Last Updated: 11/05/2026
What are the Best Toys for Birds?
Which toy is right for your bird? Our vet guide details the best toys for every need, from chew toys to puzzles that bust boredom. Discover top picks for swings, mirrors and budget-friendly options.
Author: Dr Carla Paszkowski BVSc (Hons)
Reading Time: 8 minutes - short read
From the cheerful chirps of a canary to the cheeky antics of a cockatiel, birds are incredibly intelligent and engaging pets. These feathered friends are brimming with personality and curiosity, and with a fun selection of bird toys, they become playful little clowns in disguise!
Why is choosing the right bird toy important?
Providing an array of toys for your bird has many benefits. Not only are bird toys fun to play with, they are also important for your bird's mental wellbeing. Birds are natural problem-solvers with busy minds, which means that boredom is just as tortuous and mentally damaging for them as it is for us. Toys are particularly important if your bird is caged. (Note: we don't ever recommend an entirely caged existence for birds - read more in our Beginners Guide to Bird Care).
Choosing the right toy goes beyond just picking something colourful. A well-chosen toy can prevent serious behavioural issues and health problems, while the wrong one can pose significant dangers.
Four factors to consider when choosing a toy for your bird:
1. Prioritise safety
A dangerous toy can cause serious harm. Always check for potential hazards before purchasing.
- Safe materials: Choose toys made from non-toxic materials like natural wood, stainless steel, and vegetable-tanned leather. Avoid parts with lead or zinc and soft plastics that can be swallowed.
- Solid construction: Look for toys without small, detachable parts that pose a choking risk. Avoid long, loose fibres or strings that can cause entanglement.
- Safe destruction: Shredding is a healthy, natural instinct! Provide toys made for safe destruction (like cardboard or yucca) and remove them if they become worn and hazardous.
2. Match the size to the species
The toy must be appropriate for your bird's beak strength and body size.
- Small birds like budgies and finches need lightweight toys they can easily handle.
- Large birds like macaws and cockatoos need highly durable toys that can withstand their powerful beaks. A small toy is a choking hazard for a big bird.
3. Cater to your bird's personality
Observe how your bird plays and choose toys that suit its natural instincts.
- Chewers need destructible wood and cardboard toys.
- Acrobats love swings, ladders, and climbing toys.
- Foragers thrive on puzzle toys that hide treats and challenge their minds.
- Preeners enjoy toys with shreddable fibres, which can help redirect feather-plucking.
4. Provide variety and rotation
Boredom can lead to behavioural problems, so keep your bird's environment stimulating.
- Offer variety: Provide different types of toys at once - something to chew, a puzzle, and a swing - to let your bird choose its activity.
- Rotate toys: Keep a "toy library" and swap toys out at least weekly. This keeps things fresh and gives you a regular chance to inspect and clean them.
In this article
- How we review our products
- Best Foraging Toy: Creative Foraging 3 Pull Out Drawers
- Best Chew Toy: Super Bird Crunch Munch Toy
- Best Bird Mirror: JW Insight Birdie Basketball
- Best Swing Toy: Birdie Parrot Double Jute Ring
- Best Quirky Toy: Beakjoy Happy Wings Foraging Bird Toy Box
- Best Budget Toy: Living World Plastic Keys
- What to look for
How We Review Our Products
Our Vet team use their health and husbandry knowledge, along with their own personal and clinical experiences to evaluate each product and provide detailed, informative reviews, free of any commercial bias. We then collate this information into our 'best of' recommendations.
Top Recommended Bird Toys in Australia [Vet Reviewed]
Best Foraging Toys
Creative Foraging 3 Pull Out Drawers
Pros
- Multi-draw puzzle, providing a significant challenge to keep your bird's mind active and engaged
- Specifically designed to promote foraging behaviour
- Effective "boredom buster," which can help reduce the likelihood of behavioural issues like screaming or feather plucking.
- Builds problem-solving skills
- Leather strips add extra tactile enrichment and play opportunities
Cons
- May be too challenging for birds new to foraging toys
- Best suited to medium to large parrots
Suitable for medium to large birds including Ringnecks, Conures, Caiques, Alexandrines, Galahs, Eclectus, Amazons, African Greys, Shortbill Corellas, Major Mitchells and Hahns Macaws.
Foraging is a natural instinct for birds, and helps keep them occupied and mentally stimulated. Providing your bird with safe toys that encourage problem-solving and foraging behaviour helps to fight boredom.
Creative Foraging produces a whole range of puzzle toys to exercise your bird's mind and encourage problem-solving.
Best Chew Toys
Super Bird Crunch Munch Toy
Pros
- Destructible chew and shredding toy that encourages natural foraging behaviours
- Variety of textures including vine balls, palm flowers, wood slats and crinkle paper keeps birds engaged
- Open-design balls can be stuffed with treats for extra enrichment
- Chewing and ripping at the toy's materials helps to keep a bird's beak conditioned and trim
- Made from bird-safe, non-toxic materials by a trusted avian enrichment brand
Cons
- An enthusiastic bird may shred it very quickly, meaning it will need to be replaced frequently.
- Due to the nature of the toy, there will be regular clean-up required of the bottom of the cage and surrounding floor.
Suitable for: small birds like Canaries, Budgies, Cockatiels and Budgies
Chewing and shredding are important natural behaviours for birds and play a key role in preventing boredom and supporting mental wellbeing. In the wild, birds spend hours manipulating branches, bark and plant material, so providing safe destructible toys helps satisfy these instincts in the home environment.
The Super Bird Crunch & Munch Toy combines colourful crinkle shred, vine rings, palm flowers and wooden components into an engaging chew toy designed to encourage exploration and play. Our other favourite from their range is the Activity Wall. The Activity Wall is from fun and safe to chew sea grass matting with safe, non toxic toys attached.
Best Bird Mirror
JW Insight Birdie Basketball
Pros
- Combination toy featuring both a mirror and interactive basketball activity for mental stimulation
- Reflective mirror encourages curiosity and engagement for solo play
- Lightweight basketball promotes coordination, play and problem-solving
- Helps reduce boredom by combining visual and physical enrichment
Cons
- Suitable only for smaller birds
- Plastic components should be checked regularly for wear
Suitable for: small birds like Budgies, Cockatiels and Budgies.
Mirror toys can provide visual stimulation and enrichment for companion birds, particularly species that enjoy interactive and reflective play. Many birds are naturally curious about reflections and enjoy engaging with mirrors as part of a varied enrichment routine. When combined with physical activities like tossing or carrying toys, mirror toys can help encourage both movement and mental stimulation.
The JW Insight Birdie Basketball is one of the more interactive mirror bird toys available because it combines a reflective mirror surface with a fun basketball-style game. Birds can look at their reflection while also engaging with the lightweight bird-safe basketball and hoop, helping create a more stimulating and dynamic play experience than a standard mirror alone. The toy attaches easily to the cage and encourages curiosity, coordination and independent play.
What our customers say: "This is my second jw bird toy and my birds love them. Always get excited when I see a new one from them."
Best Swing Toy
Birdie Parrot Double Jute Ring
Pros
- Fibrous texture of jute is excellent for satisfying a parrot's instinct to chew, shred, and preen
- Soft on feet
- Multiple rings encourage climbing and swinging
Cons
- Jute is a relatively soft material. A large parrot with a powerful beak may destroy this toy quickly, making it less cost-effective than more durable options
- Strands of jute can pose a risk of entanglement or impaction, so the toy should be inspected regularly and long, frayed strands trimmed off
Swings provide a fun and entertaining perch from which to play, nibble, and survey their 'kingdom'. Many birds enjoy being little acrobats when provided with a swing, and it can be a whole lot of fun to watch!
The Birdie Parrot Double Jute Ring not only swings, but the multiple rings encourage climbing, swinging, and manipulating the object with both beak and feet. This is great for strengthening muscles, improving balance, and keeping your bird active.
What our customers say: "My budgies love this ring - hangs on my curtain rail so they can be up high and see outside - it's really soft on their feet and they jump up and down it. Easy to attach toys to as well."
Best Quirky Toy
Beakjoy Happy Wings Foraging Bird Toy Box
Pros
- Packed with a wide variety of bird-safe textures for shredding, chewing and exploring
- Encourages natural foraging behaviours by allowing treats to be hidden throughout the materials
- Great enrichment option for reducing boredom and promoting mental stimulation
- Includes DIY toy-making components so owners can create custom enrichment setups
- Suitable for a wide range of bird species and play styles
Cons
- Contents may vary slightly between boxes
- Some birds may destroy softer materials very quickly
- Loose materials can create mess around the cage
Suitable for birds including Budgies, Cockatiels, Conures, Quakers, Ringnecks, Alexandrines, Lorikeets, Eclectus, Amazons, African Greys and Cockatoos.
The BeakJoy Happy Wings Foraging Bird Toy Box is a curated collection of bird-safe textures and chewable materials designed to encourage healthy foraging, chewing and tactile exploration. The box includes components such as loofah, rattan, sola flowers, woven grass, pine wood and crinkle paper, creating a highly varied sensory experience for birds. Treats or pellets can be hidden throughout the box to encourage natural foraging behaviours and keep birds mentally engaged.
One of the standout features of the Happy Wings Toy Box is its versatility. The included loose parts and DIY components allow owners to refresh toy rotations or create custom enrichment toys tailored to their bird’s preferences. The variety of textures also helps cater to different chewing styles, from gentle shredders to enthusiastic destroyers.
Best Budget Toy
Living World Plastic Keys
Pros
- Made from hard plastic, it is long-lasting and can withstand vigorous play from small to medium-sized birds
- Easy to clean
- Brightly coloured for visual enrichment,
- Encourages manipulative play
Cons
- Unsuitable for large, strong Birds
- Designed for manipulation, not destruction so does not satisfy a bird's need to shred and chew
Priced under $5, this fun toy will make an affordable addition to your bird's cage. The Living World Plastic Keys are a classic, durable toy designed to provide long-lasting entertainment for small to medium-sized birds like budgies and cockatiels.
Made from hard, easy-to-clean plastic, this toy is both hygienic and built to withstand enthusiastic play. Its bright colours and the jingling sound of the keys offer valuable sensory stimulation, while the shapes encourage birds to use their feet and beaks to explore and manipulate the toy.
What to look for in bird toys
Bird-safe materials
Birds explore everything with their beaks, so non-toxic construction is essential.
Opt for natural, untreated wood (like pine, balsa, or eucalyptus), stainless steel for all metal parts (including clips and bells) and natural fibres like jute. Hard, durable plastics can also be suitable for some birds.
Steer clear of toys with cheap metal hardware, which may contain toxic heavy metals like zinc or lead. Avoid soft plastics that can be easily chewed off and swallowed. Be cautious with dyed items unless you can confirm bird-safe, food-grade colouring was used.
Size and durability
A toy must be the right size and strength for your specific bird. A mismatch here can be dangerous.
For small birds (e.g., Budgies, Cockatiels) look for lightweight toys that are easy for them to manipulate. Heavy toys can be intimidating or even cause injury.
For large birds (e.g., Galahs, Macaws, Cockatoos), these birds have incredibly powerful beaks. Look for highly durable toys made from tough wood or strong plastic. A toy designed for a smaller bird can be destroyed in seconds, and its broken parts can become a serious choking hazard.
Enrichment and purpose
The best toys serve a purpose by satisfying your bird’s natural instincts. Think about what your bird loves to do and choose a toy that matches that behaviour.
For the chewer, look for destructible toys made from safe woods, paper or cardboard. Chewing and shredding is a vital, healthy behaviour that keeps their beak in good condition.
For the thinker, look for foraging or puzzle toys that make your bird work to find a hidden treat. This engages their problem-solving mind and mimics how they would find food in the wild.
For the acrobat, look for swings, ladders, and boings that encourage physical activity, helping to strengthen their muscles and improve balance.
For the preener, birds that tend to over-preen or pluck their feathers can benefit from shreddable toys made of paper or palm leaves, which redirect this natural behaviour in a safe way.
Quality construction
Beyond the materials, look at how the toy is put together.
Ensure any clips used to attach the toy to the cage are made from bird-safe stainless steel. Avoid split-ring key chains, which can trap beaks.
Check for any small beads, bells, or other decorative items that could be easily chewed off and swallowed, causing a blockage.
If the toy has rope, ensure it is made from a safe, natural fibre. Be extremely cautious with fine fibres or cotton ropes, as these can unravel and pose a serious entanglement risk for your bird's feet and toes. Regularly trim any long, frayed strands.
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History
Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space and we update our articles when new information becomes available.
Mon 11 May 2026
Edited by Dr Belinda Stancombe BVSc (Hons)Dr Carla Paszkowski BVSc (Hons)
Veterinarian
Dr. Carla graduated from the University of Queensland in 2013 with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science and worked for a number of years in small animal clinics across South East Queensland. While Carla enjoys most facets of clinical veterinary work, she holds a special passion for feline medicine, pocket pets, and nutrition.
