Entertaining your bird

A busy bird is a happy bird – so brighten the life of your feathered friend by providing plenty of stimulation in the shape of toys and activities to keep him occupied all day.

Perching is a natural activity you can make more interesting: smaller birds in particular enjoy multi-branched perches, although larger parrots and cockatoos prefer something horizontal.

Toys are also a much-appreciated distraction, and it's worth building up a toybox full of entertaining distractions so you can change them round regularly so he never gets bored. We have a wide range to suit most types of bird to choose from in our garden centre.

Some toys imitate natural foraging activities, with treats hidden inside for your bird to winkle out. Give your bird a workout with swings, ladders, and 'claw toys' which the bird holds to play with.

Many caged birds, and especially lovebirds and some parrots, also like the security of something soft to cuddle up to, imitating wild behaviour when birds will snuggle up to their mates. Perch tents and snuggle rings are just some of the cosy comfort toys birds love to have around.

Please ask the staff in our garden centre in Enniskerry for more information about choosing toys which will best suit your bird.