Homemade Budgie Toys

[**Liv** 0]

I am making custom toys for my boy Scooter who has rickets in his feet and falls off any round perches.

 

I was in Spotlight (huge craft store) the other day and was grabbing all sorts of colourful wooden beads, ropes, danglely things and other fun stuff to create some bird toys..... Then i stoped and though for a moment.... How do i know that any of these bits are not toxic - they could have lead based paints etc used on them the packaging said nothing.... so i put it ALLL back on the shelf.

 

How do i find (or make my own) budgie safe, non toxic bits for toys.

 

Is food dye safe to use for colouring rope?

[NickNack 0]

Somwhere in this forum is or was a member who was the MARTHA STEWART of bird making toys. I wish I knew or remembered where I saw her post or even her name. She made everything from things she bought at the dollar stores. She had tons of pictures. SOMEONE HERE MUST REMEMBER HER .... DONTCHA ?

 

She dyed or colored wooden blocks balls & toy things with Koolaid as it colors & it scented the wood & then rinsed it well a day later in vinegar wash. It looked great. She hung small paper cups that you use for making muffins on a long string. She poked a string thru the cups & tied a knot under each cup & put little food treats in the cups & her birds would chew the paper & rip it up as they ate their treats. OH MAN ... its making my brain ache. I have to search for her post now.

 

I will be back. More ideas to come.

[Tam 0]

Somwhere in this forum is or was a member who was the MARTHA STEWART of bird making toys. I wish I knew or remembered where I saw her post or even her name. She made everything from things she bought at the dollar stores. She had tons of pictures. SOMEONE HERE MUST REMEMBER HER .... DONTCHA ?

 

She dyed or colored wooden blocks balls & toy things with Koolaid as it colors & it scented the wood & then rinsed it well a day later in vinegar wash. It looked great. She hung small paper cups that you use for making muffins on a long string. She poked a string thru the cups & tied a knot under each cup & put little food treats in the cups & her birds would chew the paper & rip it up as they ate their treats. OH MAN ... its making my brain ache. I have to search for her post now.

 

I will be back. More ideas to come.

 

I know that Bea has made some fantastic toys and things, see

http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....=16189&st=0

[NickNack 0]

I found it !

 

It's under Budgie Maintenance .... hope that link works. 1st topic on top of posts.

 

Diy Toys And Perches

[**Liv** 0]

The link worked!!

Thats awesome guys, Thanks

 

 

OMG!! I have been looking at Bea's toys!!! WOWOOWOWOW! i have the bug now!!! Grrr i am stuck at home with no car today and tomorrow Grrrrrr...... I am going to the shops first thing Saturday!!!!!

Edited March 27, 2008 by **Liv**

[Missy 0]

I made mine from buying those bead packs from the cheap stores, the ones you can make like a bracelet out of (aimed at kids) but because the beads were so big, they were ideal. They were also plastic.

[**Liv** 0]

Thanks Missy

So do you think that plastic is safer than wood....???

[maesie 0]

I love making toys!!! I have gotton some things from Spotlight: Pony Beads (plastic beads), raffia, mini patty cake/muffin paper cups, undyed paddle pop sticks... I also have a great supply of timber in the shed, which is all untreated pine. You can use blocks and drill holes in them for the birds to chew, or use poles to make perch toys or swings. I have also bought a lot of supplies from My Parrot Shop. They are fantastic. Their service is great, fast delivery and great customer service. You can buy the 'toy' like this:

 

Or you can buy the supplies to make that... like the bell, chain and plastic 'dumbies'.

 

I have found the budgies love to shred my paper toys and are not so interested in the others, whereas the tiels are more into beads etc than shreder toys. To make my toys I either use undied cotton or leather rope. Just remember when making any toy, look at it as if you were a bird... is there anything they can get caught in or stuck under etc... and when you give them to them, all check them often for wear and tear and remove if needed. And lastly.... HAVE FUN!!!

[**Liv** 0]

Thanks Maesie!! Thats some great advice I didn't know about budgies preferring the shredder toys.... COOL!

 

I want to make some big ones for my aviary's.

 

I am so excited about making some toys that i am hoping to get my mum to do a little baby sitting today while i get supplies and make up a couple

 

I will post pictures when I have done some

[clancy 0]

I found it !

 

It's under Budgie Maintenance .... hope that link works. 1st topic on top of posts.

 

Diy Toys And Perches

 

 

I was looking around for easy stuff to make and I was dieing to get a look at the link!! But it's not working could you just type the website out??

Thanks

[birdluv 0]

This link should work for you

http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index.php?showtopic=9819

scroll down the thread to see the toy posts.

[Budgieperson 0]

well i use thin wire and plastic beads and my budgies aren't affected by it.

[birdluv 0]

well i use thin wire and plastic beads and my budgies aren't affected by it.

That is a shame. Some budgies are not as playful.

Mine does not care either to play with her toys

[Dezdemona 0]

well i use thin wire and plastic beads and my budgies aren't affected by it.

That is a shame. Some budgies are not as playful.

Mine does not care either to play with her toys

If your budgies don't really get the thing with toys, I strongly recommend you to go back to (their) basics! What do budgies do in the wild? Well, they chew, fly, climb and hang out with each other, but most of all - they search for food. Try to make some easy food-toys for your birds, food can be very motivating! There are special food-serching-toys (I really can't figure out what the English words for those might be...sorry), but it's pretty easy to make fun things at home.

Here are some examples that comes to my mind:

• a toilet roll filled with grass and millet, they have to rip the grass out to get the delicious seeds they crave.
• a piece of tree with drilled holes in it, then you put seeds in the holes and watch the birds as they try to reach them and get them out of there
• make a tiny bag of paper with something good in it, they have to rip the bag to pieces to make the food fall out
• a box with grass (or something like that) in it, then add seeds and watch them search around for the food

It might take a while for them to get the point, but when they do, they'll love it! Budgies are very smart and energetic, and they are made for searching for food. So this is a great way to keep both their bodies and their minds busy.

 

Here are some photos of what kind of food-toys my birds like:

 

 

 

 

[BruceWillian 0]

You can use wood coloring to color wood bird toys. It usually has four color boxes: red, blue, yellow and green. Mix food coloring to create other colors such as orange and purple.

Pour enough water into the bowl to cover the wood.

Mix the water droplets with water until the desired color appears.

The chips were placed in a color mixture and allowed to stand for 24 hours.

Remove the wood from the bowl and let it dry.

[Isra P 0]

I like the idea of the grass-filled toilet roll for a cheap budgie toy that won't harm my pets. Of course, still need to pay attention to the type of grass used to avoid digestive issues.