You will probably find that your Cockatiel isn’t all that interested in the usual parrot toys that you find on the internet, but he instead loves anything that he can chew on. Some people recommend giving Cockatiels simple things such as the card tube inside a toilet roll, but I personally don’t think this is a good idea, because your Cockatiel will naturally swallow some of the card, which won’t be great for his digestion.

The best Cockatiel toy as far as I am concerned is cuttlefish. Your bird will really enjoy chewing it, and it has the added advantage of keeping his beak sharp enough to crack seeds, but not that sharp that he rips up everything he comes into contact with. You will obviously need more than just this to keep him stimulated, so my advice is to search the internet for ‘Cockatiel toys’, and mainly choose toys that are designed to be chewed.

photo credit: Arcadiareptiles

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Cockatiel Toys

Macaws love hanging toys, and any kind of toys that they can climb on, such as parrot towers. They also get a great deal of mental stimulation from treat-stuffed toys, which need to be dismantled to extract the treats. Another great choice is foot toys, because they will help your Macaw with his co-ordination.

A simple online search for Macaw toys will provide you with more choice than you know what to do with. However, one word of caution when choosing parrot toys – make sure they are made by a responsible, and reputable parrot toy manufacturer. The reason I say this is that it has been recently discovered that a number of toys on the market have been made from materials that are poisonous to parrots.

photo credit: Just chaos

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Macaw Toys

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!

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Budgie Toys

You probably don’t realise it, but having perches of various sizes and textures contributes greatly to the health of your pet. The two main benefits are:

1) Constantly having to re-adjust his feet to remain balanced will stimulate and strengthen your parrots’ leg muscles, and keep his feet healthy.
2) The rough textures will naturally keep his beak and claws trimmed.

For the greatest health benefits, put parrot perches of different sizes and textures in your parrot’s cage. I bet you didn’t realise just how important choosing the right type or parrot perch is!

photo credit: The_Gut

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Which Parrot Perch Is Best?

Parrot stands come in lots of different designs and sizes, so you obviously need to pick one that is appropriate for your bird. My advice is to buy one that has a number of different components to keep your pet amused – don’t just buy a glorified perch! You can get them with a variety of toys and puzzles attached, which your pet will love. A built-in mess tray is also a good idea, for obvious reasons!

Whatever you do, please don’t buy cheap parrot stands. At best, they will wear out really quickly, and therefore not provide good value for money. At worst, they will be made from inferior materials that could actually harm your bird.

photo credit: Arcadiareptiles

Post from the Parrot Care Made Easy blog. The resource for all things parrot - e.g. parrot training, parrot food etc...

Parrot Stands