In addition to providing quality physical stimulation, pet birds living in captivity also need mental stimulation to have a happy, vibrant and healthy life.
Wild Macaws in Brazil just monkeying around 🙊.
Birds are smart, intelligent, curious animals that have a very active life in the wild. When in captivity the stressors of the wild are considerably reduced but so can be the amount of stimulation available. Providing activities and items to stimulate your pets brain is just as needed as making sure they get plenty of physical exercise.
This simple bell toy is providing a mental and physical workout for an African grey.
There are many ways to easily achieve this with the added benefit of being fun for both the owner and the bird. One of the easiest ways to exercise your pets mind is stick their favorite food and treats inside of different items. In nature birds need to search and forage for their food which this emulates. Placing treats inside of shreddable items or toys rewards pets as they shred and makes their activity more exciting. Foot toys are especially great for this as many have holes where treats can be stuffed into. For pets that enjoy vegetables, placing different food items around the cage creates a rainforest effect and is great fun for birds to fly around to find all the food.
Dr. Irene Pepperberg with some fellow researchers.
Another method that was developed by Dr. Irene Pepperberg of the University of Arizona & The Alex Foundation is to create flash card to teach your bird about different objects. The method is to cut out various shapes of flash cards and announce what they are as they are being held up and shown to the bird (as in “red circle”, “blue square”, etc). Moving from simple shapes and colors this method can be used to teach parrots about objects, colors, materials and shapes all the while expanding the birds vocabulary. A particularly great exercise for pets who are introverted, this game can also be played with items like keys, fruits and really anything else.
This Budgie has plenty of room in his comfortable cage.
With cage toys it’s recommended to have no more than four to five toys at a time in a cage. In addition to being mentally overwhelming, too many toys can cause a danger if it prevents a bird from moving around easily. This seems to be more of an issue with smaller birds as many toys can be cheaply bought and added to the aviary. With this said, toys in the cage can be used in a variety of different ways to keep things fresh. Rotating toys out of the cage every week or so creates a renewed interest for the toys. Moving a toy from one spot of the cage to another can make an entirely new exciting game for your pet.
5000 Sneaker Shredders
$1.99
$5.99
The 5000 Sneaker Shredders from M&M Bird Toys are delightfully fun foot toys. These chewable, rippable, stuffable, shreddable foot toys are adored by pet birds. This pack includes (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (10) or (15) ready to play with… read more
Mini sneakers are loved by pet birds and can fulfill many fun activities. The sneakers have chewable cotton canvas, rubber soles and aglet laces. The sneakers can be stuffed with foraging material and treats to increase the fun. They can also be tied up from larger bird toys and hung from the cage (with treats inside to really party!). These classic foot toys can be enjoyed by all types of small to medium size bird breeds.
Cardboard donuts are straightforward classic foot toys that each offer a stimulating experience to birds. The donuts have many layers of compressed cardboard that’s been formed into a tube. The outer layer is brightly colored and each layer can be peeled back and shredded. These are excellent toys to introduce to new pets and those with timid temperaments. Also ideal for hanging from other toys and the cage itself.
2125 Big Nobby Balls
$3.99
The Big Nobby Ball from M&M Bird Toys are large bouncy foot toys. This colorful rubber ball has lots of translucent pieces interwoven with each other. This offers tons of places for beaks and feet to grab. Pet birds beaks… read more
For larger pets the Big Nobby Balls offer a bouncy and stuffing play session. These balls are made from long circular lengths of colorful rubber that’s been woven into a sphere. There are many openings for beaks and feet to grab. The balls have empty centers and can be stuffed with material and treats. Superb for adding to larger toys, these balls have a (3) ounce weight and can provide a good physical and mental workout for any bird.
Works Cited:
Dr. Irene Pepperberg. Alex Foundation. (2022, March 13). Retrieved September 20, 2022, from https://alexfoundation.org/about/dr-irene-pepperberg/