4 Ways to Make Fun and Safe Parakeet Toys (2024)

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Co-authored bywikiHow Staff

Last Updated: May 8, 2019Tested

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   Check your craft sticks for splinters and only use fresh, clean ones. Look over your craft sticks and discard any that have obvious splinters, sharp ends, or are damaged otherwise. Don't use craft sticks from ice pops or other foods, as they may contain bacteria or foods harmful to your parakeet.^[1]

   • If you notice the craft sticks becoming splintery or sharp while the ladder is in use, remove the toy as soon as you can to prevent hurting your bird's feet and beak.
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   Cut a hole in each side of 5 or 6 craft sticks. Cut a thin hole in each side of your craft sticks with a needle or a pocket knife against a pad of paper. You will only need to use 5 or 6 to make a ladder, but feel free to use more if you want the ladder to be longer. Just remember to use a bit more twine to fit all the pieces.^[2]

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   Cut a long length of twine and fold it in half. Measure your twine to about 2ft (0.61m), cut it, then fold it in half and mark the midpoint with a pen. If you want to make a longer ladder, feel free to cut your twine longer than this, but remember to prepare additional craft sticks to extend the ladder.^[3]

   • Regular twine, thin cotton rope, or fishing line are great to use for this toy.
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   Thread each end of twine through each hole in one craft stick. Thread one side of the twine through one end of a craft stick, then thread the other end of twine through the other hole. Pull the craft stick up until it is about 2in (5.1cm) from the middle of the twine.^[4]

   • The midpoint of the twine is what you will hang the ladder from, so leave enough space between the craft and the halfway point to attach it to a bar in the cage.
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   Alternate treats and craft sticks all the way down each side of twine. Add snacks and materials to each strand of twine until you are ready to add another craft stick rung to the ladder. Aim to have at least 1.5in (3.8cm) of space between rungs on the ladder so your parakeet can climb it with ease.^[5] Continue alternating treats and craft sticks until you reach the bottom of your twine. Tie a knot at the bottom of each strand to keep it all in place, then hang it from a bar in the cage!

   • Use O-shaped cereals, wooden beads, cardboard and paper bits, and nuts with holes drilled through between each rung of the ladder.
   • Don't space the craft sticks too far apart or your bird will have a hard time moving around on it.

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   Cut 1 sheet of paper towel into 3 strips. Take a single sheet of regular kitchen paper towel — usually around 11in (28cm) by 11in (28cm) in size. Cut it into 3 equal strips with scissors so each strip is about 3.5in (8.9cm) wide.^[6]

   • To get equal strips, fold one side of the paper towel over to create two equal size panels. Fold it again and align the edges. Then, unfold it, and you should have two creases splitting the paper exactly into thirds that you can cut down.
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   Roll one strip into a semi-tight cylinder, then roll the other strips into it. Roll one strip from the short edge into itself to make a rolled paper cylinder.^[7] Then, place this roll at the edge of your second strip, and roll the second strip around it to make the paper cylinder even larger.^[8] Roll the third strip around the cylinder the same way.^[9]

   • Roll the paper so it is slightly loose — don't make it too tight or you will find it hard to insert treats into the folds later on.
   • You should end up with a roll of paper with a spiraling layered inside, resembling a jelly roll or rolled pastry.
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   Cut off about .5 inches (1.3cm) off of each end to make the sides equal. Cut off the ends of the cylinder so you see a cross-section of layered, spiraling paper. This makes each strip of paper totally equal, making it easier for you to load treats and your parakeet to get to them.^[10]

   • Don't leave loose paper towel hanging off of the ends or you will find it very difficult for your bird to get to its snacks without ripping up the paper. They will eventually rip it up, but this makes it more of a challenge to root around the layers instead of simply tearing it apart.
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   Tie a knot with string tightly around the center of the paper cylinder. Using a piece of regular string, tightly tie a knot around the center of the wrapped paper.^[11] This keeps the toy together while your bird throws it around and roots around in its layers, so make this knot very tight or it will all come undone very quickly.

