Poi Toys

[WillowQ]

The Sola balls were an immediate hit and now resemble popcorn on the cage floor.

I’m organizing and found some really thick cardboard. I think I’m going to either weave some strips through Jasper’s cage bars or maybe pierce them and hang in her cage.

Yesterday was bath day and both birds REALLY ENJOYED their fountain bathtub. Jasper will still not hop into the basin but got herself and the bathroom quite wet with her bathing.

 

[WillowQ]

Jasper had an adventure this morning before I got up. Looks like she hung out on her playground for a while and then explored the kitchen, gnawing her way into a banana. Yum!
giant Poicephalus deposits mark her journey.
then she found me in the bathroom and attacked my foot as I toweled off from the shower.

 

[WillowQ]

Jasper is having some evening bird time as Willow has just gone to ‘bed’.
She did not want to be held or to make noises back and forth so is now on her bird tree.

 

[WillowQ]

Jasper quickly tired of her tree and climbed down to eat Willow’s basket. So we’re trying some bird videos and then to bed.

 

[WillowQ]

Jasper really enjoys bird videos. Much much more than cartoons about humans. She watched talking bird videos for more than 30 min as I talked back to the videos and tried to get her involved in the words and sounds the video birds were making.

i’m hoping she will learn to play peekaboo; and she likes her beak to be beeped more than she likes to play “got your beak.”

 

[WillowQ]

I found a cat scratching pad refill. It’s a thick block of cardboard; maybe an inch thick by 4” by 6”. I put it in Jaspers cage and she’s been chewing it. I think I should hang it so it’s more accessible and gets pooped less.

I also bought a refill of colored 1”x1” x4” pine blocks from eBay. I will hang them on a bird kebab or maybe take apart and refurbish an old toy. (Some if those toys are hard to get apart.) I could also string these blocks on washed rope or heavy twine.

 

[Mizzely]

Ripley loves those cat scratching pads!

 

[WillowQ]

I’m making my first order from bonka bird toys and trying to get my shopping cart a bit lighter.

Jasper will be getting coconut chews, mahogany spoon chews, thick cardboard chews, a chunky natural hanging toy and maybe a bagel waterfall. oh yes, and a swing. But I’m pretty sure I can assemble the bagel waterfall at home.

Willow will be getting some little gadgety toys for Quakers.

I’m trying not to break the bank. These toys look fun!

 

[WillowQ]

Jaspers toys did come and I’ve been slowly adding to her cage. I think that I’m going to take an old toy out and toss it because she only uses it to hide behind; the blocks are chewed off. I would like more room for better toys.

Jasper was out for a while today and we watched cartoons for a while while she got scritched and cuddled. My attention drifted and Jasper started spinning in place on her perch, doing her “turn around” trick spontaneously. So I told her what a good bird she was (!) and gave her a sunflower seed. Then we practiced the trick for a while (about ten seeds) and she hung out in her tree. She ate some leftover avicake from the dish and then played with the toys a little before gazing at the bookshelf and stretching waaay out to try to grab the books.

Then she went back in her house because she was tired of me and mostly wanted to eat things. Her cage has things to eat. I’m excited that she remembered and did her “turn around” trick when we hadn’t practiced for a week or two! Good bird.

 

[WillowQ]

I got a big bird toy order a couple of weeks ago. I just chose the bagel waterfAll for jaspers next toy. She has chewed off about half of the bagels on her bagel waterfall toy (bonka birds) within two days. Luckily i have more cardboard bird bagels stashed away.

This is one of the most successful toys thus far. I was not sure if it should go to Willow or Jasper but am happy it went to Jasper and she’s enjoying it.

We had a nice evening visit and Jasper got lots of scritches and cuddles. Again when my attention strayed from her she started turning around on my hand and arm. So we worked on that trick for a while and then relaxed. She was chiller than usual so she stayed out longer, but when I brought her back to her cage her wings were out and fluttering because she was ready to be back in there and to go to sleep.

 

[WillowQ]

Both Jasper and Willow got fountain baths today. Jasper still won’t hop into the basin, but got her head and bib area soaked, anyhow.

 

[WillowQ]

Jasper is enjoying her bird bagels and the coconut slices. Those are probably more economical. I bought her a hanging toy and need to refill it with cardboard bird bagels. I’ve selected toys that I can refill with chewable parts so she can gone the wood or cardboard and I can replace it.

