Choosing The Right Toy For Your Bird

At Great Companions, customers often ask us how to choose appropriate toys for their birds. You want to choose toys that are well designed, safe, and offer good value, but they need to be fun too! We've tried to take some of the guesswork out by only offering toys from companies we trust, in styles we're pretty sure will be a hit.

Once you've decided where your bird ranks in size, the next step is to consider its personality. Senegal Parrots, for example, don't always know they're considered small, and often will happily attack a macaw-sized toy with great enthusiasm. Some African Greys, on the other hand, can become fearful when faced with a very large or brightly colored toy, and might do better with a slightly smaller version. Most Macaws and Amazons are bold and aggressive, and will quickly do mock battle with anything that is placed in their cage. The noisier, the better! Cockatoos are the mechanics of the bird world, and are happiest with toys that move, make noises, can be taken apart, or have "hidden" surprises. Nervous birds, especially those prone to feather-plucking, seem to do well with highly textured toys displaying a variety of materials that they can chew, preen, or pick. Of course, these are all just generalizations, and your bird might be entirely different. That's what makes toy selection so much fun!