# Help With DIY Toys



## Java (Jan 11, 2011)

I am interested in creating homemade toys and activity centers for my cockatiel, Java. I have done a decent amount of research on how to make the toys and which materials to use and where to obtain them, and I have walked away from this search unsatisfied. I cannot find any complete and organized how-to's or explanations. I am hoping that I can gain such specialized wisdom from you cockatiel lovers and gurus. 

I have a play center for Java that I purchased from Petsmart and small wooden dyed blocks for him to pick at when he's outside of the cage. He also has a good amount of toys inside of his cage. However, I want to adopt the hobby of toy-making. I want to have a good amount of goodies for him so that I may rotate his toys to keep him interested. Also, he doesn't have much to play with when he's outside of the cage. When he's not sleeping on my shoulder, he tends to climb up the ladder to the top of the play center, walk back and forth a few times, fly down, and run around on the surface of the desk, ignoring the wooden toys. He shows a fascination toward paper. Is notebook paper safe for a cockatiel to play with under supervision?

I hope that you can answer my following questions, and we can make a discussion out of this.


What household items are safe for Java to play with while he is outside of the cage? 
Which types of materials would I be able to purchase from craft and home improvement stores that are safe for cockatiels? Specifically: wood, wire, rope, beads, etc.
Do I have to treat any of these items before I can present them to Java?

Thank you very much. Java and I appreciate your help.


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## olive juice (Mar 30, 2009)

Household items: To be safe, I usually just stick with paper. Newspaper, notebook paper, computer paper. You'd be surprised at how many unique and inventive foraging toys you can make with simple paper products. I'd stay away from anything and everything metal...you don't want your birds to get any metal poisoning.

It's tricky to buy from craft stores. Even things advertised as "non-toxic" may contain ingredients that could hurt your birds. Mostly, I only buy VERY basic materials from stores...plain old popsicle sticks, wooden pieces, etc. If you're going to buy anything else, stick to the natural stuff: rope made from natural materials (hemp, palm, etc). 
Mainly, I shop from this store: http://www.birdyboredombusters.com/
The parts are bird-safe and affordable and the site is really easy to navigate. I have to limit how often I visit this site, actually, or I end up buying too much. 

edit: I think they must have upped the price of shipping on that site cuz WOW. Still, it'll give you some good ideas of what is safe and fun.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

if your birds not a big chewer and is gentle with his toys, pen caps work good as beads, but only if he doesnt chew them. wash them good at first
as mentioned hemp rope is good, buttons of decent size are great fun, plastic ponybeads, shaped buttons (can buy at walmart  ), you know those burger king or mcdonald's ketchup mini cups? bring home a bunch of unused ones to make shredder toys, unmarked carboard (must have no ink at all nor any sort of writing. just plain cardboard), wooden shapes (dollar stores but do not buy coated wood. must not be shiny), thick cotton twine, jute rope, sisal... leather strips (beware your bird doesnt eat it. my dally does so she cant have it), bamboo shishkabob sticks (cut off the point), mini perferate golf balls (wiffle balls in other words) those are around 2 dollars or so at walmart in the golf section, dice make fun toys to drop off the cage lol, pretty much the basics but you can be creative. when in doubt, ask on here, we'd be glad to help


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## Java (Jan 11, 2011)

Thank you very much for the help. =]

I have been eying up a few sites that supply bird toy parts, including Birdy Boredom Busters, before making this thread. They have an amazing and diverse selection, but the shipping rate is a major turnoff. I am a poor college student.  This is why I am trying to seek out a cheaper (yet 100% safe) alternative to buying toys from major pet store chains. The only pet stores in my area are PetSmart, Petco, and Pet Supplies Plus.

I may make a trip to a few stores in the area to find anything that is worthy to be considered a bird part. Would it be okay if I consulted you on here before finalizing any purchases?

Also, more advice is very, very appreciated.


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## clem&peeps (Nov 17, 2009)

Some favorite and cheap foraging toys that my birds like.....
Cut up an egg carton (cardboard) and string some safe string or jute through, and put there favorite treat inside. Make sure it's not to long that they can get tangled in. I also put the egg carton in the oven at about 180 degrees F. Not hot enough to burn it but hot enough to kill any bacteria that might be on it.







Another idea is take a small paper bag and put millet, seeds, pellets, or what ever you like and tie it to the cage bars. I usually do 3-4 and place them all over the cage and my two will spend hours going from bag to bag tearing them apart to get at the food.


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

The egg carton idea is great, I'm going to use that


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## Java (Jan 11, 2011)

I have my doubts about a suggestion that I read on another website, and I want to get a confirmation from this community. Somebody stated that they make structures out of LEGO blocks for his or her bird(s). This does not sound entirely safe. Is it?

clem&peeps, what did you use to tie the paper bag to the play gym? I like your ideas a lot.  There's nothing hazardous on the paper bag?


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

As long as the lego blocks aren't too small and have don't removable parts they should be ok? They're made out of plastic that is child-friendly so it should be ok I assume. Only other thing I can think of is if you make a tall large structure out of the blocks it could fall on top of the tiel...


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## Kaoru (Sep 14, 2010)

brown paper bags are perfect for that, you can use sisal rope to tie it to the cage.

