Indoor Bird Feeding

Make sure your Bird has the right Feeding Accessories with our collection of Water Bottles and Bowls for your Bird here.

Chewable and Reusable Foraging Toys

In the wilds of the rainforest an Amazon Parrot would naturally spend long periods of time searching for food. Having a chewable or reusable foraging toy helps to replicate that natural behaviour.

MATERIALS COMMONLY USED IN BIRD TOYS WOOD

Birds need to chew, wood is an excellent material to satisfy this natural urge.  Birds play most often with wood toys.  Wooden toys are meant to be destroyed.  Some bird owners may be frustrated by the destructive nature of their parrots.   However,  chewing is a natural instinct and vital to birds mental and physical well-being.   If you provide only acrylic toys they will often find other, more expensive ways to satisfy their chewing needs (i.e., molding, furniture).    It is important to know what woods are safe for your bird.   Both soft and hardwoods are commonly used in toys.   

If you like to make your own toys NEVER use pressure treated wood, it is treated with arsenic and will poison your bird.  If using natural branches make sure they have not been exposed to insecticides.   Also, take care to collect branches in areas removed from highways where plant life may have absorbed toxic emissions from cars.  Scrub all branches with a non-toxic disinfectant (dilute chlorine bleach), rinse and dry thoroughly. 

If you need to clean wood toys, don’t soak them.  It is best to wipe them clean with a damp cloth or sand the soiled area until clean.  If your bird likes to dunk his toys beware that moisture can promote bacterial growth and the toys should either be discarded or thoroughly cleaned and dried in a low temperature oven before returning them to the bird. 

Birds are able to distinguish colors therefore color makes wood toys more attractive and interesting to birds. Manufacturers usually color wood with food coloring or vegetable dyes.  We don’t believe in flavoring wood as the bird should not be encouraged to ingest the wood and, unless properly controlled, the fruit sugars often used provide a perfect medium for bacterial growth.   Do not buy toys that have been stained or varnished to add color.   If you are interested in a toy with painted parts (ie, ABC blocks) make sure that only non-toxic, child safe paints were used. 

M o r e

What to buy and what to look for

Making sure that the pet bird gets a balanced diet is important, and of equal importance is ensuring they don’t get a chance to eat anything that might be dangerous or poisonous. 

Most companion pet birds are seed eaters. However, seed alone will not provide your bird with the nutrients they require. Manufacturers of prepared bird food will supplement mixes to ensure they get the right nutrients in the right proportions.

Here are some of our top tips to ensure your pet bird is kept as healthy as possible.

In addition to seed, pet birds need iodine, vitamin A and calcium to avoid rickets.  The most important essential fatty acid for birds is linoleic acid and deficiencies can cause skin problems and poor feather development.

Minerals are very important to birds to maintain bones, claws and beak. They can be provided in the form of mineral blocks, cuttlefish bones or oyster shells.

To ensure your bird receives the correct, balanced diet, look for the words “complete feed” on the food packaging. This means that this particular food has been manufactured to provide all the nutrients it needs to keep it healthy.