Can somebody help me?

[Greymom721]

We are trying to make some bird toys for our new TAG baby. I have been on line & bought many wonderful things. But I am stumped at something...does anyone know if hemp is OK to use when making toys? I have polly rope, jute, and veggetable tanned leather strips but need something thinner for some things. I am afraid of using something that might not be OK for our baby! Thanks for any advice/suggestions!

[The Outlaw]

Hemp is ok, but difficult to thread with small holes. Why not simply redrill your holes to make them whatever size works best. My greys especially like leather thongs that I buy on Ebay. She will cut them into 1/4" sizes on occasion and they are my favorite to use. I just ordered a spool of Polly rope and its my second favorite for smaller bird toys. You can also safely use cotton twine, but don't use nylon on polyester rope. That's the stuff that birds cannot seem to chew through when they get entangled. Sometimes I can find stainless steel wire and that's very good because you can use it over and over again. I routinely use chain for the big birds that I order from Squawkadoodle.com.

By the way, for medium birds like Tags, Amazons and mini macaws, you can drill the plastic caps from soda bottles and string them along with wooden blocks and beads. They make great spacers. The plastic tops from milk jugs work great too. I also drill and save the tops from detergent and fabric softener bottles. I drill the centers and run a chain through them. Be sure the openings of 2 detergent bottle tops face each other and you can hide nuts or other treats inside. Much like using coconut shells. In fact, if you use a hack saw, you can cut up 16 oz. plastic soda bottles. I save the bottoms of the bottles that look like snowflakes. You can place two together, openings facing each other, and fill them with glitter or other interesting things. You then hot glue them together and run a pretty trim around the seam. With a little imagination, they make fun Christmas tree ornaments. My granddaughter who is 7 has been making them for the last 2 years. Its a fun family project.

If you sew, save your spools. By the end of the holidays, I usually have enought to make a spoolie man for the fildren.

THE OUTLAW

[greyburd]

Nancy, you always have such good idea on EVERYTHING. Do you have a book out? Have you thought of putting a book together. I bet it would be a good seller. I'm sure everyone here would buy a copy. I know I would. It would be a lot easier than trying to find all of your post around here!!! :-)

~don

[The Outlaw]

Don:

I don't want your money. I want you to learn to observe things in your environment that are safe and have the potential for fun. Before you toss it out, think about what you can do with it. I currently have neighbors and family saving pop bottle lids, newpapers and phone books just because my bird enjoy them. They are glad to have a ready place to take them and everyone wins.

Another fun thing is to take worn out stuffed animals, remove the stuffing, and tie them on the inside of your cages. I try to have one "snuggler" on the highest perch in every cage. Then my birds can snuggle up against them at night when they go to sleep. We all find little stuffed toys from grown up children, McDonalds or Goodwill. A toy that a child no longer wants is the perfect candidate for a bird. Make sure to launder them before you install them in the cages. I also do the same thing with larger stuffed toys from my dog. If I leave them stuffed, she tears them open and I have fiberfill all over the place.

My quaker like to play inside oatmeal boxes. I make lots of windows so she can peek out at me. She does that and then laughs. She really is a silly thing.

I sometimes just toss in single serving cereal boxes in the big bird cages. They have a great time tearing them open and even eat some of the cereal. Please don't give them junk cereal however.

THE OUTLAW

[greyburd]

Thanks Nancy,

I actually have been observing things, trying to figure out what I could use to entertain my fids (when they do arrive). I've gotten lots of ideas from BB. I appreciate what everyone (inculding you) have advised. Thanks for the ideas.

~d