network@zeus.unomaha.edu (02/12/91)
A few articles in the past have asked/talked about toys for birds. Being one of many owners of a bird with a busy beak I thought I would share some of the home made toy ideas that my spouse and self have used. Before anything you need to get some string and a heavy carpet needle. Be sure the string is of the type the bird can chew thought if a toe would become entabled. A light weight twine is good. Also having a power drill is useful to punch a hole in things to be strung up. Some of the things our birds love to gnaw and chew (in no particular order): Popcorn, Walnuts, Almonds, cheerios (they already have a hole in em' ;-) empty TP rolls, string nuts inside the roll is even better. plastic straws with wooden dowels tightly in them are chewed with delight. A 1 inch thick tree branch cut about 4 inch long drilled with holes, to make the branch even better force sunflower or shelled peanuts in the holes. The plastic shell (just the shell!) of a cheapie pen (no hard plastic pens). any type of pasta with holes in it (cooked and uncooked) Empty thread spool (but not if it's hard plastic) An old canvas tennis shoe (remove the shoe lace to avoid toe tangles) twisted pretzels Dip a pine cone in corn bread batter, bake, cool, hang up. Any kind of fruit or vegtable strung up seems to be of more interest than peices in a dish. Don't cut it up, they savor opening it themselves. I often make up a few days worth of toys, then each night get a hanging food toy ready in the fridge to place in the cage in the morning. Some words of warning: avoid avacados with pits, small objects that might get stuck going down (I always split grapes in half), don't use processed wood (like the dowels) if your bird eats some of the peices. Avoid sharp objects and leather items. Make sure pine cones and other outdoor items have not be sprayed. Remember, your bird is forever a small child. Steven Lendt Email: Network@Zeus.UNOmaha.EDU
mm@lectroid.sw.stratus.com (Michael Mahler) (02/13/91)
In article <7943.27b6c06e@zeus.unomaha.edu> network@zeus.unomaha.edu writes: ... >Dip a pine cone in corn bread batter, bake, cool, hang up. Can you verify that pine cones are OK for parrots? Do they contain the same pine pitch that raw pine has? >Some words of warning: avoid avacados with pits, small objects that >might get stuck going down (I always split grapes in half), don't use >processed wood (like the dowels) if your bird eats some of the peices. You might want to be a little more clear on this. You don't want to use TREATED wood, but PROCESSED might just mean kiln dried which is fine for parrots. It's RAW PINE you don't want to give them. Most dowels are absolutely fine for birds. If in doubt, buy manzanita by mail order. Michael -- -~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ Support Our Troops: Check your tire pressure, air and fuel filters! -~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
mep@cbnewsd.att.com (mary.e.pasternak) (02/14/91)
In article <4214@lectroid.sw.stratus.com> mm@lectroid.sw.stratus.com (Mike Mahler) writes: > You don't want to use TREATED wood, but PROCESSED might > just mean kiln dried which is fine for parrots. It's > RAW PINE you don't want to give them. Most dowels are > absolutely fine for birds. If in doubt, buy manzanita > by mail order. Why is raw pine bad for birds? If a buy a piece of pine (e.g., a 2x4x8 stud) at my local hardware store is that considered raw or is it dried? Mary Bamford att!ihlpf!mep
bsp@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Bruce Spence) (02/16/91)
My two pence worth: My three enjoy reducing cork to small bits. I use wine corks that have been air dried at least a few days. They don't seem to eat any, just like to gnaw on it, especially the cockatiel. I usually trim as necessary to get a force-fit between their cage bars and put them in place when we leave for work in the AM. Bruce Spence bsp@hpfibsp.hp.com
rfarris@rfengr.com (Rick Farris) (02/17/91)
In article <924@argosy.UUCP> helen@europa.UUCP (Helen Kastner) writes: > Add all this to rock-hard eucalyptus branches... Geez, so that's what we've been doing wrong. Around here we think of eucalyptus as being a soft wood and manzanita as being rock-hard. Maybe I should tell my Xenix (my Eclectus) that he can't chew eucalyptus... :-) -- Rick Farris RF Engineering POB M Del Mar, CA 92014 voice (619) 259-6793 rfarris@rfengr.com ...!ucsd!serene!rfarris serenity bbs 259-7757
helen@argosy.UUCP (Helen Kastner) (02/17/91)
In article <1991Feb17.053606.21566@rfengr.com> rfarris@rfengr.com (Rick Farris) writes: > >> Add all this to rock-hard eucalyptus branches... [I wrote this.] > >Geez, so that's what we've been doing wrong. Around here we >think of eucalyptus as being a soft wood and manzanita as >being rock-hard. okay. I knew this in some dimly-lit hindbrain area. But I'm completely focused on eucalyptus because the bird DOES like to chew/eat it. He doesn't fool around with the manzanita stuff very much at all. In fact, a standard treat is eucalyptus bark, which he often nibbles on like an after-dinner mint. He likes that thick fibrous kind, especially. And as long as we're on toys, does anybody know anything about the safety/danger of mango seeds? He adores the fruit, of course, but I've not been willing to let him have the seed, knowing nothing about its innards and possible toxicity. hk helen@maspar.com "Hot night. MasPar Computer Corporation Half-stripped, Sunnyvale, CA A snail moonbathes."