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just curious what materials can you use to make chew toys for a macaw . can you use tree branches from trees in your own yard ??

i'm just wondering are certain types of wood dangerous for a macaw or can they chew on any type of branch that i might cut down in my yard..

hope this link helps you.


http://www.mdvaden.com/bird_page.shtml

Make sure that the wood you use has not been sprayed with any chemicals.

Basically, don't use any wood that has a "milky" sap, if your in doubt type something like "bird safe wood" or "::insert name of wood:: bird safe". Also, vegtable tanned leather, sisle rope, bells, straws, anything else you can think of... just make sure you know what it is and where it came from.

Some other things you can put in your birds toys are straws ( i cut them into curls), plasic balls (make sure their non toxic), undyed coffe filters or coffe filters that have been dyed in food coloring. Paper cups, pinecones, ect.

macaws_n_more wrote:just curious what materials can you use to make chew toys for a macaw . can you use tree branches from trees in your own yard ??

if you want toys for you birds its much easier to buy secondhand tough plastic toys.. from a secondhand store. my baby macaws love them. and the colours are great. but be prepared to keep replacing them, as they do not last very long....
good luck.

Tandy Leather Factory sell packs of vegetable tanned leather scraps that are great for making bird toys a 1lb bag will cost $9.99. If you're lucky the staff at your local store might give you a pile of smaller scraps for free.

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/

Make sure that any leather you use is veg tanned rather than chrome tanned though. Chrome tanned is usually softer and more colourfully dyed. If it's suitable for leather tooling then it will be bird safe.

Other than that, use stainless steel fittings where possible (rather than galvanized, or chromed)... There are lists of which trees and plants are safe. Rawhide dog chews should be ok too, as long as they're not flavored.

Do not give the rawhide that is made in Mexico. Something they do in their process that is unsafe, I just cannot remember what it is that is not safe for our babies.