Homemade Parrot Toys
A big part of keeping a parrot happy and healthy is keeping them active and busy, both physically and mentally. This can be achieved through interaction with their owners and their owner’s families, play gyms and parrot toys and games. You will have to frequently change the toys in their cage to avoid repetition and boredom. Try to keep 4 to 5 quality toys in the parrot cage at a time. Often, the toys are designed to be chewed on and grappled, so they will not last forever. Depending on how your feathered friend handles her toys you may be replacing them a few times a year. Luckily, you can make parrot toys from the comfort of your own home!
The main objective in producing home-made toys is to ensure your parrot’s safety and you also get to save a little money. First of all, make sure that the size of toy is appropriate for your bird. If the parrot toy is too small, she may swallow it and choke. On the other hand, if it is too big and heavy, your parrot may drop the toy on its leg or feet. You will also have to make sure that the materials you use to create the are parrot friendly and do not contain any chemicals that could be harmful to the parrot or your family.
You can buy a few parrot toys from the pet store so that you have models to base your own parrot toy creations on. This will also give you a chance to find out what type of toys your parrot likes because that preference will be differ from bird to bird. The toys should stimulate your parrots mind and body. Materials that are often used for homemade parrot toys are rope, cardboard, chain, string, and untreated wood. If you want to collect the wood yourself make sure you avoid pine because the sap from the wood can be toxic to parrots; all other types of wood are fair game.
After collecting the wood you will have to treat it to make sure your feathered friend does not contract any bacteria, fungi or parasites from the wood. First, soak the wood in a 10:1 diluted bleach solution (10 parts water to 1 part bleach) for a few hours. Remove the wood from the solution and let it dry naturally; that should kill any bacteria present. Following that, heat the wood in your oven so that dries more thoroughly and that should kill all parasites and prevent mold from growing later on. You will know the wood is dry once it starts to split in the oven.
If you want to use a chain for a parrot toy then a stainless steel chain would be best. Unfortunately, those can be a little expensive, so if you want a cheaper type of chain opt for a nickel plated chain. Just make sure that the chain remains dry because once wet the zinc may leach out and in large quantities that can be toxic to your parrot.
If you do not want to make the toys yourself, but you want to have something unique for your parrot to play with I suggest visiting the local baby store. There you can find colorful rings and bells and other interesting, large toys such as over-sized key rings. Although these toys will not be cheaper than the parrot toys you will find at the pet store, you can rest assured that these will be safe for your parrot because they are for a baby.
Nearly anything can be used as a toy for your parrot; use your judgment as to whether the toy is safe or not. When in doubt ask for advice at the pet store. The most important thing is that your feathered friend remains entertained and engaged with the toys you make.
Red Tail Cockatoo
The Red Tail Cockatoo is a pleasant parrot, but they can be quite noisy when they get excited. Even if they are not excited, they may become loud in the late afternoon and early morning. At first, this bird is shy and if it was caught in the wild it may be quite nervous. The young red tail cockatoos will befriend humans much more easily. These feathered friends like to chew things, most notably, wood used as perches or ornamentation in the cage.
Red tail cockatoos, like most other parrots, have short tarsi and strong claws. They waddle when they walk and use their beak as a third appendage when they climb. This species of cockatoo has long narrow wings which they use to fly very quickly; speeds of up to 70km/hr have been recorded for these birds. There are other cockatoos that are designed for more leisurely flight; for example, Black Cockatoos and the Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo. Their wings are shorter and more rounded.
Red Tail Cockatoo Wings Spread
Cockatoos keep their large bills sharp by rasping the mandible’s together while resting. Along with the large bill, the cockatoos have large, muscular tongues. With its tongue and upper and lower mandible, the red tail cockatoo will de-husk seeds before eating them. When de-husking the tongue holds the seed in the right position, the lower mandible applies the pressure and the upper mandible acts as the anvil.
The red tail cockatoo is less vividly colored than most other species of parrots. The male is mostly black aside from bright red patches on the tail. The female red tail cockatoo also has the red patches on her tail, but there are black bars running across the red patch. The female will also have yellow spots on her head. As a rule of thumb, the iris of the adult female cockatoo is brown and the iris of the adult male is black. This is not always true and that is why it’s a rule of thumb. The males are on average slightly larger than the female cockatoos.
