in her cage, so its like a bucket filled with goodies and item for destroying

corn cobs, raw or cooked, if leaving corn on not too much as corn is high calorie,

i re-use any parts from old toys that i can

i've spent a bit on acrylic toys, that was a waste of money, she doesn't bother with them, simply as she cannot destroy them an if she could i'd be worried about the splinters etc

taylor the type of toys you buy, you know your bird likes to save money! every penny counts here so i hate wasting £8 on these new fangled acrylic toys, or re-useable foraging toys that get ignored

so i view all items as possible toys, check item material on line, avoid anything that has glue (ie card board) avoid metalic items unless stainless steel

as for anything else, its what she can run of with so it becomes a game of chase!!!

 

[Remy]

I've had Rockport Roost, BirdsNestOnline, and Birdy Booty recommended to me, but I haven't tried them yet. The first two have a lot of DIY toy parts, as well as premade toys. They seem to be reasonably priced too.

 

[little1al]

Hi. I have a B&G Macaw that also destroys anything he can and doesn't really bother with toys he can't. I saw someone had posted a link in one of the messages yesterday about a good website for toys. Scarletts Parrot Essentials. Some of the toys are still expensive but they are all cheaper than in pet shops and she has some toys for sale and I brought a couple for £1 each. Postage is £5.99 though so you are better off buying a bulk load of toys as the postage is the same whatever you order. If you order over £100 I think the postage is free.

I also use things like kitchen roll tubes and strips from cardboard boxes. I weave them in and out of the bars of his cage and he loves tearing them up. One pet shop I went into just gave one of their parrots the whole box and he would spend all day destroying it.

Another thing I do is just buy the bits to make toys i.e. wooden balls and then just add them onto the shop brought ones when he has broken theirs off.

 

[MikeyTN]

My friend who used to make them to sell at the bird fair and use it on their birds told me to make them myself since I've got all the tools. ANY toy, doesn't matter how much, from petshops or online would only last a day or two with my macaw. I bought him a $20 toy once and he had it destroyed less then 30min. I was told to use untreated 2x4 and use food coloring. That's what the toy I bought this time is made out of and it's lasting a lot longer.

 

[HRH Di]

home-made toys are great, but I've found that it's harder and harder to get the time to make them. My Alexandrine destroys toys about 10x faster than the macaw or CAG

I've found that windycityparrots.com has great toys at good prices.

 

[cherub78]

I buy a 22-24 inch dog choke chain. Cut off the ring on one end. Take a bunch of asst size 2x4 pine (not pressure treated)- I usually cut them from 4 inches long to 12 inches long, drill a hole in each large enough for the chain (not the ring though). Thread them onto the chain alternating size, when you get to the top add a quick link, and add a large birdie bell , sisel fibers, etc to the bottom ring. The blocks can be dyed- I use paste food coloring in water, paint or dip the blocks, dry, rinse, dry again.

The nice part is, they only chomp off usually one block at a time, and when they have removed 3 or so, I just loosen the quick link and add more blocks. I cut and drill about a years worth of the blocks at one time and they are always on hand.

 

[cherub78]

I hope this works- I am still not good at adding pictures. This is just a basic undyed one.

 

[TheRia]

My little girl likes squeak toys lol she likes to take them from our little dog. Then the little dog trys to take it when she is not looking.