Budgie Toys
If you have one of the larger parrot species, you have to be very careful about what toys you choose, because a lot of toys aren’t durable enough for them. This means your parrot might break the toys, and harm himself. You don’t really have to worry about this when choosing budgie toys – as long as a toy keeps him amused, there shouldn’t be a problem.
If you visit some of the online parrot forums, you will probably see a debate about whether or not mirrors make good toys for your budgie. Some people think they are great, because their budgies spend hours looking at themselves in them. Other budgie owners think you should never give a budgie a mirror, because the reason a budgie will spend hours looking into a mirror, is that he is waiting for a response from the ‘other bird’ that will never actually materialize. This can lead to frustration, and possibly long-term mental health problems.
My opinion is that mirrors aren’t a good idea for any pet bird. I once made the mistake of showing my pet cockatiel his reflection in a mirror, whilst he was stood on my shoulder. The minute I removed the mirror, he started circling around my head, and ‘dive bombing’ me. I can only assume that he thought I had harmed his new friend.
In conclusion, if you stick to the usual budgie toys, such as swings, bells, ladders and rings, your budgie will be ‘happy as Larry’ – even if he is called Fred!