Jasper was out for a good long while today. She has mastered “turn around” for a sunflower or safflower seed. Now we will go on to “gimmee kiss” and picking a seed out between my lips (hopefully with a kiss noise).

I got leftover Halloween candy today. Most was gone by the evening but there were caramel apple lollipops at the corner store. I let Jasper have a lick since she was so curious about the lollipop. Her massive beak managed to chisel off a tiny piece of candy. That was not intended but she grabbed it instead of licking! After that I let her chew on the stem end.

We need to do bird baths this weekend. It’s now below freezing outside, so I think the birds may get blowdried on low afterwards. Otherwise I will have to hold them IN MY HANDS until they are mostly dry.

 

[WillowQ]

I refilled the bagel waterfall toy with cardboard bird bagels and Jasper has been making a huge mess tearing them off in strips. I also moved a coconut slice from her perch to her crazy links and she’s chomping on it again.

I have a bunch of things called mahogany spoons or mahogany strips (?) but they don’t have holes to hang from. I wonder if I should drill them or if there’s another way to use them.

I still have parts of the giant macaw pine block toy that Jasper chewed apart. It had four giant rope legs so I’ve still got one or two. Also I have been saving beads and blocks that come off worn out toys. She likes to chew so much and I thought I could give her pine wood shims but it turns out they’re treated. So no shims.

My birds have a whole dresser filled with toys and food and supplies.

 

[WillowQ]

I just got (through freecycle) a shoebox of wine corks for Jasper to chew up.
She really enjoys rip rip ripping up medium hard things like Sola and pine so I’m hoping she’ll enjoy the corks.
I’m not sure if I should somehow hang them on her existing toys or offer in the extra food dish.

 

[WillowQ]

Jasper has discovered the wine cork in her extra food dish. She gnawed a bunch of it off before losing it “forever” on the floor of her cage.
I need to figure out how to suspend them so they are more available or accessible. maybe they’re about the right size to put in between the cage bars?
i bought her 1 1/2” thick cardboard squares and the guest got lost on the cage floor and pooped. So these also will get hung from something, but being cardboard they were very easy to punch through with a heavy kids pencil. These will either go on her perch (like a bead) or hung on a link.
Jasper had an adventure this morning and climbed onto the kitchen chair under the table. She got fluffed up big and was strutting around. I didn’t want to get bitten,so I pulled the chair out from under the table and gave her a minute to calm down before asking her to step up.

She is now relaxing on my left hand as I type with my right hand. She’s ok with this but I don’t want to keep her there and have her get bored and grumpy. Jasper seems to enjoy me mimicking her noises as she sits near me.

 

[WillowQ]

Jasper is really tearing up the wine corks!!

This is good because I have a lot of them and they didn’t cost me anything.

I’ve been putting them in her extra food dish along with the dry foraging herbs and plants. And now she’s discovered them!

Jasper has destroyed the stick of cardboard bird bagels that I gave her, doesn’t seem to like the coconut discs as much for chewing, but a big cork can keep her busy making a mess for hours.

The freecycler also gave me some synthetic corks but I’m not giving those to the birds. They’ll probably just go to st vinnies or a kids art activity room at the library.

 

[WillowQ]

I’m finding that Guinea pig or rabbit chew toys work nicely for Jasper, but she’s able to quickly bust the wooden hanger at the top. Somehow that’s more fun than working on the body of the toy.

Willow got a cockatiel sized toy with gift boxes stuffed with paper crinkles and chews. I found a bigger version of this toy for Jasper, stuffed with hay twists that might be fun to destroy. But the toy was in the Guinea pig section and she only had it for a few days before breaking the wooden hanger. And that’s what happened with the last small animal toy.

otherwise, the Guinea pig or rabbit toys tend to be cheaper (than parrot toys) and sometimes go on sale because there are few small animal owners in my city. But I’m sure to check them carefully to ensure that they are safe for birds.

Tomorrow I need to refill Jaspers hanging toys with bird bagels, pine blocks, mahogany spoons, etc. and replace a couple of corks in her dish. I need to clean my bathroom and then can give birds baths in their Swan fountain.