Foot Toys

If you are new to birds, you may be asking, what is a foot toy? Or perhaps you are just wondering why it would benefit your bird to offer them a so called ‘foot toy’, when they have plenty of hanging toys available already. Foot toys are beneficial in many ways, including helping exercise the birds dexterity, strengthen foot and leg muscles, increase mobility, and add to their sensory palette.

Foot toys are small, brightly colored, and often multi-textured toys that are free form, meaning they are not hung in the cage. They are meant to be picked up by your bird, and manipulated using feet and beak. Many birds enjoy having an array of foot toys so that they can rummage around and choose which they would like to play with. Caiques, macaws, and cockatoos are especially well known for their fondness for toys they can manually manipulate. It is said that the smaller birds like parrotlets, budgies, and cockatiels, do not use foot toys and perhaps don’t have the dexterity to use such a toy, but some owners report their birds do (although infrequently) use foot toys.

Foot toys come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. Some are indestructible, while others are easily destroyed. You can get foot toys in natural materials, such as hemp and other fibers, and in other forms such as: plastic, wood, paper, wicker, stainless steel, pvc, and much more. These toys can range from suiting the purpose of shredding, chewing, foraging, or intellectual.

How to Choose the Right Toy

There are so many choices, at first glance the thought of narrowing down to just a couple toys may be dizzying. Or even frustrating. When purchasing foot toys, consider your parrot. Does your parrot like to chew, shred, or otherwise tear apart its playthings? Is your parrot beaky, enjoying manipulating items. Or perhaps your bird is really into working for his food. If your bird is a shredder, a toy that can be easily destroyed will deliver the most bang for your buck. If your bird prefers to manipulate items, look for a foot toy that is not so easily destroyed, and has moveable parts. If your bird enjoys working for his food, consider a toy that you can incorporate into your birds foraging program. Some of my birds favorite foot toys include stuffed wicker balls, plastic whiffle balls stuffed with cotton rope, or with a bell inside.

Foot toys don’t have to be expensive, either. Keep in mind when buying the toy that the toy will be dropped, thrown, dragged along, dunked, and generally abused. Will the toy hold up to your birds beak, much less being dropped from the top of the cage? If your bird is hard on toys, lean towards a foot toy that is made of a sturdier material. If your bird isn’t rough-and-tumble, you can start out with slightly less tough materials, like wicker. Remember to purchase the toy(s) with your birds size in mind. Don’t buy the largest available, just because your bird is ‘large’. Consider whether or not your bird will be able to lift the toy and easily manipulate it.

Foot Toys Don’t Have To Be Expensive

Just because its a ‘toy’ doesn’t mean it has to be expensive. My birds enjoying playing with bottle caps, pen caps, and large Marbella beads. Drilled baby blocks threaded with a scrap piece of leather can also provide entertainment. Save those parts from the toys your bird destroys, and use them to make foot toys that your bird can enjoy. If you find your bird likes a particular foot toy you purchased, buy in bulk. Foot toys often come in small packages of two or three, in addition to being sold individually. Buy a couple of the toy to have on hand, once the first (or second, or third) is destroyed.
Go Shop
Start the search for that perfect toy, and have fun. Remember that some birds may be hesitant of foot toys at first, but that’s OK. They will get used to the (odd to them) site of the toy laying in the cage, and eventually begin to play. Introduce the toy(s) slowly, if your bird is on the timid side. Don’t introduce too many at once. Start small and if your bird needs a bigger size, work your way up to the larger size gradually.
Happy shopping!

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