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I'll start off with some of his toys-
play gym - $20.00, natural manzinite (sp?) perch - $15.00, plastic chains - $2.50, puzzle piece hanging toy - $3.50, hanging plastic balls$4.00, foot toys - $2.00, stainless steel dangling thing$4.50.

Which one is his favorite? None of the toys I purchased! His favorite is a single craft bead on a string!! about 2 cents!! Go Figure

Jo

Same here. The favorite toys of my flock members are natural toys like branches, leaves, twigs, nuts, fruits and fronds, etc. - cleaned first of course, right off Mother Natures trees. I sometimes like to drill holes through the branches, fronds & nuts and then string together with S.S. chain or etc. … Not only are these items cheaper but they are also safer and healthier than plastic toys.

I give all my parrots fresh Palm Nuts (many different varieties). Besides a nutritious treat they make great foraging toys. My flock members spend hrs. upon hrs. trying to open them. Eventually they do if the beak of their species is strong enough to do so. And if one nut is too tough for one particular species, then another nut will work. The fronds from the Palm trees also make great chew toys for all my birds. Mahogany nuts are also a favorite as are the Royal Poinciana tree pods. If you live in southern California or southern Florida, or any where else where Palm Trees grow, you can just go out and pick your own but be careful climbing palm trees and etc., as an accident would make you wish you just ordered them on-line.

During this late summer-early fall season, the favorite of all my birds is seed pods from the many crepe myrtle trees I've planted for just such harvesting of birdie treats I don't have a pic handy of the 'tiel flock enjoying theirs, but here's my BF 'zon feasting.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing that. I did not know they like Crepe Myrtle seed pods. What type Crepe Myrtle is that in your pic? Is it the Queens Crepe as my Crepes have tiny leaves. Have you tried giving them to your birds when the pods are green or do you have to wait till they darken.

Thanks.

Here in the mid-Atlantic region the pods stay green 'til the first hard frost, usually early Nov. Mine don't care for them after the cold has gotten them. So I'm busily clipping now, hoping to get to all that I can reach before it's too late. I don't know which of mine is in that older pic, but I've never noticed leaf size varying, so I guess I don't have a Queens. I have a prized Natchez and Catawba and others that are more common. I seldom see my birds give the leaves and stems any attn. Maybe they would in time. Nowadays I clip only a 4-6" stem on each cluster of pods. They do enjoy mimosa stems and several other types, but it's those pods they really get excited about on the crepe myrtles

I have a couple of crepe myrtles also - I'll have to snip a few to see if he likes them.