Parrot Toys

Before purchasing a toy for your bird you need to consider the use of the toy, the size of the toy, the place/cage where the toy will be, the material/safety of the toy, the preferences and/or any fear it would cause to your bird.

The use of the toy (what am I buying the toy for?)

There are so many different types of parrot toys on the market today it is difficult to choose which one would be the right one for your bird.

Your bird needs at least one toy to trim its beak with, though a budgie would prefer a beak conditioner mineral type block than a wooden toy. A single budgie or a cockatiel probably also needs a mirror, it is not advisable to put a mirror into the cage of a large parrot.

an over preened parrot might needs a good shred able toy so it spends more time preening the toy than itself.

In your bird cage there should be, at least, a toy to chew (wood) and a toy to preen.

The size of the toy versus the size of your bird

You need to choose a toy your bird can play with.

It is just common sense not to purchase a budgie toy for a large parrot and not to choose a large wooden toy for a budgie as he would not be able to shred or play with that toy, though he could use it to perch and attack it occasionally, what great fun for a little budgie!

The size of the place/cage where the toy will be

Some owner put too many toys in their parrot cage, the bird cannot move anymore for fear of bumping into one of its toys. Your bird cage is not a toys store.

The material and safety of the toy

Any wooden toy should only be fruit or vegetable painted. You can test this by passing a wet finger on the wood; if the color is printed on your finger then it is surely fruit or vegetable painted.

Zinc is poisonous, however all metal have trace of zinc, to be poisonous a high level of zinc would have to be present.

Most parrot toys have a chain attached to them to be able to hang the toy in the cage. The chains with welded links are safe for your pet, while those with closed links are not safe. The parrot can open up the (un-welded) closed links where its beak could get stuck. While attempting to free itself, the parrot may get hurt. So, you must carefully examine the chains attached to the parrot toys.

There are also some toys with 'soft bells' which are dangerous to large parrots, you need to remove those bells as your bird might shred them and swallow bits of metal.

Rope type toys are good fun, however if the rope is for your bird to perch then make sure it is not too soft so your bird does not tangle itself in loose bits.

Personally I would not purchase rope type nets (cargo nets), they look nice and probably fun but they are very dangerous as your bird's neck can become trap.

The preferences and the fear of your birdLike children some parrots prefer playing with wood, some other with cotton type material. Birds are also extremely sensitive to colours.

You need to observe your bird to see what its preferences are; else the toy will stay in the corner of the cage untouched.

Many birds are fearful of large objects and certain colours, they are birds after all and live in fear of been caught by predators, and it surely is no fun to see your mum or dad accepting a predator into your home. If this is the case then you might need to place the toy at a distance for the bird to see it for few days until he knows there is no danger. It might also help if you play with that toy yourself to prove to your bird it is ok, that is if you do have a close relationship with your bird.

Personally I think one of the best toys, is one you can both, your bird and yourself play with. Remember when you were a baby how much fun it was to play puzzle with your mum and dad.

It is no good getting paranoid about parrot toys though; the best way is to observe your bird while it is playing with the toy for few days to make sure it is safe.