More Birdie Fun

Enrichment for a pet bird is very important - especially for a young active bird like Sophia!  She gets something new and different to do every day.  I have lots of toys which I rotate regularly.  Some are store bought.  Some I create for her.  The favorite right now is an empty toilet paper tube stuffed with drinking straws that I cut in half.  I stuff them in there tightly with a few treats and other foot toys.  She loves to pull them out one by one, carry them around the cage, and toss and twirl them.  When she's finished, I stuff them all back in for a different day's fun. 

 

I cut up her fresh fruits and veggies for the whole week, so each week I try to include variety in what I cut for her.  Some days she gets sprouted seed, some days I tuck in a banana chip or a piece or two of dry cereal.  She enjoyed some dry spinach tortellini the other day. 

 

Below you see Sophia with lots to do.  Not only is this good to keep her busy all day, but it helps her learn to be quiet as well. A busy beak is a quiet beak!  She loves her rope perch, but she also has a natural branch perch in her cage, and various other surfaces to climb on when she's on her play gym - rope, wood, and the fancy perches that are supposed to keep their nails filed down. 

 

The red thing behind her is her hut where she can hide or sleep.  I often stuff it full of toys and goodies for her to unstuff.  And I will find her inside fairly often, playing on her back with a toy.  She has a kabob toy - I love those! - with apple branches, grapes and a birdie bread muffin.  But the nice thing about kabob toys is you can change them every day!  Something new and exciting every day!  Sometimes I put beads and toys on them, sometimes food, sometimes both.  

 

 

 

Look for different ways to use your bird's toys.  Sophia loves the toy in the front of this picture with the two bells in it.  She plays with it a lot. But every now and then I will stick a piece of millet spray or other small treats in it along with the bells.  That makes it VERY exciting! 

 

To make Sophia's birdie bread, I used a box of corn muffin mix made following the directions.  I added finely chopped parsley, basil and carrots, and I added some of her pellet mix that has dried fruit in it as well. I made it in mini muffin tins - it makes a lot!  Then bagged them in small batches and froze them.  A little baggie of 3-4 muffins taken out to thaw at the start of the week and she can have several days of fun.  Pop them in the microwave for a few seconds before serving to take the chill off, but be careful they aren't too hot when you serve them!  Sophia loves to tear the paper off her muffins, so I leave the paper on for her.  She doesn't try to eat the paper, but she will dunk it in her water and make soup!