   • Cut away extra string after you tie the knot to use for later foraging toys.
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   Insert sunflower seeds or other snacks into the layers of the paper cylinder. Place sunflower seeds or your bird's favorite treats in different layers of the toy. If the paper was wrapped too tightly, you may find it hard to get the treats deep into the spiraling layers.^[12] Your bird will have to root around in between the paper layers to get to its treat, so separate them in different parts and in different depths to give your parakeet a challenge!

   • Start by keeping the seeds visible, and as your pet gets used to this toy, put them deeper into the cylinder. This introduces your parakeets to the toy and makes them understand how it works — over time, they will recognize it and dig deeper into the layers of paper.^[13]
   • This is a very temporary toy. You will have to make a new one each time the old one is torn apart.

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   Cut a piece of string to about 1ft (0.30m) long. Use a regular piece of twine or thin cotton rope and cut it to be about 1ft (0.30m) long. Make it longer if you want to make a larger swing, but you will need more wooden beads to fill up the length of string.^[14]

   • Do not use fishing line or metal wire or you could risk hurting your bird's feet.
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   String wooden beads very close together all along the piece of string. Thread ³⁄₄in (1.9cm) wooden beads onto the string so they are touching, and continually push them together to reduce the amount of string that shows through. You may find that tying a knot at one end of the string makes this easier, as you can push the wooden beads towards the knotted end and they won't fall off, but be sure to leave a little extra string on each side so you have something to tie it to the cage with later on.^[15]

   • Don't use plastic beads as if your parakeet bites on them, it could get sick or hurt itself. Wooden beads are best because they provide the best grip and they won't hurt your budgie.
   • Make sure the beads are tightly threaded onto the string before moving on, as your budgie will stand on these beads instead of the string. If any string shows when you tie it up, take it down and add more beads.^[16]
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   Tie each end to the top of the cage about 4–6in (10–15cm) apart. Take the ends of the beaded string and tie them about 4–6in (10–15cm) apart to the top of the cage, depending on how deep you want the swing to hang. Reduce the space between the ends if you want the swing to be looser, or tie them further away from each other to make the swing more rigid and tight. Experiment to find the perfect distance for your length of beaded string.^[17]

   • Don't attach the ends too far apart or your budgie won't have space to land on the swing and enjoy it.
   • If the ends are too close together, the swing will sag and your parakeet won't be able to stand on it safely.

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   Tie the end of a thin string to a wooden bead. Use fishing line, sewing string, or something equally thin and light. Thread the string through a ³⁄₄in (1.9cm) wooden bead, bring the tip back to the other side of the bead, and tie a knot to keep your ingredients from slipping.^[18]

   • Fishing line is best to use as the parakeet won't feel tempted to chew through its plastic. Sewing string does the job, but it is easily torn apart.
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   Poke a needle through 15 almonds on top of a book or other soft surface. Take 15 almonds and place them on top of a soft surface like a book or a pad of paper. Then, hold each almond by its ends and poke a needle straight through the middle.^[19]

   • It will take some force, so wear thimbles on the fingers holding the almond in place to prevent accidentally poking yourself.
   • If you do poke yourself with the needle, most times there is nothing to worry about. If you stab deep enough to bleed, clean the wound, then put on a bandage. It can be safer to secure each almond in a wrench so it stays tightly held without using your fingers.
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   Thread the almonds onto the string one by one. Thread the string through the hole of each almond so they form a long chain.^[20] If an almond doesn't have a wide enough hole to pull the string through, poke the needle into the almond again and dig out some of the sides, but sewing thread and fishing line are usually thin enough to fit through a needle hole.

   • Bunch the almonds close together and leave plenty of extra string so you can hang it up later on.
   • You can also use O-shaped cereals, other nuts, and even popcorn instead of almonds if your parakeets don't take to the treat.^[21]
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   See Also

   Hormonal Parakeet Behavior

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   Tie another button close to the last almond on the chain and hang it up! Thread another wooden button on the top of the almond chain and tie it securely to hold the almonds in place. Then, wrap the rest of the string around a wire or bar in the cage, and let your parakeets feast!^[22]

   • This toy is great because your parakeets have something to fiddle with that they can also eat!

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Warnings

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Things You'll Need

Creating a Craft Stick Ladder Toy

Making a Paper and String Foraging Toy

Creating a Swing with Beads and String

Making a Hanging Almond Toy

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