There's a pet store not too far from us that has a b&g. He has a nice big cage - but no toys. I feel really bad for him. I make most of the toys for my birds myself and have a good collection of parts. I was thinking of making a few things for the b&g - hoping if they could see him playing/occupying himself with them - maybe they would be more inclined to keep a few in his cage. Never having any bird even close in size to a macaw - I don't know if the things I use to make my bird toys would be safe for such a large bird. I know all the wood pieces I have, he would probably go through in no time at all - but thought it might be better than nothing. Any suggestions on easy toys/foot toys I could make to take to him? Anything I absolutely shouldn't use in making a macaw toy?

poor guy i hate seeing things like that. maybe you should explain to the owner that birds NEED to chew. do they sell bird toys in the store?

i would say nothing too small that the bird could swallow. maybe some nice big chunks of wood and leather. check around on bird toy websites for some ideas, too!

that's sweet of you to make some things still, i wish more pet stores would educate themselves better. it's frustrating.

If the bird isn't used to toys, start with something less intimidating than huge hunks of 2x4's, etc. Smaller toys made of 1x2s to start with, and some of the paper "donuts", maybe a large bird pinata, as well as one of those Grande treat blocks.

The goofballs here love chewing on medium to huge hunks of colored wood, in any configuration you like. Big SS bells are a hit, and so is simple 1" cotton rope tied to make swings and knotted to make something to climb from the floor to the roof with. They also LOVE foraging toys. They have several steel foraging cages (stick chunks of corn on the cob, apples, or a whole roll of t.p. inside, as examples), a leather pouch thing with holes in it for prying out nuts stored inside, and some of those spike things. They take those apart in minutes though. I'd like to see one made big, long and without knobbies on the end that big macaw beaks can get around and twist off. Weave stuff through the cage bars, put foot toys in a SS pail, etc.

Basically, big beaks need big toys, and active minds need something to do, too.

Thanks for the tips! The store does sell bird toys - but all for small birds. Their toys aren't even big enough for my alexandrine. It's a long drawn out story of how they ended up with the b&g to begin with. I guess he's basically there on consignment. Some idiot bought the bird for her mentally disabled son, then after several months she moved out and left the son and bird. The son's case worker gave the bird to his daughter (none of these people had previous bird experience). The mother of the mentally disabled son found out and threatened to sue them for the bird - and now the bird is at the store because no one wants it. He's been there quite awhile now. I plan on going to visit sometime next week with extra birdie bread and kitchen sink recipe that I "accidentally" made too much of. Plus some nuts of various kinds that I "bought too much of" for my birds to go through before it spoils. A few hanging toys and some foot toys. Can macaws chew through paulie rope? I'm assuming they can - but wasn't sure. What's the best sort of material to use for toy parts for a hanging toy?

From my own personal experience, I'd say a full size macaw can pretty much chew through anything it puts its mind to. Sisal, cotton rope and chain link dog collars are commonly used. The poly rope should be ok, considering hoopballs are made with it. The big thing is, you want to make sure the ends of the ropes don't end up coming apart in long strings, which a bird can get a body part wrapped around and caught in, sometimes with tragic results. If you can encase the end of a rope in something like a pvc pipe cap, all the better and safer.

Simple, cheap things for the bird to chew would include untreated lengths of 2x4s, drilled, and strung on a rope. If it fits the cage bars, a lot of big birds love 2x4 perches. They're cheap, and when they chew through them, easy to replace, while using the now-chewed pieces to cut into parts for another hanging bird toy.

My own goons love something as simple as a head of cauliflower, broccoli or lettuce on the floor, which they roll around like a soccer ball before tearing it to bits. This would assume, of course, a clean floor grate. You could choose just about any round-ish, bird safe veggie or fruit for this kind of fun--but you want to make sure that if it has seeds, those seeds are also safe for the bird to ingest.