by Nora Caterino

Created on: October 10, 2009

Purchasing parrot toys can be expensive and I have found that my parrots don't play with them nearly as much as those I make for them. It's easy to make toys which cost little or nothing to construct. Here are some of the best cheap parrot toys you can make which have been parrot-tested in my own home.

Milk Jug Ring Toy

Most gallon or half-gallon plastic milk jugs come with a safety seal ring attached. Save several of these and hang them together to form a chain. Your small parrot will love taking the rings apart, destroying them one at a time and then removing another ring. This toy costs nothing to make except a few minutes of your time. This toy is best for small and medium sized parrots because large parrots could ingest some of the plastic

Mardi Gras Beads

Party beads which are not painted make great toys. One of my cockatiels loves to play with these and chooses purple beads over all other colors. These beads are pressed onto the string in the manufacturing process so they don't come apart. Simply attach the string of beads to the cage bars with a plastic cable tie available at any hardware store.

Stainless Steel Chain

Any hardware store will have stainless steel chain in various sizes and shapes. For budgies and cockatiels, you can use the type of chain that military dog tags are worn on. Many parrots love to open the closed dog tag chain. You probably have some of these types of chain around the house already. This toy costs only a dollar or two if you buy the chain and if you have some on-hand, it's free. For large parrots, purchase heavy gauge chain.

Free Play Tree

Every parrot wants to own its own tree and you can provide one for yours for almost no investment. Select a bird-safe tree and remove a branch or limb. Choose the branch or limb based on the size of your parrot. Use a five-gallon plastic bucket, an attractive trash can, or a large plastic planter as the base for the play tree. For small and medium sized parrots, you can fill the container with gravel or rock, firmly packing the rocks around the tree so that it does not move. For larger parrots, purchase a small bag of quick-set concrete or Plaster of Paris and place in the bottom of the container with the tree in the center. Then fill remainder of the container with rocks so that the parrot can not access the concrete or Plaster of Paris. Then hand toys from the tree and string treats onto the tree for hours of entertainment for your parrot. If you purchase a play tree, it will cost a great deal, but you can make one for, at most, a few dollars and an hour of work.

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