Simple, Easy Bird Toys

[BaileysPapa]

I have been making bird toys for many years. Often people make intricate, involved things for their birds, which is great, but, doesn't always have to be. I make those kind, as well, but, I like to give them simple things to chew up and shred. One of our (my birds & myself) favorite materials is Natural Loofah. It is a gourd type plant, with the skin peeled off. The birds can chew it apart easily, and if ingested, it's only plant material, and will be digested. Though, it does not have much taste, and they just shred it, and drop the pieces. I buy the loofah on ebay, and cut them up myself. Very inexpensive. I also use undyed popsicle sticks from craft stores or dollar stores. And I also use wine corks. They, too, are natural, made from bark from tropical trees. And they, as well, have little taste, so the birds just chew them up and drop the pieces. But, if swallowed, the tiny pieces will be digested. Now, I will caution, as I always do, to monitor your pets activities, because, though these materials are natural and digestible, large pieces can produce blockages. However, in over 40 years of using these materials, with an uncountable amount of birds, there has never been a problem. I have donated many similar toys to various rescues & sanctuaries, again, without any issues. Here's photos of what I made this morning. The paper cups are condiment ketchup cups from Burger King. The manager is a bird lover, and for giving him a few of the toys, he lets me take as many as I want. It pays to network with fellow bird lovers! I had other pictures, but, cannot find them! Will update later.

Edited September 30, 2013 by BaileysPapa
update

[SRSeedBurners]

The loofa is interesting. I looked and saw several ebay ads, some from China. Do you buy from a specific vendor that you know is safe?

[BaileysPapa]

I buy my loofah from "abirdtoy", she is on ebay and http://www.etsy.com. I've looked, and right now, she has none listed. But, you can contact her and see if she has any available. Also, etsy is a great source for natural loofah. Etsy is a handmade craft site where you can get all kinds of supplies. I bought some fruit flavored loofah for birds on etsy. Sorry, I cannot remember from who. But, search "natural loofah", and you'll come up with several sources.

[Lupine]

I'd be careful about anything shipped from China. They tend to use some nasty pesticides/fungicides on a lot of the fibers (i.e. sisal, jute, etc) that they ship over. Probably do the same with loofah.