Although a balanced diet is critical, budgies also need plenty of exercise to prevent overweight issues. And this is where the best parakeet toys come in. But one common question nearly every bird owner always has is, what can I give my budgie to play with?
The answer is you can give your budgies a variety of colorful toys made from non-toxic materials to play with. These include budgie swings, play gyms, rattles, chewing toys, shredding toys, ropes, puzzle toys, and foraging toys. Of course, the suitable toys for your pet birds depend on their size.
But what toys do budgies like? Below you can find a list of the best toys for your parakeets and tips on choosing the right ones.
What Can I Give My Budgie To Play With?
Toys are the best thing to give your pet budgie to play with. Not only do they help prevent boredom, but they also encourage your parakeets to exercise, avoiding obesity.
Further, toys provide your birds with sufficient mental stimulation, keeping them happy while preventing unwanted behavior. From foraging toys to climbing and chewable toys, there are many toys available for parakeets. Below is a list of fun budgie toys your bird can play with.
1. Nibbling and chewing toys
Chewing is part of budgies’ natural behavior. It helps trim their beaks and relieve stress. Therefore, your pet birds will enjoy playing with chewable toys made of raw and non-toxic materials. Ropes, rattles, birdie bangles, and barbells are the best budgie chew toys.
2. Budgie gym or playground
A budgie gym enables your pet birds to stretch their wings, have fun, and exercise. A good playground should have swings, ladders, chewable toys, and perches. While you can buy the gym at a pet store, you could also build a DIY budgie playground.
3. Play swing or hammock
Budgies enjoy sitting on a swing or hammock inside their cage. These cheap budgie toys help your birds strengthen their wings and leg muscles. You can buy a play swing at a pet store near you or build one using a rope and two dowels.
4. Open-bottom bells and chimes
Bells and chimes are also favorite bird toys for budgies. This is because these birds love noisy objects. Your birds can swing, climb, or tap on the bells and chimes to enjoy the noise.
5. Colorful ladder
Parakeets love climbing and being in elevated positions. This makes a colorful ladder one of the best bird toys for budgies. A ladder also helps strengthen their feet.
Also read: Do Budgies Need A Bath?
6. Foraging toys
These toys help your birds exercise their foraging skills, a natural instinct they have. You simply put treats and foods inside the toys so your budgie can work out how to get them out.
7. Balls
Balls provide hours of fun for pet budgies. Your birds can use them as foot toys to help them exercise their feet or as foraging and chewing toys. You could get your budgies ping-pong or rotating balls.
8. Shredding toys
Like foraging, shredding is a natural impulse that budgies have. Female pet birds will shred whatever they find, especially during breeding. The best shredding toys should be made of natural paper materials.
9. Wooden or plastic rattles
Rattles will make noise when played, just like bells. So, your budgies will love poking at these noise-making toys. Your birds may also use the rattles as chewing toys.
10. Spiral ropes or rope perches
Ropes, in general, provide your budgies with excellent foot exercise. Tightly wound spiral ropes allow your birds to twist and then uncoil them, which is exciting. Besides using the ropes as climbing toys, budgies can also use them as chew toys.
11. Puzzle toys
Budgies are intelligent birds and love solving puzzles. Giving your parakeets’ puzzle toys helps enhance their problem-solving skills. Overall wooden block puzzles are the best for your birds.
Below is a video of budgies playing with a variety of toys:
What Toys Do Budgies Like The Most?
Budgies love playing with a variety of toys. This is because the toys help keep their clever mind occupied throughout. But what toys do budgies like most? Let’s find out.
1. Colorful toys
Besides blue, green, and red, budgies can see ultraviolet colors, unlike humans. Because of this, these birds love playing with brightly-colored toys. So, you should get balls, rattles, ropes, bells, and ladders of different colors.
2. Toys with movable or chewable parts
Budgies also like toys with moving or chewable parts like bells, swings, balls, and a playground. They naturally love chewing objects since it helps trim their beaks.
