Keeping Flappy Happy (Bird Entertainment in General)

Member Name: FourPaws

Product:	Bird Entertainment in General
Date:	20/09/09 (185 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Ways to provide cheap and entertaining games for your bird

Disadvantages: Large birds will easily destroy weaker items

Today is one of them days, like I'm sure we all get from time to time- you're sat at your desk in front of your PC or sat on the sofa with your laptop on your lap, you want to write a review, but there is one problem- you are well and truly stuck as to what to write it about- well, that is exactly how I am feeling. I'm waiting for numerous suggestions to come through so have nothing left to write about that I am eager to review so when browsing through the pet section here on dooyoo looking for some motivation, I came across this category, and opened up Microsoft Word straight away to get cracking!

Bird entertainment- well it's certainly a slightly unusual category to write in I'm sure you'll agree, but as any bird owner will know, keeping pet birds entertained is a never ending and highly demanding task. People may well use 'bird brains' as an insult, but spend just five minutes with a domesticated bird and you'll soon realise just how clever these feathered friend are, and therefore, how difficult they are to entertain.

Before I get started, let me introduce you to the gang. Firstly, there is Crackers, he is a Scarlet Macaw who will turn 11 years old at the end of this month, I've had him since has was a chick and he the nuttiest creature you'll ever come across- loves nothing more than playing fetch with the dogs or sitting watching the washing machine going round and round. Next, there is Murphy, who is every inch as nutty as Crackers, and he is a 5 year old Blue & Gold Macaw that joined the gang as a rescue bird around 18 months ago now. Finishing off the bunch of Macaws, is Chilli, another Scarlet who I have only had for a couple of weeks, he is rather quiet and reserved at the moment, but leave it a couple of months, and he'll be as crazy as the other two. Then last, but by no means least, there is Pepsi, an African Grey Parrot, who is quite frankly a damn right snob.

Now, owning 3 Macaws and an African Grey makes me one of either two things- lucky, or completely insane and I'm leaning towards going towards the last option. As lovely as all of them are, they are incredibly time consuming and need constant attention- especially the Macaws, seeing as they are not caged animals- they have parrot stands that they are trained to return to when told, to eat or drink, sleep or go to the toilet and then they have the free run of the downstairs of the cottage. Yes, I'm a glutton for punishment! I don't agree with confining large birds to cages so that is why the Macaw trio are kept in this way, and Pepsi, the African Grey resides outside in a large aviary.

Providing bird toys seems to be the bane of my life, any poor soul who has been unfortunate enough to be bitten by a Macaw, or similar sized bird, will know just how powerful their beaks are- infact, a fully grown adult Macaw in good health would be well able to break bone with their beak if they wanted to. So, in the past 11 years that I have owned birds, I have discovered one major thing, and that is that shop brought toys for large birds, are, on the whole, a huge waste of money! In my experience, they get pulled to pieces and broken with days of the birds having them and considering they can cost around £10 each time, they're just not worth the money. Therefore, in this review, I'll be sharing some ideas that I have found to be a huge success in entertaining birds, excluding shop brought parrot toys, concentrating on the needs of large birds such as Macaws and African Greys.

If there is one thing a parrot loves to do more than make a mess, it is to eat. Boy, do parrots like to eat! The proof is in my weekly food bill for the 4 of them! So incorporating tasty treats, and even their regular food, into fun puzzling activities is sure to be a big hit, and beneficial to both their mental and physical well being, as it makes their use both their mind and energy as they figure out ways to get to their grub!

If you've ever browsed the bird care isle of a pet shop, you will probably have noticed those treat bars that you can purchase for them, designed to hang from the top of your birds cage, and they generally come with a hefty price tag of around £2 or £3, so the cost soon mounts up if you have more than one bird to provide for, so why not have a go at making your own, for a fraction of the price? All you'll need is a packet of wooden lolly sticks, which can be brought cheaply from craft stores (or for further cost cutting, save and rinse the ones from your ice creams), a bottle of runny honey and a packet of parrot mix. Simply mix the honey and parrot mix into a thick, sticky mixture, pop on some rubber gloves to protect your hands and mould thickly to coat the lolly stick, leaving half an inch at the top to attach to your birds cage. Once the stick is covered, leave in the fridge for a couple of hours to firm up, and you're left with a tasty treat that your parrot will love, and it'll provide valuable exercise for their beaks as they peck at the treat stick.

