I'd like for us to share ideas of things we can do that are "cost conscious" and also things that our birds will love.

Some ideas:

• popcorn treat bags tied with a string and fastened in the cage---(not popular w/my fids)
• toilet paper or paper towel rolls stuffed w/treats and ends tied shut
• recycle old toys by taking them apart and reusing what you can
• Mine love to shred---so wadded up newspaper, old phone books etc

What are your favorite ideas?

I love doing the pop corn in the bags the birds go nuts!

Great ideas

i re-use toy parts.... in fact, i have a set of parts that need replacement, the rest gets re-used....

other than that - newspaper wrapped pellets (valo loves them so much that he considers them worth looking for) strung to toys or cage, popstickle sticks get torn apart (i bought a bag of 150 colored ones for $1 since i don't eat popstickles), a piece of paper, a pen with the ink part removed keeps valo occupied for hours while i can work (and he won't chew on MY pen), and i really like foraging toys since it keeps him occupied and all i have to do is fill them so i got a few of those...

I get untreated pine, cut into blocks, drill holes and string up. Toilet paper roll with bit of paper left on is a favorite. A box big enough for the bird, with a swing top lid - peek a boo game. Small raw hide dog chew toys. Plastic lids with peanutbutter. A piece of cotton rope - with knots. Pine cones. Short pieces of dell stick to carry arround - pencil size. Plastic lids from deoderant cans. A bell tied to the perch with sisal. Baby keys. SS spring - have to be the right size for bird so he cant get pinched - supervised toy, tie one end on a gym, cat ball with bell the other. Home made boing, wire pushed through a cotton rope. Dried corn cobs. Budgies like plastic key ring ornments and paper.

place a handful of beads or pieces of wood in an empty plastic bottle and screw on the top. (my birds usually like things that make a lot of noise.)

wooden chopsticks - actually i use these for target training, but my birds love to bite them up. (the paper wrapper around the chopsticks are a good source of entertainment too)

big plastic bottle caps - i usually buy those large plastic containers of apple juice and once done with it, i wash and give the tops to my amazon - he loves to chew them.

toilet paper/paper towel rolls are a hit with my amazon.

glass baby food jars - i buy a lot of baby food stuff for the birds, and when im done, i throw away the top, wash out the glass jar, place a nut in the jar and turn the opening upside-down on a table (so the nut is trapped in the jar. my amazon goes nuts trying to get at the nut! lol

paper shopping bags - my birds just like to go exploring in them and i throw a couple of their foot toys in there. you can also shred some newspaper, make some holes in the side of the paper bag and stick the shredded paper through them.

my birds also like shredding the phone book (i open the book up to a page somewhere in the middle for them)

Check this site out!

http://www.cheepparrottoysntips.com/index.html

i forgot something.... valo will go to town with a piece of broccoli, or half a carrot (which is fairly big for him)... he uses his supposed-to-be-food to play with.... i sometimes just hang some broccoli in the cage for when i'm at work... it's usually in small pieces by the time i walk through the door

I use coffee filters on alot of projects... my guys are shredders and love coffee filters. String up coffee filters on some butcher twin, hang on cage. Give a roll of clean tp paper, hang in cage. Give a roll of adding machine paper, hang in cage.
I cut, sand, dye and drill my own wood for toys. Thin pieces of pine are a big hit, and for the parrotlet I purchased thin cuts of balsa.

Cut a dowel into a 6 inch piece. Drill holes all the way through, to make about 4 complete holes in the dowel. To one end add a SS hanger. Run veggie tanned leather through the holes- string with 4 beads on each end- you will have 8 ends. Tie. This is a favorite.


Found these at walmart- they are small dog toys. Hang with leather strap, tie in cage. Perfect swing/chewing toy


Foot toys- pine shapes, drilled and leather tied securly to entice beaking. 2 dice drilled and tied together with leather


A wooden spoon. Tied with butcher twine for preening. Marbella beads put over the handle for playing


Dowel drilled 3 times as base. Rope used to string- baby blocks, marbella beads, pine cuts and rawhide squares.

Does it matter what type of rope you use? And where do you find Sisal rope? I looked all over the craft store yesterday. Would they have it at Home Depot or Lowes?

Sisal at home depot and lowes comes treated- smell it and it smells like kerosine. I suggest buying it in bulk off the net.

Cotton you can get untreated at Lowes and home depot, but usually only thick diameters- 3/4 inch to 1 inch. They sell it for making your own leadropes, etc. I buy it to make my own boings and swings.