Here Are the Best Bird Toys

If you’re the proud owner of budgies, parakeets, cockatiels, conures, or other birds, keeping your feathered friends mentally stimulated and happy is important to you. The best bird toys can help you reach this goal and will provide the stimulation and entertainment your bird buddies need. Deciding which toys are safe for your birds and will actually keep them happy can be a challenge, however.

Good bird toys will also stand up to the feistiest bird’s attacks. I had a Quaker parrot named Matilda that loved to destroy anything within her reach (even attacking my dad on occasion). Those cheap plastic mirrors and other gadgets simply didn’t hold up to her assaults. That’s why we made durability one of our key selection criterion.

We’ve researched the top bird toys on the market to help you make the best choices. Read through our reviews below, and you’ll be able to decide which toys you’d like to purchase to ensure that your bird’s playtime is safe and enjoyable.

The Top Picks for the Best Bird Toys: Ranked

#1 Best Overall: BWOGUE 5-Piece Bird Toy Set

The BWOGUE 5-piece set is our top pick for the best bird toy. With this set, you’ll receive a variety of toy types to help keep your pet parakeets, cockatiels, and other birds happy. This colorful, noise-making set includes perches, a play stand, chains, and bells to ensure your bird is physically and mentally stimulated. Each toy features a sturdy steel hook to attach it to the cage and is made using materials that are safe for birds.

Multiple physical activities can be enjoyed by your birds from swinging to chewing to hanging and to climbing. And the toys are interchangeable, with the option to rotate out for a smaller cage, or use multiple items in a large one, keeping things new and exciting for your bird(s).

And, most importantly, these toys are easy on your bird’s delicate feet, made of sturdy wood to resist breakage, and are non-toxic.

Some of the toys may be hazardous to curious bird, especially those that like to dismantle things. For example, birds may be able to remove the clappers from the bells, posing a choking hazard. There are also some small metal parts which could catch and injure birds’ tongues or toes.

Pros and Cons of the BWOGUE 5-Piece Bird Toy Set

Best Overall

BWOGUE 5-Piece Bird Toy Set

• 5 piece set wood toys with metal parts, plastic
• 2 swings, bells,1 fun ball, great for chew and play
• Suitable for parakeets, cockatiels, conures, macaws, parrots, love birds, finches, & more

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2. Best Chew Toy: SunGrow Chewing Toy

This hanging chew toy from SunGrow is designed to provide physical and mental stimulation for birds to keep them happy and prevent boredom and disruptive behaviors. The toy features colored blocks in an intricate, layered design. Birds can climb on the blocks or chew on them to stay entertained.

This chew toy is made using safe materials for birds, including wooden blocks and cotton rope. The toy is available in two sizes: 10″ x 3.9″ and 15.7″ x 3.9″. It includes a durable metal buckle to connect it to a bird’s cage. It is designed for small parrots, conures, cockatiels, budgies, cockatoos, pigeons, and lovebirds, as well as other similarly sized feathered friends.

Buyers’ biggest complaint with this toy is that large parrots destroyed it quickly.

Pros and Cons of the SunGrow Chewing Toy

Best Chew Toy

SunGrow Chewing Toy

• Wood and cotton rope hangable chew toy
• Over 30 wood pieces in varied shapes
• Encourages foraging and climbing
• Great for parrots and other mid-sized to larger pet birds

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3. Best for Mental Stimulation: Bonka Bird Toys 1969 Spoon Delight

It’s no secret a bird by itself can get lonely. Many prominent bird toys have a reflective feature so that the bird can be entertained by its mirror image. Give your bird plenty of mental stimulation with the Bonka Bird Toys 1969 Spoon Delight. This hanging toy features five shiny spoons of various sizes. The shiny stainless-steel material of each spoon is reflective and sure to engage a bird’s senses.

The toy is made using bird-safe materials, including stainless-steel spoons and acrylic embellishments. Each end of the chain features a hook and allows for different hanging options for this toy.

Please note: Toys with reflective surfaces are not a replacement for a suitable cage mate.

Pros and Cons of Bonka Bird Toys 1969 Spoon Delight

Best for Mental Stimulation

Bonka Bird Toys 1969 Spoon Delight

• Hanging stainless steel spoon toy
• Different sized spoons to see reflections and grab
• Colorful plastic hanging charms
• Great for larger pet birds

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4. Best for Climbing: Prevue Hendryx Rope Ladder

If you’re looking for a great climbing toy for your bird, this rope ladder from Peruve Hendryx fits the bill. The ladder is made using natural texture to facilitate foot exercises. It is also handmade of natural rubberwood for sustainability and safety.

Each end of the rope ladder features a durable link that can be attached to the cage. This allows you to place it hanging down straight for vertical climbing, or attach both hooks to make a curved climbing ramp for your bird. The adventure will keep your feathered friend engaged for hours.

One buyer reported that their bird’s leg got caught between the ladder’s rungs. The majority of negative feedback had to do with their birds’ destroying this wood and rope toy with their beaks.

