Knight05 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 I was wondering if anyone had any used or spare toys they would be willing to part with cheap? I have some stuff for my african grey now but probably not as much as I should. Pet stores want rediculous amounts of money like a parrot swing is 40+ etc. So I figured it was worth asking if anyone would donate or sell toys relatively cheap. You can email me spencer.yeagley@yahoo.com if interested I'll pay for shipping and handeling at a minimum. Just figured it was worth asking thanks I have a very nice cage at the moment for my bird and the bird itself gets lots of good nutritional food etc so I'm not neglecting it, I just found after buying all that stuff I'm broke now and lacking in the toy department. I'm located in oceanside, california just north of san diego about 30 minutes or so for you local people. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siobha9 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 I know what you mean. Parrots and all their stuff can be quite expensive. But your grey doesnt know the difference between shop stuff and home made. Here is a thread on home made toys http://www.greyforums.net/forums/african-grey/54949-homemade-toys.html#54949 There are lots more if you search for "toys"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Another free toy is just throw an empty 12 pack soda carton int their cage. They love to go inside, chew holes through it and peek out at you through them etc. Also, just wad up newspaper and throw it in. They love to shred it along with wood shredding etc. Little cat acrylic balls with bells are fun for them too and you can buy them in any petstore for like a buck a piece etc. There are tons of things you can do yourself and even purchase toy parts online and construct them yourself. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Thanks Soibhan for the link and thanks to you Dan for the suggestions for things greys can shred that don't cost money. Another suggestion is bore a hole thru an entire old phone book and hang it in their cage with a chain thru it, will provide hours of shredding entertainment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertbert Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Also I was jsut on e-bay and bought a bunch of toys, there's one store that I used called Bird Toys for Less Store, and they will combine shipping, but the prices there are about half of a typical pet stores prices and the shipping rates are good to ranging around 2-5 dollars. I also went to the dollar store and bought some baby toys and he likes those a lot, but you have to be cargeful about the material it is made out of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Dollar store buys are great finds too as is the baby departments in stores, some great toys there for greys. Thanks Brittany for the suggestion, karma for you:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandra902 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 merlin and i have toy making time. he watches carefully as i create toys for him. it is nice for us to do together because when the toy is complete he is not scared of it. i use cotton string or leather lacing, drinking straws, wooden beads, all sorts of stuff that i usually find in the craft areas of thrift stores. we've been having fun with raffia paper too which can be gotten for just about nothing. i also haunt the teething toys in thrift stores. there is also a wonderful dog toy that i found at cost plus/world market for $1.99 that is very hard to describe but i've seen it in the bird store for $6. they are multicolored rubber star shapes that are somehow woven together to make it into a ball. merlin loves this and takes good care to remove each and every knobble on the end of each point of the star. but i think the most fun we have is during toy making time. and it is certainly cheap enough. i get a lot of good ideas from the toys people sell at bird shows. clearly they have made them themselves with a minimum of investment, especially the ones made of the little paper condiment cups and drinking straws. those can be gotten cheaply and in quantity and make a fine mess to show birdy's appreciation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Thanks Sandra for the wonderful ideas and suggestions and it sounds like you and Merlin have quality time together making these toys, that is so precious. Would you consider sharing a couple of pictures of some of your creations with us to give some others an idea of how they could do the same thing with so little? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandra902 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 yes i would be happy to, i re-build his favorite one often and it's coming time for a rebuild. i'll get a snap of it before he does. this is the one he does "look ma no hands" with that breaks mamma up so. i make a big production out of toy making time and i don't know who is the bigger fool over toys, merly or me! i lay everything out elaborately, have the different beads and such all sorted into glass jars. they are great fun to give a shake before deciding which to use, of course i always ask merl's advice although he is pretty good about letting me make these decisions up front. i usually find out which are the preferred dangly things by which are destroyed first. oh! and a paper towel roll, a paper punch and one of those carabiner-type screwy loops makes a great shredding toy. i cut the paper towel roll into 4 or more smaller tubes, then i cut the tubes the other way so each of the four tubes are now 2 curved cardboard strips each. then i paper-punch on one end at odd intervals, place them back to back so they do not nest together and then feed the carabiner through the punched holes. looks kind of like a brown paper blossom, kind of like a peony if you really stretch your imagination. it makes a nice rustly noise too when you want to get merlin's attention. hope this makes sense i checked it 3x to make sure i was describing it as well as i could. well i'd better quit fooling around and get back to work.<br><br>Post edited by: sandra902, at: 2008/03/13 17:41 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 What a wonderful idea Sandra for a shredding toy for a grey and the only thing you have to purchase is the carabiner type attachment which is inexpensive and can be used forever, thanks so much for sharing it with us. B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spookyhurst Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Whenever we get a package in the mail, Nikko gets very excited because she knows the box will be hers. Cardboard boxes are her toy of choice. If you have recycling bins near you, you can probably find some good free finds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Dorian loves adding/cash maching paper tapes. I just tie one onto the side of his cage with a leather strip. He'll grab the end and pull it all the way across the cage, fighting with it and giving it heck, then go to town shredding what he just unrolled. Really cheap toy that takes up no space inside the cage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight05 Posted March 14, 2008 Author Share Posted March 14, 2008 Cool thanks for the ideas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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