• The nuts in the wood:

take a piece of wood 2in x 2in / 5cm x 5cm or 2in x 4in / 5cm x 10cm and drill holes just a little smaller than the diameter of the nut you want to insert (almonds and pistachios are my parrots’ favorites). Using a mallet, force the walnut inside the piece of wood and hang it in the cage or fix it securely on the bird’s gym. A lot of work in sight for a very patient and determined Coco!
Parrot psittacus erithacus erithacus and toy for fodder.
The simplest toys for fodder: offer your parrot a small box of cereals without too much sugar (those which generally come in a pack of eight) and let it demolish the box. He will surely like what he finds inside. My parrots are crazy about it! Ditto for the small box of dried grapes … Some demolish it and others open the box on top and remove the grapes from it one by one.

• Treats ball:

you buy a plastic ball with holes (the size depends on the species). You put in it already peeled and unsalted peanuts inside. Very inexpensive toy for the pleasure it provides …!
Old white cotton, wool or linen socks in which nuts, pistachios or peanuts are inserted and a knot is tied at each end. The parrot touches the toy and senses that there are treats inside, so the process of destruction begins to seek out the delicacies. In the case of large parrots, a pantyhose (cotton or linen) cut at mid-leg, well filled from one end to the other with several knots as a bonus ensures peace for a good hour … Some parrots are not ” will not get tangled in the flowers of the carpet and will bluntly destroy the sock to gain access to the nuts while others will carefully undo the knots one by one, take the sweetness and make the sock practically intact, ready for another filling … Again, a question of temperament, but in both cases, fun and entertainment guaranteed.

• Skewer (shish kebab):

commercial acrylic toy on which you can prick pieces of fruit or vegetables. The parrot has a distracting and delicious toy in hand. Often this kind of toy can make the bird want to taste foods that it has always disdained before. Novelty sometimes works wonders.

• Spoon of nut butter:

fill a small spoonful with crunchy peanut butter, cashews, or almond butter and give it to your parrot. You can mix in dried berries or pieces of nuts. The bird will search for small pieces hidden in the butter. He will appreciate this delicious hand toy.

Blue-and-yellow macaw surrounded by snack blocks and parrot toys.

• Make rosaries:

on a cotton cord, prick or thread popcorn or puffed rice-type cereals, Cheerios or Froot Loops, mini-bagels or pasta (macaroni, rigatoni). This kind of taste toy should only be given in your presence, because you have to remove the rope from the parrot as soon as it is emptied (risk of constriction).
Cheerios Yakitori: thread Cheerios or Froot Loops cereal on a long wooden stick for skewers (naturally, you cut the pointed end) or a straw for plastic drinking. You insert dried fruit or “delicious treat”. Take a good look at Coco….!

• Coconut fun:

get a whole coconut. Wash it thoroughly, drill a hole at each end and empty it of its milk. When the walnut is empty, cut it in half and pass a leather strap through each of the holes, making a knot on the inside. Then securely attach the two nuts to the parrot gyms (if you only have one bird, keep the second half of the nuts in the fridge). Parrots love to nibble on the flesh right out of the coconut. This toy takes five minutes to make, but takes hours for hours.

• The nut ring:

buy a stainless steel metal pin and your parrot’s favorite nuts. Using a drill, make small holes from side to side in the nut. The hole must be the size of the metal pin. Then insert the drilled nuts along the length of the spit. You can interpose with pieces of wood or leather. You attach a quick link to it, then you bend the pin to make a hoop (there should be no space between the two ends of the pin. Since they will not be welded together, this toy must therefore be given under supervision of the human) and you fix this ring in the cage or on the gym of the bird. The latter will settle down quietly to snack on his nuts.
Cut celery and carrots into strips and curl them in cold water. Offer your vegetables in an original way to your parrot. He will appreciate this change and may even find himself wanting to eat vegetables he had grown tired of. The straps must be small enough so that the parrot can hold them in its paw, otherwise, insert them through the bars of its cage.

• “Pop-sicle”:

fill a small “cocktail” ice cube tray with your parrot’s favorite yogurt flavor. In each compartment, stick a small piece of wood or straw to drink. Place in the freezer and let set overnight. Then offer your parrot.
He will love to hold his stick in his paw while savoring his frozen yogurt. It’s a little messy when the pop-sicle starts to melt, but it’s worth it.
Delicious treat
Combine shelled seeds, crushed cereals (Cheerios, Corn Flakes, Shreedies, etc.), crushed mash, dried fruit and corn or rice syrup and in a bowl.
Make small balls and put in small molds (mini-muffins) and bake at 225 ° F / 108 ° C, about 45 minutes. Let cool. Offer as is or insert as a treat in a box, a cotton sock or any other security object that the bird can destroy. Success more than assured!