Red Tail Cockatoo Perched
All cockatoos are diurnal, which means that they require daylight to find their food. Cockatoos wait for the sun to rise and warm their roost before they move to the feeding site. Sometimes, there will be great distances between the roosting and the feeding site. The 21 different species of cockatoo, including the red tail cockatoo, often travel together in one large flock.
Male & Female Red Tail Cockatoo
To keep themselves clean, cockatoos either fly around in the rain or hang upside down in it. They have also been seen to flutter around in the wet leaves of the canopy.
The different species of cockatoo have varying numbers and uses of calls. The short-billed black cockatoo has up to 15 different calls, whereas some other cockatoo species have far fewer. The Gang-gang Cockatoo is pretty quite, but they have soft growling calls that they use while feeding. The Palm Cockatoos will drum a dead branch with a stick to communicate over large distances. All species of cockatoo make a hissing sounds when they feel threatened, this includes the red tail cockatoo.
The cockatoos are flexible feeders and feed on a variety of foods. Seeds are most important in their diet and they are opened with the use of their strong bills and tongues. Cockatoos can be seen feeding in isolation or in flocks that range in size from small to immense. The red tail cockatoo feeds mainly on the ground and the Galah or Corella Cockatoos do the same. The others of the species feed in the trees. The ground feeders usually feed in flocks. The flocks can be closely knit as is the case when seeds are concentrated in one area or the flock can be spread out if the seeds are more evenly distributed.
There are some cockatoos that only feed on specific seeds and others that feed on a large variety of seeds. For example, the Glossy Black Cockatoo will eat only cones of Allocasuarina. It holds the cone in its mouth and then removes the seeds with its tongue. There are some species that eat mass amounts of insects, especially when they are breeding. They use their large and powerful bills to remove larvae and grubs from rotting wood. More on Parrot Feeding
The amount of time Cockatoos spend looking for food in the wild depends largely on the season. During times of plenty, these birds will only spend a few hours of the day looking for food (some in the morning, some in the evening). However, when food becomes scarce they spend most of the day foraging. Also, when food is scarce, Cockatoos become less picky in their choice of food and will travel a lot further to find it.
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Jardine Parrots
Jardine Parrots are sometimes also called Jardines parrots. In the wild, the are found in Central Africa, where they occupy floodplains. Although there are many striking species of parrot, Jardines are considered by most to be the finest African parrots to exist. They have a brown-black coloring under their wings and tails are dark brown. Most of the body is yellow with green throughout and they have a patch of red/orange on their head. The coloration of Jardine parrots can change depending on their age and the subspecies Some times immature Jardines will be completely yellow and grow into their colors later on. Some subspecies also have red around the wing feathers and feet, too.
Jardine Parrot on Bed
The Jardine parrots are considered medium-sized parrots; they can grow to be 11 inches (28cm). Jardines can live between 20 to 30 years depending on their level of health, nutrition and environment throughout their lives.
Jardine parrots have a loving nature and are quite friendly when trained well. Jardines do require some to prevent bad behavior and bad tempers. These parrots can develop a habit of biting, if not properly trained and cared for. Bad habits can be corrected, but it will require some skillful training and time to do.
Jardine parrots are very intelligent and they can be shy when you first buy them, but they warm up to you once they feel comfortable with you. They are energetic birds and enjoy learning new tricks. Jardine parrots fit well in a family environment, but they do not handle stress very well. It is a good idea to keep a Jardine in low-traffic part of your home. This will minimize their exposure to stress. These birds are very intuitive and they are able to pick up on your body language and they know when you are stressed or anxious. Sometimes they can become stressed just because you are. A good way to keep them calm is to keep them busy with a variety of games or other entertainment. Maybe they like to hear you sing, or maybe they like to hop around on your arm.
Two Jardine Parrots
In the wild, Jardine parrots eat fruits, seeds, flowers and tree leaves. When moving a Jardine into your home you will want to feed them a balanced diet of grains, fruits, vegetables and pasta. When choosing parrot pellets and seeds you need to exercise caution and watch for things such as nutrient content. When fed the wrong foods a Jardine parrot may develop a feeding disorder. More on parrot feeding.
Jardines parrot would make a great pet for anyone who is looking for a pet parrot. Because they are not too big they can live in most homes. Their compelling and humorous personality will surely help you both enjoy each other’s company. Before you know it you will have a strong bond with your Jardine parrot.
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