Living with two twenty-five-plus-year-old birds means dealing with things such as small slippery landmines that resemble watery guacamole, regularly repairing bits of doors that have been gnawed upon, and learning how to repair munched puzzle pieces (a flower press and tacky glue works great). It also means shoes are not safe–especially the ones I wore when I “abandoned” the boys for a couple of weeks by going on vacation.
Sidenote: the rainbow sandals in the gallery below are two different pairs that Tenar destroyed!
It also means saving the brown paper from packages we receive, so that I can make fun foraging toys stuffed with a few almonds or turn old books into shreddable toys.
Why would I do this? Because sparkly destructible parrot toys are really expensive. While we do have a subscription to Squawkbox and I occasionally pick up colorful toys from BonkaBirdToys, some super simple foraging toys that are also super cheap to make, that the boys can spend a day or two destroying, are a great extra option. Another great option is turning the Squawkbox shipping boxes into additional toys. Once I unpack the goodies, I toss in extra shredded paper and some almonds and set the box atop a cage, and after a few days there’s nothing left–although it is incredibly messy, as the paper goes everywhere.
And that’s not all–when one of the expensive wooden toys reaches end-of-life stage, I toss it in a bin in the blue room closet, and when the bin is full, I go through and harvest any recyclable parts. I usually end up with a half dozen reconstituted toys this way. People who don’t live with parrots may scratch their heads, but consider this: a brand new bird toy with brightly-colored wooden bits will easily cost you $25 and have a lifespan of about a week- to a week-and-a-half.