DIY BIRD TOYS

As a bird owner, you know that our avian friends are feisty and active! They are hard on their toys. They love them, but birds tend to chew up and tear things apart. The more love they show a toy, the quicker it may have pieces that come off or break. That does not mean you need to go out and buy a new toy every time though! By taking the parts of a chewed up toy that are still whole and in good shape, you can create a brand new bird toy for your feathered friend anytime. This helps with costs and convenience, and the toy will feel familiar to your pet.

King’s Cages has put together a quick DIY bird toys tutorial for an easy way to make your own bird toys using pieces that you can readily find on our website and combining them with other bird toy parts to custom make a bird toy for your feather friend. Notice in the DIY bird toys video that a leather strip is used. Leather is safe and durable, so it’s highly recommended. Experts choose vegetable tanned leather.  Natural fibers for rope you can choose should be made from sisal, cotton or hemp.

Things To Use For Homemade Toys

• Flowers and foliage. Birds love flowers and foliage. In the wild, many types of birds will live amongst foliage and eat flowers daily. Some safe choices are sunflowers, carnations, violets, hibiscus and pansies, among others. However, some flowers can be unsafe for birds. These include foxglove, datura, poinsettia, laburnham and holly. Also, wash off any flowers that you buy from a shop as they could have chemicals that your bird should not come in contact with.  You can put these things in different areas of their cage, wrap them around the cage or use leather to tie flowers to the bird toy you are making. Dandelions and acorns (not a flower), and willow branches will make a great addition to a bird toy. Grapeseed extract or plain soapy water will be good choices for cleaning and disinfecting.
• Driftwood. If you are lucky enough to live by a beach or can find driftwood, this material is a great choice to tie at the end of your bird’s DIY toy. Other safe wood elements to add to your pets toy are pine, birch, maple, walnut, apple, poplar and ash.
• Bells and rings. Birds love bells and rings! They are fun for your pet but you must remember the size for your pet presents no danger! The ring must not be too big that the bird can get its head stuck, and for bells the inside clapper must not be able to be pried out and swallowed by your bird.  As a rule, you should never build DIY bird toys that affords the bird an opportunity to get its head or foot trapped. Bells are good because birds like music, but not jingle bells as they are not safe for bird feet.

What Not To Use

There are some unsafe materials you want to avoid when crafting a homemade bird toy.

1. Cedar, plywood, red cherry, oak and any any treated wood.
2. Dyed leather.
3. Rope made from nylon. It can result in cuts and injuries.
4. Zinc. Avoid anything made for zinc or zinc components. Other materials to avoid include lacquers, paints, newspapers, toothbrushes, vinyl baby toys and anything with adhesives.

All of King’s Cages toy parts offered through our store are always 100% safe for your dear friend. Always made with non toxic colors, safe materials and are durable, so you can shop with confidence that we will deliver the best toys for your beloved pet every time. Some of our toy parts include leather strips, wiffle balls, beads, chain links, wooden blocks and popsicle  sticks. Check the link below for our full list of parts that you can use to build your DIY bird toys:

Bird Toy Parts

Do Keep In Mind:

When making a DIY bird toy there are a few things to consider.

1. What kind of toy does your bird like and need? Birds need to keep up all sorts of behaviors, so think about some toys that your bird may not have enough of. Does he/she have enough foraging or puzzle toys? Do they need some new climbing toys? What type of toy does your bird spend the most time on and will keep he/she engaged?
2. Are the pieces in good shape? Safety is everything, so make sure the pieces you include are not chipped or broken.
3. Always monitor your bird when you have introduced a new toy, even if it’s made mostly from old parts.
4. You know what your bird likes, so trust your instincts.

Making a DIY bird toy can be a fun and creative outlet! And you can make it as simple or complex as you would like. Using things you have around the house are more familiar to your friend and will be easier for your bird to acclimate to! So let your imagination take flight!

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Shop Bird Toy Parts