Enrichment outside the cage

[FeatheredM]

Sprinkles and quierido are bored if I let them out they go to the same places and preen. But I want them to have a FUN time out of the cage so they can play, get ecxersise and use their brain power!! Inside their cage it's a toy store with a bunch of varied perches but what about outside the cage? I remember when we first got them, the first thing they did when I let them out was to fly everywhere, then explore and have fun! Is there any way to help my birds have a more enriching time outside the cage?

 

[BirdG1rl]

Maybe make them some sort of play gym? With new toys hanging on it? Maybe some foraging toys with millet or treats inside?

 

[Zara]

Hiding small bowls around the room and dropping a treat in some will encourage exploring.
Having toys and perches around the room can also help, as well as having a stand or play station like mentioned above.

 

[Rædwalda]

I have my bird bath outside of the cage and fill it every time my Canary comes out, she doesn't always use it but did when it was warmer outside. I put it on a little table on the other side of the room from her cage so she has to fly over there to use it, usually with a treat bowl next to it with some eggfood, veg or fruit.

She also loves to land on the lampshade every time she comes out of the cage, so I put up a little bit of bamboo scaffolding for her to perch on...



I also looked up plants that Canary's supposedly like, including Aloe Vera, Aussie Bottlebrush, and Yucca, but the only plant she has ever shown interest in is the Aloe, which she likes to nibble on occasionally.

I've heard people on here who recommend against using commercially grown plants due to potential chemicals etc so you may wish to be careful, but I have chosen to take the risk.

 

[FeatheredM]

I LOVE that foraging bowls around the room @Zara ! Playgyms are pretty expensive, but @Rædwalla gave me a great idea of making one out of bamboo sticks and then I'll weigh it down with something! @SummerWing also helped with that inspiration! I think I'll move some of the toys outside the cage since it seems kinda crowded in there and try to hang them in some places, and use their toys I replace with toys inside the cage outside the cage as well!

 

[FeatheredM]

I just want to let y'all know I'm still open to more suggestions

 

[GreenThing]

Something cheaper than playstands I have been using are those little hanging decorative shelves:



This one had shelves attached by a tiny screw that I removed (the wood was painted), and now I'm in the process of covering the metal with layers of sisal! I put some bottle brush branches where the shelf brackets are. I'm going to hang toys from the little metal bars at the top.

It took a while for them to warm up to it, but now the boys really love their tree, they were on it for hours this morning!



The stand was $30, and I just keep adding stuff to it! They are more interested in looking for millet in all the flowers than the seeds I put in their bowls, sometimes, haha.

 

[FeatheredM]

Where did you find that playstand @GreenThing ?? It's really cool!

 

[Wardy]

I LOVE that foraging bowls around the room @Zara ! Playgyms are pretty expensive, but @Rædwalla gave me a great idea of making one out of bamboo sticks and then I'll weigh it down with something! @SummerWing also helped with that inspiration! I think I'll move some of the toys outside the cage since it seems kinda crowded in there and try to hang them in some places, and use their toys I replace with toys inside the cage outside the cage as well!

You can make your own playgym for very little cost if you source the pipe and vet wrap yourself online.

 

[WikiWaz]

I LOVE that foraging bowls around the room @Zara ! Playgyms are pretty expensive, but @Rædwalla gave me a great idea of making one out of bamboo sticks and then I'll weigh it down with something! @SummerWing also helped with that inspiration! I think I'll move some of the toys outside the cage since it seems kinda crowded in there and try to hang them in some places, and use their toys I replace with toys inside the cage outside the cage as well!

You can make a play-gym out of PVC pipe too, much cheaper than some playgyms. But some of the cheapest play-gyms I've priced out at $30.

For other things to do outside of the cage, I like to make a variety of foraging trays and put them on my desk to encourage my birds to come out. I also sometimes use a fake grass matt for foraging (a puppy pad made to look like grass), and sprinkle pellets and seeds on that.

 

[Wardy]

You can make a playgym out of PVC pipe too.

I made this in a few hours got furniture grade pvc pipe and vet wrap online its over a meter high and cost about 20% of what you would pay if you bought one.

 

[FeatheredM]

That is so cool @Wardy, I 99.99% sure I'm going to make a play stand!! That looks better than what you could buy pre-made!!

 

[WikiWaz]

I make cheap foraging toys for outside the cage on my desk, such as these two examples.

The first is an egg carton which pellets are hidden. My birds have to either pull out things, like the purple wicker ball, or forage through them like the timothy hay, party paper, or small beads.

The second is a tiny canning jar (probably for jam), where I placed pellets and vine twists that my cockatiel can pull out to have easier assess to the pellets.

I also like to wash and save certain clear takeout containers which have unusual shapes or I think would be challenging for my birds to forage. When the containers are clear, my birds have an easier time foraging.

I hope this inspires you!

 

[April]

I've also had great luck adding various perches on the outside of the cage. Dont have pics on this computer but I'd use rope perches and several wooden ones on different levels of the outside to make steps and play areas and I dont have it yet but I plan on ordering it soon but @JLcribber makes beautiful and fun perches that make great outside play areas. Unique handcrafted parrot stuff by ParrotParaphernalia on Etsy . This one is gonna be a must have!

 

[Wardy]

I've also had great luck adding various perches on the outside of the cage. Dont have pics on this computer but I'd use rope perches and several wooden ones on different levels of the outside to make steps and play areas and I dont have it yet but I plan on ordering it soon but @JLcribber makes beautiful and fun perches that make great outside play areas. Unique handcrafted parrot stuff by ParrotParaphernalia on Etsy . This one is gonna be a must have! View attachment 393546

Would like to see your setup when you get it done sounds interesting

 

[FeatheredM]

They have been much more excited to come out!

 

[Rædwalda]

I make cheap foraging toys for outside the cage on my desk, such as these two examples.

The first is an egg carton which pellets are hidden. My birds have to either pull out things, like the purple wicker ball, or forage through them like the timothy hay, party paper, or small beads.

The second is a tiny canning jar (probably for jam), where I placed pellets and vine twists that my cockatiel can pull out to have easier assess to the pellets.

I also like to wash and save certain clear takeout containers which have unusual shapes or I think would be challenging for my birds to forage. When the containers are clear, my birds have an easier time foraging.

I hope this inspires you!

View attachment 393525 View attachment 393526 View attachment 393527

I really like them, but I'm not sure I would serve any food to little birds in egg cartons, as far as I know raw egg shells are actually very dirty, I'd be worried about bacteria etc. Really nice ideas though.

 

[WikiWaz]

@Rædwalla - commercial eggs are thoroughly washed where I live.

 

[FeatheredM]

@Rædwalla - commercial eggs are thoroughly washed where I live.

Thank you for that information! I didn't know whether I should use cartons because of egg germs, but guess I can use them now!

 

[FeatheredM]

Soooo...... they have been having ALOT of fun!!!! I give them a lot of foraging opportunities, and they love playing and exploring. Today sprinkles found this new cool place they even take alot of flights back and forth in my room when let out of their cage! But Quierido was climbing the curtains, so I want to get them this:
https://www.amazon.com/Climbing-Activity-Suitable-Cockatiel-Macaw（Random/dp/B08PYMDVWV , deos anyone know if this is good quality?