3. Climbing toys
Parakeets have an instinctive desire to climb up as high as possible in their cage. Typically, they do it for fun, especially when bored. Your budgies will climb on ropes, ladders, and perches.
4. Noise-making toys
Budgies are naturally noisy birds. They also like noisy, fun budgie toys and tiny bells. Musical toys also make excellent noise-making toys for these birds.
5. Hanging toys
Hanging toys, especially spiral ropes, are also favorite bird toys for budgies. These toys encourage budgies to stretch and flex their claws, promoting foot health.
How Do You Entertain A Bored Budgie?
Due to boredom, your pet budgie may indulge in unwanted behavior like feather plucking, biting, or screaming. Nothing to worry about, though, because there are many ways to entertain a bored parakeet. These include:
1. Offering plenty of interactive toys
Besides providing your budgies with much-needed exercise, interactive toys also keep your birds entertained. The toys allow your birds to climb, jump, flap, and even swing.
2. Changing toys frequently
Pet budgies quickly get bored playing with the same toys for more extended periods. Therefore, you must rotate your budgie chew toys frequently, ensuring they differ in terms of colors, texture, and shapes.
3. Variety of perches
Another way to entertain your bored parakeet is to ensure it has a variety of perches. Get perches made of natural woods like maple or oak, and ensure you change them regularly.
4. Switch on the TV or radio
If your pet budgies are home alone, watching television or listening to the radio can help keep them entertained. Your birds will love hearing different sounds and watching various vibrant colors and movements.
5. Changing cage location
One of the most effective ways to keep your parakeets visually entertained is to change the location of their cage. For example, you could move it outside the house or near a window so your budgies can watch cars and people.
6. Dancing and singing
Budgies love music and can dance to a musical beat. Therefore, you can switch on some of your favorite tunes and dance and sing together when bored.
Do Budgies Need A Lot Of Toys?
Parakeets require many toys, including budgie swings, balls, rattles, perches, ropes, and bells. This is because, without toys, your birds may have to deal with things like:
Boredom
Caged budgies can quickly become bored when they have nothing to entertain them. The best budgie toys help your birds fight boredom.
Unwanted behavior
If your budgies don’t have anything to play with, they can become stressed and depressed. As a result, you will see them engaging in destructive behavior like plucking feathers and biting.
Overweight issues
Playing with toys such as a DIY budgie playground and swings is an excellent form of exercise for parakeets. Consequently, this helps reduce the risk of your birds becoming obese.
How Do You Choose The Right Toys For Budgies?
While so many fun budgie toys are available on the market, some are not considered safe for your pet birds. So below are tips to help you choose suitable bird toys.
Size
Don’t give toys meant for large budgies to your young birds. This is because such toys may contain small parts, posing a choking hazard.
Construction of the toys
The best chew toys should be made from safe materials for birds. In other words, you should get toys constructed of natural materials like wood and fiber.
Color of the toys
Because of the budgie’s excellent color vision, these pet birds love colorful toys.
Homemade toys
If you are on a budget, you should consider making cheap budgie toys at home. For example, you can make paper roll toys, popcorn on a string, wooden spools, ropes, and swings.
Related: Clipping Budgie Wings
FAQs
Before we conclude, let’s look at commonly asked questions about what toys do budgies like.
Yes, they do. Budgies like having a variety of chewing, climbing, hanging, and shredding toys in their cage to keep them entertained. This is because, naturally, these birds love foraging and chewing things to keep their beaks well-conditioned.
The best safe toys for parakeets are ones made of natural and non-toxic materials. Such toys should not contain any type of dye. In addition, the toys should not have sharp edges that could injure your birds.
One thing you can do is play with the toys as your budgie is watching you. You could also try changing the location of the toys, like hanging them near a different perch. Also, try toys made of contrasting materials, colors, and sizes.
Conclusion
Budgies are prone to becoming bored pretty quickly. Therefore, knowing how to entertain them is paramount. The best budgie toys will provide your parakeets with plenty of mental stimulation and entertainment. However, while budgies love various toys, they like colorful, noise-making, and climbing toys the most.
