Parrots and pet birds can be expensive pets to own. Unlike many pets, birds require an abundance of new toys throughout their lives in order to remain healthy. Birds, parrots especially, are both playful and destructive and getting new toys helps them to fulfill those urges in a safe way. There are many different types of toys on the market, but we will focus on the two major types of toys, wood toys and plastic toys.
Plastic Bird Toys
Plastic toys have become quite popular among bird owners. People with smaller birds like plastic toys because they are easy to clean. Whereas those with larger parrots like them because plastic toys are harder for their bird to destroy and will last longer.There are many plastic toys on the market that can help engage a parrot or pet bird that might be bored with regular hanging toys. These toys use a puzzle and food reward to make the bird think about the toy and encourage natural foraging as opposed to strictly eating from a dish.
For the most part a plastic toy will last a very long time. If you are going to use plastic toys in your bird or parrot’s cage it is best to have several different toys that you can swap out with each other from time to time. Having a few plastic toys in a bird’s cage is acceptable, but not every toy in your parrot’s cage should be plastic. Wood and other easily destroyed materials are important to both a bird’s psyche as well as their physical health.
Wood Parrot Toys
Wooden toys are available in every size. You can purchase a wooden toy for your finch or your macaw. The obvious difference between the finch toy and macaw toy will be size, but often times they will be made of different types of wood as well. There are several different types of wood used in bird toy construction. Softer woods are better for small birds with weaker beaks, and hard woods are better for the stronger beaks of large parrots.
Toys made from wood are important to the health of pet birds and parrots because they help the bird to fulfill both a physical and a mental need. The physical act of chewing on the wooden parts of a toy helps to file down a bird’s beak, which grows much like a human’s fingernail. The destruction of a wooden toys provides the bird with a challenge and, therefore, mental stimulation.
Whether you are looking for a plastic toy or a wood toy, it is important to buy your bird a toy that is appropriately sized. A large parrot can easily break apart a too small toy without much effort. If a very large toy is given to a small bird it can become frightened or even get hurt by a swinging or falling toy.
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