How to Make Toys for Your Birds? 3 Easy Tutorials

Translated by Nick R

Bird toys are quite simple to make, sometimes even common items can be fun for them. So, in this blog you’ll learn some ideas to make the simplest and cheapest toys for birds. – Join me!

Before starting, sanitize some things 

Some elements that we use for this tutorial can put our bird’s health at risks, such as branches or egg trays. To prevent our birds from getting sick, it will be necessary to disinfect them. Here are some ways to do it.

Spray the elements with sanitizers 

In some markets or pharmacies, we often find disinfectant sprays for surfaces, using these is one of the easiest ways to clean our work material, although it may be out of our budget.

Water and bleach mixture 

This is the best way to disinfect anything; it won’t only work for cleaning your own items but also your bird’s cage.

For the recipe, you need:

• 16 ounces of water
• 2 teaspoons of bleach

You can add this combination to a spray bottle so you can spray it wherever you need, although it loses effectiveness after 24 hours.

Tutorials to create a bird toy 

1. Foraging toy 

This toy is ideal for psittaciform birds such as cockatiels or lovebirds because they will use the toy to get snacks or their favorite food. The materials you need are:

• Hemp or sisal string.
• Egg bucket
• Popsicle sticks
• Torn paper
• A paper punch
• Scissors
• Plastic accessories
• Bread, seeds, or snacks of your choice

Steps 

1. Cut out the egg bucket 

Using the scissors, start cutting the cones for the eggs and additionally cut out the excess material to form rectangles and squares.

In addition, make a hole at the tip of each cone to join them together, and do the same with the rectangles and squares.

2. Assemble the toy 

• Once all the steps are done, you must use the hemp or sisal rope and tie a knot at one end of the accessories you have chosen for the toy, such as bells, rattles or any plastic toy.
• After this, pass the squares or rectangles through the rope, each one separated by a knot.
• Pass the egg cones through the same string, in opposite directions, one with the tip down and the other with the tip up. This is so that there will be room to add some pieces of shredded paper inside and hide some food.
• Finally, leave a segment of string about 10 centimeters long to tie it to the cage.
• Don’t forget to put the snack in the middle of the egg cones for the bird to forage.

The result should look something like this:

2. Tunnels and swings 

This accessory is perfect for your birds to rest for a while or climb on it to try to crumble everything. The materials you need are:

• Cork sheets 50 cm x 50 cm.
• Cabuya or thick sisal ropes
• Paper punch
• Silicone

The flexibility of the material to be used in this tutorial allows you to make different accessories for your winged friends.

Steps 

1. Plan the shape you want to give them 

For the tunnel shape, roll the cork sheet into a cylinder in such a way that it has a hole for the bird to enter to rest for a while.

Swings are somewhat simpler; depending on your bird’s size, you only need to take a piece of the cork sheet and give it a curved shape so that the birds can rest on it.

2. Make the holes for the ropes 

Make a hole in each corner of the cork sheet for the swing using a hole puncher.

In the case of the tunnel, you will have to make the hole at the end that is left when wrapping the cork sheet.

3. Use hot silicone to glue the tunnel 

As with the tunnel, what you do is roll up the cork sheet, you’ll have to glue the sides as you wrap it on itself. You must be very patient and careful; the tunnel must ideally be stable enough to support the weight of your bird.

4. Tie the ropes to the accessories 

Now you take the sisal rope and insert one end into the holes and tie a knot on the other side of them to hold the accessory and support the weight of the bird.  

5. Attach it to your bird’s cage 

Now it is time to put the accessories in the cage or wherever you want. For the swing you would tie the 4 ends of the rope in a straight surface, to give it stability and that the weight of the bird does not unbalance the accessory.

3. Chewing pendant 

For many birds, chewing is an important activity in their daily lives. In fact, if you already own one, you have seen how they peck at paper or anything else as a recurring activity. Well, this toy will help maintain that natural behavior by offering many more options. The materials you need are:

• 6 strings of sisal or cotton cords.
• Scissors.
• Cardboard or paper squares.
• Plastic lids.
• Pieces of natural wood.
• Corks.

Remember to disinfect and clean some of the elements such as wood and corks very well.

Steps 

1. Make a hole in the objects that you will thread through the rope 

Using a drill, make the holes in the items that need it, such as wood, corks and lids. If you don’t have one, you can help yourself with a punch and a hammer or, in the case of plastic lids, you can use a red-hot punch.

2. Pass the string through the holes 

Now take the strings to attach each element you selected and pass one of them through the holes of each element, you can combine them together.

If materials like the sisal are difficult to thread through the holes you can wrap one end with tape to make it easier.

3. Tie knots in the rope 

To prevent the pieces from falling off, tie a knot before the first accessory and another knot before adding the next one. You should add a minimum of 5 to 7 accessories.

4. Join three pendants into one 

To finish the pendant, take three individual pieces and join them together using the sisal rope, make sure it is firmly tied so that it doesn’t fall from its place.

Make sure the rope you use is long enough to hang the toy in the cage or wherever you want.

5. Enjoy 

Now you can tie it to the top of the cage near a perch for your bird to play with it.

This toy may wear out quickly, so I recommend you have a few extra to replace it.

The outcome should look something like this: