The very survival of birds in the wild affords them great stimulation and exercise.  They must forage for food, watch out for predators, protect and defend their young, etc.  Pet birds, on the other hand, are guaranteed survival - food provided  and easily accessible, no predators , (except possible children and other pets).  Most cages do not provide room for flying and for their own safety, most pet birds have their wings clipped, so it's pretty difficult for them to fly.  So, as responsible bird keepers, it is our responsibility to provide our birds with stimulation and exercise.
 

• First and foremost, the cage should be a least the minimum recommended for the species of bird.
• Place perches at different levels throughout the cage to encourage movement.  Possible using shorter half perches of varying diameters that would encourage the bird into more activity and also exercise their claws by gripping on different sizes.
• Use natural branch perches (properly cleaned) to give them different textures and a more natural feel, these also provide great chewing material
• Stimulate them by adding toys next to or to the ends of the perches (through a drilled hole), for the larger birds, this makes it so they can lift the toy to the perch and the smaller birds can swing and hang off the toy as they play with it
• Provide safe, destructible toys - different sizes and different textures, different smells (as provided by natural branch flavors and pine blocks soaked in apple juice).   Some toys should provide immediate gratification and others should offer a long-term project.
• Allow them out of the cage (if possible) as much as possible - put a play top with stimulating colorful toys on top of the cage that they can crawl around on to find more entertainment
• Feed them something (or everything) out of bowls on the bottom of the cage (placed outside the range of pooping from perches).  Since most birds perch high, this forces them to go to the bottom of the cage in pursuit of their food.
• Feed them something different every day - vary from finger food, to cooked food, etc.  Nutrition is crucial.

Following these suggestions should provide your pet with some different solutions to overcome the problem of stimulation and exercise

Copyright 1998, R. G. Ryan, animalstop.com  a division of: Retco Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved.  Reprinting without permission is prohibited

This page was last updated:

Thursday July 05, 2007

Don't forget toys for your birds at:  Just Plain Toys or look for additional perches at:  Natural Branch Perches  (remember birds get minerals from the wood they chew up) 

Build your own toys? Check out - Raw Materials.

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