I use little cardboard boxes (like the boxes from poptarts, they are perfect for this. or something similar in size) and cut a few holes in them with a scissor. then mix some millet,hay and sunflowerseeds or anything small they like and stays fresh for a while, and put it in the box.I tie it to the cage with a few pieces of sisal rope. 
very easy and cheap, and keeps em busy for hours! :thumbu:

do not make this for females that are easily triggered to lay eggs though.
the hay might make them build a nest.
Then you can take paper or something to replace the hay  .


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

Here is a site that has some neat ideas http://www.cheepparrottoysntips.com/toyindex.html#coconut Just remember to always keep an eye on homemade toys and even store bought ones. One tiel might be fine with a toy well another will get itself into trouble


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## clem&peeps (Nov 17, 2009)

Java, I used cotton cord but like Belinda mentioned sisal rope is very good. Plain brown paper bags are considered safe. I used the smallest size i could find. They are a bit smaller then a lunch bag.


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## clem&peeps (Nov 17, 2009)

xxxSpikexxx said:


> Here is a site that has some neat ideas http://www.cheepparrottoysntips.com/toyindex.html#coconut Just remember to always keep an eye on homemade toys and even store bought ones. One tiel might be fine with a toy well another will get itself into trouble


This is a great site! I'm surprised i haven't come across it before.


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## Kaoru (Sep 14, 2010)

@ clem&peeps, my name is not Belinda  , but yeah you can use cotton rope too.
make sure you dont let the ends too long so they can get tangled in it.

@Spike, I know that site  many good ideas! didnt think of posting it here.


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## clem&peeps (Nov 17, 2009)

Kaoru said:


> @ clem&peeps, my name is not Belinda  , but yeah you can use cotton rope too.
> make sure you dont let the ends too long so they can get tangled in it.
> 
> Oops! Lol, I got the posts mixed up. Sorry about that


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## Kaoru (Sep 14, 2010)

That's ok Clem&peeps  . 

Did everything work out with the toy making Java?


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## Java (Jan 11, 2011)

I usually hate to bring back an old topic from the dead, but I wanted to share with all of you that I finally made a homemade bird toy today. I'm giving a how-to speech on Tuesday about how to make bird toys, and I thought that by choosing that topic that it would give me the extra incentive to actually do it. 

I purchased two bags of pony beads from Wal-Mart (1000 beads altogether), a bag of 150 Popsicle sticks, and natural jute rope from The Home Depot. I wanted to buy parts from the sites that were suggested, but I don't have the money to afford shipping and handling even though the prices for the parts themselves are fantastic. Tuition is going up, and my car just came back from the garage with a $800 bill attached to it. Traveling to brick and mortar stores and washing and reusing durable parts from worn toys purchased from pet shops seemed like the best financial idea. I did not spend more than $12.

Anyway, here is a picture of my first finished product. I apologize for the poor quality of the image.










I dyed a ton of Popsicle sticks and only ended up using three of them. However, I will need more to demonstrate how to assemble the toy come speech day.










I drilled the holes in the Popsicle sticks and the Lego pieces using a 5/32 drill bit. I drilled the holes in the sticks around the 2 cm, 5 cm, and 8 cm marks. I reused the bell from another toy. Java always pulled the bell off of the other toy, so I attached it firmly to this one. I also reused a cage clip from a bought toy that eventually fell apart.

Java seems to enjoy it.


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## cookiemonster (Dec 30, 2010)

Java, so awesome to know there are other busy college students that somehow make time for their cockatiel!
Also, you should probably re-post the pictures. 

I have a basket full of stuff that include Popsicle sticks, shredded gift wrapping paper, small miniature playing cards, fuzzy pipe cleaner, beads, and knitting string. I also like to practice origami. 
I LOVE using the fuzzy pipe cleaner because its cheap, you can make all sorts of shapes with it, and you can thread all sorts of stuff through it. I make sure that my Cookie can't get to the wiring part though and cover it with beads.

Sometimes store-bought toys are not all that bad though. I like to buy the complex puzzles and contraptions, although Cookie can spend a couple of days destroying simple DIY toys.


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## Java (Jan 11, 2011)

Ah, yes. The pictures would help, wouldn't they? I uploaded them to the computer science server at my school, so they shouldn't go down anytime soon.

I'm working on the speech now. It's my spring break and I have a computer science assignment, ten-page paper, and this speech to do all within a few days. It's not a very good break...

Here's the attention getter to my speech if you're interested:

A three-old child sits on a beige carpet in a room with empty beige walls. The room is barely furnished. There is a cream-colored sofa void of pillows, a locked mahogany armoire, and an ebony umbrella stand bolted to the wall. The child’s eyes search the room in vain hope of finding something that will provide entertainment and mental stimulation; something to be challenged by and to attune the natural senses, but alas! – there is only the plain, depressing beige room lacking of toys for the toddler. Kirsten Veness wrote an article for ABC News Online about a study that shows that “parrots could be as intelligent as five-year-old humans.” Birds require toys for good mental and physical heath, and a bird in a cage without toys is analogous to a toddler in a room without toys. 

It's a little long, so I have to work with it.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i wouldnt use the pipe cleaner. hate to say it but the metal in it could be very toxic to birds (maybe not now but could succomb to metal poisoning later in life)

the toys look great, and recycling old toys is a great way to get some parts! a lot of toys i make have some recycled part from one toy or another lol


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## EowyntheFair (Dec 28, 2015)

I love reading your comments and ideas. Can someone tell me if any cardboard egg cartons are acceptable? Someone mentioned printed ones being a bad idea, but a friend who has an older cockatiel (15) suggested the idea to me, but did not say anything about printing being bad.


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