To vary the above method slightly, half a hollowed out coconut shell also works, as does setting the mixture in flexible silicone jelly moulds to make fun shapes- OK that one is more for your enjoyment than the parrots, but hey! To make the treat stick even more hard work for the larger, stronger birds, you could firm it up in the freezer rather than the fridge.

Next, non-bird owners would be amazed at how much entertainment a small empty plastic drinks bottle, and a few peanuts (still in their shells) can provide! Simply place a few peanuts in the empty bottle, do not put the lid on and then hand to your parrot, it'll take them a fair while to realise how to release the peanuts, and will help improve co-ordination as they hold the bottle and shake to get the food out.

Many parrots love playing in water- filling a clean, spare cat litter tray with a couple of inches of water, chopping up some fruit and vegetables into bite sized chunks and then letting them float in the water will provide a novel way of feeding fresh produce to your birds, and they'll love splashing about in the water and bobbing for the food. Although this game way best be reserved for outside play- Macaws especially, love bathing in the water, and will get their wings wet and flap it absolutely everywhere!

Small empty cardboard boxes, such as egg cartons, tea bag boxes and small cereals boxes all provide easy and simple entertainment too- either completely empty so your pet can simply rip them up or filled with a small amount of parrot seed- it makes them work for their work, which is much more stimulating than simply eating from a bowl.

In warm weather, there is no reason why pet birds cannot have supervised play time in the garden- the majority of large birds will have had their wings clipped (a painless procedure which involves removing certain feathers so your parrot cannot get enough height to fly away) and there are many games that can be played outside. Firstly, simply scattering some parrot mix into long grass will provide a hunting style game, simulating natural foraging behaviours. However, if you have a washing line in your garden (the traditional line suspended between two posts, not modern spinning washing lines), these are brilliant things for a great parrot game, which will provide lots of exercise for your bird, as well as mental stimulation. Pop your parrot up on the line, and peg various items to the line such as an empty plastic bottle attached via string, an old t-shirt, a rope dog tug toy, some tinsel (they'll love this especially seeing as it is shiny), a small branch with leaves on, an old compact mirror attached to some string, a sheet of tin foil and even some spoons tied on to some string. Birds are naturally curious animals and they'll absolutely love moving along the line investigating all the hanging items. This game also helps to build up confidence and will also stimulate wild behaviours, such as being higher from the ground than usual, you can even thread some soft fruit such as apple or pear onto some string and attach this to the line too.

Next time you come to the end of a trigger action spray bottle of cleaning solution, give the bottle a really good rinse out and keep it. When the weather is warm, fill the bottle with some cold water and take your birds out into the garden- spray the mist of water above their heads and they'll love being covered by it. This also helps keep their feathers in good condition, as in the wild most birds would be native to warm, humid countries which cares for their feathers naturally, domestic birds in cooler British climates therefore need some help in feather care and spraying them with a mist of cool water is the perfect way to do this.

Birds love the preen things- they don't care if it is another bird, a dog or even a human. My next idea is slightly nutty, but trust me, your bird will love it! Get an old sweatshirt that fits but you no longer wear and sew loads of bright, colourful buttons randomly all over the front and sleeves- the brighter the better and it you have metallic ones, even better. Then sit with your bird in your lap- he can now preen the sweatshirt- picking at and investigating the buttons- and your earrings and skin will be safe once more.

What may surprise some people is that a lot of large birds love to dig. Try filling a deep cardboard box half way with some shredder paper and bury some treats within- your bird then has to forage through the paper, and dig down to try and find the treats. Only use shredded paper however- sawdust, sand or soil can all be harmful if swallowed or they get into your birds eye.

When providing homemade toys for your bird, the key is to use your imagination! I hope I've provided some new ideas for bird owners, that have all been tried and tested with my own 4 and are proven to be a success. The sky is the limit regarding homemade bird toys and games, just be sure to always supervise use and make sure whatever you use is safe for the bird to be around.

Remember- a happy, well exercised and thoroughly stimulated bird won't be destructive or unnecessarily noisy one :)

Summary: Entertaining pet birds doesn't have to cost the earth,