How to Make Your Own Bird Toys

Any bird owner knows just how quickly your pet bird can go through toys. Unfortunately, store bought bird toys are expensive. Here are a few ideas to save money and make your own bird toys at home.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Cotton rope
• Various size plastic beads
• Various size wooden blocks
• Rawhide
• Leather stripping
• Cloth
• Empty toilet paper rolls
• Cholla cactus pieces

1. A quick trip through any hobby and craft store will show you that you can easily find all of the accessories you need to make your own bird toys. Many of the accessories that make up store bought bird toys including wooden blocks, beads, rope and rawhide can all be found in a craft store. With the easy access of all of these material at a much lower price, there is no reason to spend a fortune on store bought toys when you can make them yourself for a fraction of the price.

2. Birds are not too particular about how their toys look. They just want something that they can chew on and destroy. Don't worry if your toys do not come out looking as good as those expensive store bought bird toys. No matter how they look, your bird will have just as much fun enjoying them.

3. To make your toys, simply pick what accessories you want to use and string them onto cotton rope. The design is completely up to you. For smaller birds, you should of course use smaller parts so they do not become scared of the large toy. For larger birds, make sure the parts (such as beads) are not too small that they can be swallowed.

4. Keep in mind that birds enjoy chewing and destroying things. Keep things like plastic beads or bells to a minimum, and add a great deal of wooden blocks, rawhide or cholla cactus that your birds can chew on and destroy. For more variety, you can color your wood blocks and cholla pieces with food coloring. Simply soak the blocks and cholla in a cup of water with the desired color. Allow blocks to dry completely before adding them to the toys.

5. Birds also enjoy preening, themselves and other birds. If your bird is plucking, try adding some clean feathers or frayed rope to the toy. This can draw the birds attention away from itself, and cause it to "preen" the toy.

6. Since making your own bird toys can save a great deal of money, it is easier to rotate your birds toys to give them variety. Birds can become tired of toys very quickly. If you make a large variety of toys, do not hang them in the cage all at once, rather rotate them every few days or weeks.

7. Once the toys become very chewed and worn, remove the toy completely from the cage. Salvage any reusable parts to use on future toys and throw the rest away.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are having a hard time designing your toy, look at pictures online of bird toys or visit your local pet store for inspiration.
• Never use wood blocks that have been treated with chemicals.
• Do not use wood from trees outside. Some wood plants are toxic to birds and should not be used when making toys.

[lacurcio]

on 11/17/2008 What great ideas!