How to Make Bird Toys at Home: Easy DIY Ideas for Pet Birds

Why Make Bird Toys at Home?

DIY bird toys offer several advantages over store-bought options: they're inexpensive, customizable to your bird's preferences, and can be made from materials you already have at home. They're also a great way to provide novelty — rotating homemade toys alongside commercial ones keeps your bird's environment fresh and engaging.

The key to safe DIY bird toys is using bird-safe materials and avoiding anything toxic, sharp, or that could entangle your bird.

Safe Materials for DIY Bird Toys

Safe to Use

• Natural cotton rope: Untreated, undyed cotton rope is safe for birds to chew and shred
• Natural wood: Apple, birch, balsa, willow, and cork are all safe. Avoid cedar, pine, and cherry.
• Paper: Plain newsprint, paper bags, cardboard, and paper cups are safe shredding materials
• Leather: Untreated, vegetable-tanned leather strips are safe
• Stainless steel hardware: Use stainless steel quick links and rings — avoid zinc or galvanized hardware
• Natural fiber: Sisal, jute, and hemp rope (undyed) are safe
• Food items: Dried pasta, corn on the cob, whole nuts in shell, dried fruit

Never Use

• ❌ Zinc or galvanized metal hardware (toxic)
• ❌ Treated or painted wood
• ❌ Synthetic rope or nylon (can cause intestinal blockage if ingested)
• ❌ Dyed materials with non-food-safe dyes
• ❌ Rubber or latex
• ❌ Anything with sharp edges or points
• ❌ Loose threads longer than a few inches (entanglement risk)

Easy DIY Bird Toy Ideas

1. Paper Shredding Toy

What you need: Plain paper (newspaper, paper bags, or printer paper), a piece of rope or skewer to hang it

How to make it:

1. Cut or tear paper into strips approximately 1–2 inches wide and 6–12 inches long
2. Fold several strips in half and thread them through a piece of cotton rope or hang them from a wooden skewer
3. Hang inside the cage at a height your bird can reach comfortably

Most birds love shredding paper — it satisfies natural chewing and foraging instincts. This is one of the easiest and most universally enjoyed DIY toys.

2. Foraging Cup

What you need: A small paper cup, treats (millet, seeds, small pieces of fruit), paper strips

How to make it:

1. Place a small amount of treats at the bottom of the paper cup
2. Fill the rest of the cup with crumpled paper strips to hide the treats
3. Hang the cup from the cage bars using a piece of cotton rope through a hole punched in the rim

Your bird will shred the paper to find the treats inside — a simple but effective foraging challenge. Use millet spray broken into small pieces as the hidden treat for maximum appeal.

3. Cardboard Foraging Box

What you need: A small cardboard box (like a tea box or small cereal box), treats, paper strips

How to make it:

1. Fill the box with crumpled paper strips and hide treats throughout
2. Close the box and make a few small holes or tears to give your bird a starting point
3. Place on the cage floor or hang from the bars

This is a more challenging version of the foraging cup — great for cockatiels, conures, and small parrots. Similar in concept to the commercial foraging box toy.

4. Millet Spray Hanging Toy

What you need: Millet spray, cotton rope

How to make it:

1. Tie a piece of cotton rope around the stem of a millet spray
2. Hang from the top of the cage at a height your bird can reach while perching

This is the simplest possible foraging toy — your bird has to work to strip the millet from the spray, mimicking natural foraging behavior. Most birds find this irresistible.

5. Wooden Bead Ladder

What you need: Untreated wooden beads (craft store), cotton rope or natural twine, stainless steel quick links

How to make it:

1. Thread wooden beads onto a length of cotton rope, tying knots between each bead to keep them spaced
2. Create a ladder shape by connecting multiple bead strings with horizontal pieces
3. Attach stainless steel quick links at the top for hanging

Birds enjoy climbing, chewing, and manipulating the beads. Ensure beads are large enough that they cannot be swallowed whole.

6. Pasta Foraging Toy

What you need: Uncooked pasta (penne, rigatoni, or other tube shapes), cotton rope

How to make it:

1. Thread pieces of uncooked pasta onto a length of cotton rope
2. Tie knots between pieces to keep them spaced
3. Hang from the cage bars

Birds enjoy chewing through the pasta, and the crunchy texture is satisfying. Uncooked pasta is safe for birds to eat in small amounts.

Toy Rotation Tips

Even the best toys become boring if left in the cage indefinitely. Rotate homemade toys every 5–7 days alongside commercial toys like the swing and perch toy set and shredding foraging toy. Store rotated toys in a bag for a few weeks before reintroducing — the "new" toy will be exciting again.

Introducing New Toys Safely

Some birds are neophobic (afraid of new things) and may be startled by a new toy placed directly in the cage. Introduce new toys gradually:

1. Place the new toy near the cage (outside) for a day or two so your bird can observe it
2. Move it to the outside of the cage bars
3. Finally, place it inside the cage

This gradual introduction prevents fear responses and helps your bird accept new enrichment more readily.

Final Thoughts

Making bird toys at home is easy, inexpensive, and a great way to provide your bird with constant novelty and enrichment. The most important rule is safety — use only bird-safe materials and inspect toys regularly for wear. A well-enriched bird is a happy, healthy bird, and homemade toys are a wonderful complement to a good selection of commercial enrichment.