Blue and gold macaw parrot in physical activity game.

Toys for physical and sports activities Parrot

The parrot needs to stretch its muscles and do physical activity daily to stay in good shape; he needs to move in a day! It is a flying animal but also a climbing animal, and it is very easy to meet this need in our homes without letting the bird ransack the apartment.

With the parrot as well as with humans, it is much more fun to do activities through games. So why not toys that will give him some exercise? Climbing games like ropes (ladders), ladders, amusement parks, trees, rings, cubes, on which the parrot can swing, twirl, spin, spin, climb, descend, return again, etc. give the bird lots of fun and exercise. Naturally, free flight in the house or outside with a harness is still the best exercise for your companion, but climbing and whirling on a rope is a good compromise for the long winter months, especially if the space is restricted for theft inside the house.

Parrot pyrrhura perlata perlata with an interactive and intellectual game.

Interactive Parrot toys

(intelligence and praxis)

Offer (educational) challenge toys to your parrot. Be creative, give him occupations that will fascinate him and hold his attention, which require reflection and fine motor skills.

• Attach a small plastic bowl or paper container to a very long rope. Then tie the other end of the rope on the gym above the parrot cage. Then put your favorite parrot’s treat in the small container and hang it down along the cage (almost at ground level) and watch Coco break his brains and the creativity he will deploy to hoist the container in pulling on the rope… you will be impressed!

Parrot Puzzles

Untie knots on a cotton cord or a leather strap.

Everything that is screwed and unscrewed.

Anything that enters or leaves an object.

Toys with push / pull buttons (activity center for young children).

All toys with removable parts.

Toys that require some dexterity and / or thought.

Observation games (shapes, colors, numbers, memory or twin shapes), etc

Be fanciful…!

Non-traditional toys parrot

Many humans living with parrots buy trinkets from children’s toy stores. Esta muy bien… but you should never forget that toys that are considered safe for human children are not necessarily safe for parrots. Here, it’s up to you!

Non-traditional toys can be anything in common use or gadgets found in our homes or department stores that are not intended for the use of parrots. There are many little treasures in these items that can grab Coco’s attention. Again, safety comes first! You must be discerning, because the parrot will not do it and will be eagerly interested in everything that you present to him … He is sure that you will not offer him anything that could be harmful to him.

Here is a small list of non-traditional toys that I found with several customers during consultations. Some are completely safe, others require “parental supervision” which I will identify by (SP) and which means that this toy should never be placed in the bird’s cage and that it must be thrown away when ‘it is starting to be quite demolished.

Parrot African Grey Toys

Nanday-nandayus nenday conure parrot and its fodder game.

• “Fisher Price” activity center for young children, with buttons, mirrors and “poet-pouets” (SP)
• Musical toys for children (SP).
• The phone. Parrots are fascinated by the voice that comes out of this funny thing. They like to listen or talk on the phone (SP).
• Raw leather for dogs in “chips” or small shoes
• Tissue boxes (remove plastic paper). You can offer the box empty or full. My parrots love to take out tissues one by one. It’s a very economical toy that lasts for hours.
• Paper cups or glasses.
• Straw for drinking, parrots like to hold several at once in their paw to chew them.
• Brown paper bags.
• Terry towels or old clothes (SP).
• Old books or telephone books… hours of shredding in sight!
• African gray parrot -psittacus erithacus erithacus with a pacifier (sucks).
• Cotton mop heads for smoothing or hiding.
• Peacemaker (sucks).
• All the cardboard boxes (without glue or staples), the small ones for demolishing or inventing games (putting one
• object in another), the large ones for making huts or hiding places.
• All children’s toys (think safety) (SP).
• Wood spoons.
• For larger parrots, slides or plastic houses for children work wonders. You arrange the house with perches inside and places to install the buckets, in addition to his favorite toys. Naturally, this requires a lot of space available in the house, but parrots love to have their little one at home!
• For the little ones, the dollhouses (Fraisinette, Smurf, Fisher Price, etc.) are not expensive and last a long time.
  Plush: Pay attention to the stuffing inside, usually made of synthetic materials. Several parrots do not demolish these doggies but use them as secure companions; others, on the other hand, will immediately attack the dog’s eyes and nose. As soon as the parrot begins to collect the stuffed stuffed animal, throw it away (the plush not the parrot) (SP).