new baby b&g toy question

[doc33]

i have a 7 month old b&g macaw and i cant seem to keep any toys in his cage, he destoys them within 30 mins of putting them in his cage and big bird toys are just so expensive any suggestions on cheep or home made toys please

[Dustin]

There are a couple people here that make toys regularly, maybe they will chime in.

What i do though is go the the pet store and look at all the toys that i would buy for them and just figure out how they made them, or the design they used. An easy toy/ idea is just some wood chunks wth a bead or something else to give some space between the pieces of wood, string it up and let them go crazy. If he is destroying them that quickly you wouldn't even have to get to fancy.
Make sure you use buird safe woods. http://www.birdsafe.com/woods.htm

Again just look around at toys and get ideas from them. The sky is the limit

[doc33]

thanks for the info and the site i just built mijo a pvc play gym because i didn't know what types of wood are safe till now next project is toys to put on the gym.

[Tiki]

Yup, that's their job-search and destroy! Check with Nancy, she makes good macaw toys.

[bgmacaw]

Originally Posted by doc33

i have a 7 month old b&g macaw and i cant seem to keep any toys in his cage, he destoys them within 30 mins of putting them in his cage and big bird toys are just so expensive any suggestions on cheep or home made toys please

Ahh, the joys of the macaw. Go to Home Depot or such and buy a bunch of untreated pine 2x4s to cut up and drill holes. For extra challenge buy the 4x4s or round posts. Some sisal or cotton rope to hang them. Have everyone save water/soda bottle caps and hit the Goodwill type stores for toys. One idea from Busy Beaks was cutting 2x2s into blocks of varying lengths, drilling holes in them and pounding an almond (in shell) into the hole.

[kp_in_scott]

We make our own toys here too. We find that if you string squares of 2x4's on a rope with a pvc spacer between it will last for about a week. Some times I tie brightly colored fabric pieces between the blocks. I invested in the sample kit of vitacritter dye.http://www.vitacritter.com/ This adds interest and I noticed that my birds attack the wood better when it is colorful. The Dollar Stores also have wooden wreaths that are plain wood, not varnished or colored. They cost $1, and I can attach little toys or fabric to them and hang them in their cages and they destroy them pretty good. Makes for a big mess, but keeps them occupied for a while. Good luck!

[doc33]

ok i went to good ole home depot and got the wood and pvc and some stainless steel chain and i decided to go with the kool aid for now but will definatly get some vitacritter next time anyways i ended up with enough supplys to make 2 really big toys for mijo one for his gym and one for his cage he loves it and its been 4 days and its still in pretty good shape thank you all so much for the advice, i've got one very happy birdie on my hands now! mijo said "thank you for helping my mommy make me a great toy to chew up" well he didn't say it but i saw it in his eyes i will post some pics soon

[mamalovesrico]

Originally Posted by bgmacaw

cutting 2x2s into blocks of varying lengths, drilling holes in them and pounging an almond (in shell) into the hole.

I absolutely love that idea!

[bgmacaw]

One thing I forgot to mention related to the goodwill or yard sale route. Fisher-Price type toys with the lights and noises are totally entertaining to them if you can handle the noises. Just keep an eye on them and remove if they start to break them apart due to the wiring and such inside.

[wizard's#1]

buy him bullet proof toys. they're not cheap but you won't have to replace them like the others. i have a b&g and he's the same way. i also use baby chew toys some of them even play a tune when they bite them. my b&g just loves his.