For a bird toys are an important component for keeping your it mentally and physically healthy, and every pet bird needs at least a few different kinds of bird toys to play with. There are lots of different kinds of bird toys available online and in stores, and they come in all shapes, sizes and materials for pretty much any size or type of pet bird.

So, What are Bird Toys?

Despite the common phrase “bird brain”, most birds actually are extremely intelligent creatures. Researchers found that common crows are as intelligent as 7 year old children, and an African grey parrot’s reasoning ability is right up there with that of a 3 year old child. Because they are such intelligent animals, they need a lot of mental stimulation, fun things to engage their attention, and they also need variety.

Bird toys are things that provide a bird with opportunities to do the same behaviors and activities that a wild bird might also do, such as shredding, chewing, climbing, swinging and holding.

A bird toy can be made to be challenging both mentally and physically, be educational, or just to be fun. Just like with toys for human children, toys are not optional for a bird. Birds need toys to keep them healthy just as much as they need a nutritious diet and a safe cage. Despite describing them as fun, and calling them toys, they are a very necessary part of your bird’s wellbeing.

Smart owners have learned to salvage what’s left of used toys and reassemble the parts to form a new toy. Since parrots can be pretty aggressive with their toys, continually inspect the condition they’re in and make sure they’re still safe for your bird to play with.

Bird toys are sold by size, so make sure the toy’s pieces are the correct size for your bird. For example, you would offer a medium-sized toy to an Amazon parrot, but a parakeet may not be interested in a toy designed for a macaw.

Bird toys are a critical component of good bird care.

Parrots are usually pretty hard on their toys, and take their natural aggressions and frustrations out on them. Many new owners will buy beautiful, expensive new bird toys for their parrot, only to find them shredded to bits in no time flat, and find it hard to continue to spend money on toys that will only be destroyed in short order. Thing is, this is completely normal bird behavior! In the wild, birds have plenty in their natural surroundings to chew, shred and destroy. The world is their playpen and their toys, and they have free reign over all of these. However, consider that in captivity, parrots are kept in clean and usually uncluttered cages. These cages are kept in the homes their owners also live in, and more than likely, they would not appreciate if the walls, plants and furniture were chewed, shredded or destroyed. This is where bird toys fulfill an instinctual need and are not an optional part of a bird’s cage or play area.

In the wild, parrots and parakeets play with items from their natural environment. Playing in this way fulfills a parrot’s emotional needs. Even in nature, parrots are required to figure things out, sometimes with a complex solution, and these things are very mentally stimulating for these intelligent birds.

When parrots figure something how or solve a puzzle, they can feel pretty pleased with themselves and it gives them a sense of accomplishment. Wild parrots often learn from other members of their flock, watching by example, and having a flock around them from which they can learn gives them a sense of security. Their instinctual need to chew, shred and forage is very strong, and bird toys, such as a puzzle with a treat hidden inside, allows parrots to use their mind creatively. The acts of chewing, shredding, solving and foraging also help the bird work out mental energy to solve it, and physical energy, and helps keep parrots from becoming bored anxious or frustrated. Sometimes parrots can get very rough with their toys, and this is completely normal and natural, even wild birds can be seen flying around chasing one another in play, or even teasing each other. Think of a parrot’s mental needs like those of a toddler, requiring lots of play, needing varied toys, enjoying simple games and getting bored easily.

When parrots are stuck all day in their cage, and not given much to do to stimulate their minds or occupy their time, they often develop aggressive or self-destructive behaviors. Too many parrots are given up to new homes because of destructive behaviors like biting, feather plucking, screaming and destroying furniture. These birds simply did not have their needs met and may have become emotionally damaged. By offering your parrot a wide variety of bird toys designed to meet its intellectual, emotional and physical needs, these problematic behaviors can be prevented and/or alleviated before they become habitual.