Budgie Toys

Budgies are intelligent, playful birds, and they need toys to entertain and stimulate them. There are countless toys that are appropriate for budgies, ranging from expensive store-bought toys to homemade toys that cost nothing. No matter what kind of toys you use, you should rotate them every few weeks so that your bird doesn't get bored with them. It's also important to remember to use toys that are an appropriate size for a parrot as small as a budgie.

For the most part, toys that are found in pet stores and that are labelled as being designed for budgies are safe. Some are designed to be manipulated, such as interlocking plastic rings; some are meant to be chewed, such as fluffy rope toys. The only drawback to store-bought toys in general is that they can sometimes be quite expensive, especially if your budget is limited.

Mirrors and other shiny toys such as bells can present a special problem to budgie owners. The birds see themselves in these objects, and sometimes they actually bond to them. There are many stories of budgies which have "fallen in love" with their mirror doubles, trying to feed and even mate with them. Some say that mirrors are obstacles to the process of a budgie bonding with its owner. If you give your budgie a mirror, make sure that it doesn't develop any behavioral problems; if it does, take the mirror away. The bird might make a fuss for a while, but after a few days it will forget its "mirror buddy."

If you want to save money or recycle goods, you can make your own toys for your bird. The most important thing to remember about homemade toys is to make sure that only non-toxic materials are used. This applies to everything from wood (some plants are poisonous) to glue, and even to solder in homemade metal toys or cages (lead is very toxic!). Make sure that your budgie can't catch a toenail on the toy and hurt its foot (rope can be dangerous in this regard) or injure itself in any other regard.

One easy budgie toy is the toilet paper or paper towel roll. Budgies love to shred these objects. Strips of ordinary paper are fun, too. Use your imagination to create other toys out of rope, wood, fabric, plastic, even feathers, keeping in mind that budgies love to chew and shred all kinds of material, and to manipulate shiny or colorful objects.

Not all toys are meant to be placed inside the cage. Playgyms are built for birds to climb and play on outside of the cage. Pet stores sell expensive, pre-made playgyms made out of ladders, swings, rope, etc. You can also make one out of toy bird ladders or even out of dowels from the hardware store. Make sure that you use non-toxic wood. Playgyms may be placed on top of the cage or on the ground.