Pros and Cons of the Prevue Hendryx Rope Ladder

Best for Climbing

Prevue Hendryx Rope Ladder

• Natural wood and rope ladder
• Suitable for smaller pet birds: finches, parakeets, lovebirds, cockatiels, etc.
• Dimensions 17"x3"

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5. Best Play Gym: Niteangel Natural Living Playground

How do pet birds spell adventure? PLAY GYM! This product offers hours of fun for a solo or multiple birds, and provides a great opportunity for human interaction when you place the gym on a table within reach. This gym is made of thick natural wood to endure chewing, and features multiple built-in rungs for climbing, two detachable ladders, and two uniquely-shaped rope swings.

Your birds can swing, climb, chew, and play chicken on this great interactive toy. It also ranks high for value for the money, ease of assembly, versatility, and sturdiness. These are just a few of the reasons why we added this item to our list of must-have bird toys.

The most prevalent customer complaints were that the toy is hard to clean and that, while well designed, it isn’t well constructed. Some users said that it was “wobbly.”

Pros and Cons of the Niteangel Natural Living Playground

Best Play Gym

Niteangel Natural Living Playground

•  All natural wood bird gym
• Rope perches, swings, rings, and ladders for play
• Encourages exercise in smaller birds like parakeets
• Dimensions: L 13 3/4" x W 9 7/8" x H 10 1/2"

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Different Types of Bird Toys

You’ll find that there are numerous types of toys. Choosing a mix of toy types and rotating a few in and out of your bird’s cage at a time can help keep them stimulated and prevent them from becoming bored. Some types of toys include:

• Chewing toys and other destructible play items
• Climbing toys
• Perches and swings
• Noisemakers
• Puzzles
• Foraging toys
• Play gyms

How to Choose the Best Bird Toys

Many factors go into play when determining which toy is best for your bird. Each bird also has their own likes and dislikes, so the best toys will vary from one bird to the next. We’ve compiled a list of some important things to consider when shopping for bird toys to help you decide which toys to try for your bird.

Bird Species

Different bird species will require different types of toys. For example, macaws and parrots are very strong and muscular and will need larger, more durable toys that won’t be easily destroyed. Parakeets, cockatiels, and conures, on the other hand, may be intimidated by toys that are too large. Toys for these species are generally smaller and less durable.

Generally speaking, larger birds may prefer chewing or attacking toys, while small birds may be happier with items such as swings, bells, and mirrors.

Safety

Safety is extremely important when choosing toys for your pet. Birds will almost always chew on their toys, so selecting items that can be chewed safely is important. Avoid toys with strings, dyes, or chains that could pose a threat to your bird. Many wooden ones are perfectly safe for birds, but you want to avoid woods that could be toxic or unsafe including oak yellow cedar, cherry, apricot, crepe myrtle, peach, plum, redwood, sequoias, yew, apricot, Chinese snake tree, holly, hemlock, Chinese popcorn, pitch pine, prune, Chinese tallow, nectarine, horse apple, Sitka cedar, and umbrella tree woods.

Toy Size

Choose toys that are appropriately sized for your bird’s species as well as for their cage. You want to make sure the item isn’t so large that it limits your bird’s ability to move about in its cage. However, you also don’t want to choose something so small that your bird will destroy too quickly or just ignore it. Keep in mind that some small birds, like budgies and cockatiels, can be shyer and may be intimated or distressed by a large toy.

Physical and Mental Stimulation

Stimulation, both physical and mental, is important when shopping for a toy for your pet. Birds like testing their wits and solving problems. Look for colorful items with a variety of textures, sounds, and tastes that will keep your bird’s senses stimulated. Toys that will make birds use their muscles and improve their coordination can also help ensure they remain strong and able to fly with ease.

Our Criteria and Experience — How We Chose the Best

Being a past bird owner of parakeets, cockatiels, and a Quaker parrot, I understand the challenges that bird owners face in keeping them entertained, stimulated, and happy. Add to that the element of safety — no parent wants their bird’s beak or toe nail getting stuck in a metal loop, causing an injury. And birds are very sensitive to toxins as well. So we took all of these factors into account when making our choices.

• We love our Best Overall pick for bird toys for its bright colors, which are stimulating to birds of all varieties, the numerous activities they can enjoy on them, and the fact they hold up against the wear and tear of chewing and climbing. The swing is wide to easily accommodate multiple smaller birds at once — my parakeets often fought over who got to enjoy the swing, as it was a favorite toy. There’s also a smaller swing for the solo bird with colorful beads to invite nibbling. And several of these toys feature bells for never-ending noisemaking!
• Our second pick is a parrot’s dream! A cluster of fun for chewing, climbing, and swinging, this toy has the appearance of an intricate puzzle, which is great for a bird’s mental stimulation. Blocks of varied shapes and sizes invite the bird to figure out how to detach them from the cluster, and the soft cotton ropes actually engage a bird’s desire to forage. This toy is a winner in our book!
• We value bird toys that meet animal safety standards, such as our fourth choice, made of all natural rubberwood. Bird owners know that their babies are very fragile creatures, and need toys that will be safe as well as fun. The second pick is also made of natural wood and cotton rope to ensure your bird’s chewing does not become the source of illness.

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