Well, of course here we are meeting again to discuss our favorite subject, BIRDS! One of the favorite things our birds love to do is play. They love to explore their world and enclosures while we are away and they love to keep busy. Letting your bird explore his or her world and learn to play at the same time is a wonderful lesson and it is also great entertainment for him or her. It is very important to know that our companion birds need stimulation to survive emotionally. Playing is as important to their mental health as food and water is to their physical health. Birds do a lot of things in the wild that we can’t provide, but we can do our best to enrich their natural environment in our homes by providing a variety of types of toys. We must however be sure they are safe while playing and exploring. So this weeks’ article is on toys and how to keep your bird safe and happy while they are at play.

Over at ThePerch.net Message Board we get a lot of questions about the types of toys that are good for certain species and what they might like to play with. Here are some important tips on being sure you are choosing safe toys for your treasured bird(s).

Being sure your toys are Veterinarian-approved is an important factor. Toys sold at ThePerchStore.net are inspected and approved by a certified avian veterinarian. Regardless of where you purchase your toys you should inspect them carefully to be absolutely sure they are well-constructed and safe for your size bird. This can be one of the most important choices you make. Chain toys can be extremely dangerous if the chain is too long or if the links are large enough for a birds head to fit through. Toys like ropes and such can become a noose for a bird if they are too long and you must be sure to keep any frayed strings cut short and be aware of the size so they cant get their heads trapped in any part of the rope toy. Watch your rope perches for any frayed threads. If there are areas of concern on a rope perch a bird can get nail or foot caught. Birds will chew their toes or foot off in a panic to become untrapped if they become entangled!

When choosing a piece of leather, rope or chain, consider the size of your bird's beak and how they might chew on it. For example, a small bird may love to chew on a big block of wood, whittle it down and be just fine, but a larger bird that did the same with a small birds’ toy could swallow it and choke.

A lot of people use baby toys for use with their birds but they are not always safe for parrots. A beak is much harder on a toy than a baby would be. It is best not to use the cloth baby toys as they can ingest the material and it can become impacted and cause blockage or damage to the gizzard. Remove plastic or other buttons that they could choke on also.

Bells are a popular choice, but you MUST be sure the clapper is secured very well or they can get them loose and choke or even get a toe caught where the clapper is fastened to the bell.

Be sure that your quick links are stainless steel and secured tight! If you need to take a pair of pliers to do this, then tighten away. An open quick link can get caught on a birds’ wing or even a leg. Split key rings can be a huge danger as birds can insert their beak or toenail in between the pieces of metal just like when you put your keys on a keychain.

Here are some suggested toy sizes for various bird species.

Extra Small: Parakeets, Lovebirds, Cockatiels, Maroon Bellied Conures, Green Cheeked Conures, Black-Capped Conures, Bourkes Parakeets, Parrotlets, Lories.

Small: SunConures, Jenday Conures, Nanday Conures, Senegals, Quakers.

Medium: Jardines, Timneh African Greys, Citron Cockatoos, Goffins Cockatoos, Bare-eyed Cockatoos, Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoos Pionus, Severe Macaws, Nobles Macaws, and Yellow Collared Macaws.

Large: Amazons, Congo African Greys, Medium Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos, Umbrella Cockatoos, Eclectus.

Extra Large: Blue and Gold Macaws, Hyacinth Macaws, Military Macaws, Green Winged Macaws, Greater Sulphur Crested Cockatoos, Mollucan Cockatoos and Triton Cockatoos.

Some of the types of toys that birds like and why they are important:

Hanging Toys: There are many styles of hanging toys available that your bird can swing from, play with and exercise on. Rope boings (a spiral) will provide exercise when your bird crawls up and down the boing.

Puzzle Type toys: Toys that they can manipulate blocks or toys up and down or over. Toys that allow them to remove and replace a block or toy back into and out of. This challenges, entertains and stimulates the birds’ thinking.

Ball Toys: Toys like a size appropriate ball with holes in it so your bird can go inside and forage around for treats and toys and hide out. They can take foot toys into it and be sneaky.

Preening toys: Very important as birds love to have things that they can simulate cleaning and preening their feathers. These types of toys usually have ropes or other bird safe material tied around a ring.

Shreddable Toys: Birds just love to shred. These toys are often in the form of piñatas or other hanging toys and are typically made of bamboo, palm leaves, coconut halves or other natural bird-safe materials. These great toys can entertain a busy beak for hours and can also prevent, reduce or stop feather-destructive behavior in some birds.

Foraging toys: Toys like a hanging metal treat “cage” in which you can place treats like nuts, wooden blocks, leather pieces and such for them to pull out of the cage. Toys like a piece of wood with holes drilled into in with almonds inside for them to get out. Untreated, natural baskets with hidden toys and treats in them are great foraging toys.

Acrylic Toys: These are great because they can chew on them and fight with them and yet they are very durable. They last long and provide hours of fun !

Wooden Toys: Very important toys! Birds have a need to destroy things. They need to shred things up and feel like they have accomplished something. It can become expensive for the owner but they are vital to their emotional well being.

Foot Toys: Foot toys (sometimes referred to as talon toys or hand toys can be picked up with your birds’ talons and your bird can chew on them or toss the toy around their cages. I have a toy box that is full of spare parts from old toys and rattles and wood pieces that my birds can throw about and play with.

Just remember that all birds have their favorite types of toys they like. Enjoy watching and observing your bird playing, learning and destructing and see what interests them!

Please go check out The Perch Store for some of the best toys in all of these areas. If you have a question about the size of a toy just ask and I know Joey or Tracy can help answer your questions. Or come on over to ThePerch.net Message Board and go to the forum for the type bird you have and post a question. We will do our best to help find the best type of toy for him or her to stay safe and have lots of fun!

It is suggested that you rotate different toys in and out of the cage or play stand on a regular basis. This is a sure way to keep your birds entertained.

When you first introduce a new toy to your bird it’s wise to introduce the toy when you know you’ll be home for a few hours to supervise your bird and watch for potential problems.

Enjoy the upcoming weekend and I hope you and your fid families are doing great!!

Heather