natural cage set ups

[Farlap]

Does anyone have any tips for a more natural cage set up, that still fullfills all a congos requirements? I have a real dislike of all the bright plasticky toys one sees in the shops, and am just itching to replace them with trees, plants, natural branches etc. Ive managed it in the aviary and he seems to love flying through the apple branches and willows Ive planted there, but oncool or damp days when hes indoors with us it would be nice to have a cage set up that doesnt resemble a tacky carboot sale toy stall! Any ideas? or should I just persevere with artificial toys made of sisal and wood and put up with it? Love to know what ingeniuos things people have come up with using natural branches etc.

[liz]

If I can get all my paper work together, I hope to move to SC. Rambo and Myrtle are too big to get through a chain link fence. I plan to set up a 6 foot high chain link and put a 1 inch chicken wire top on it. Inside the fence will be dwarf trees and hybiscus which is edible. This will connect to the sceened in porch with a door for access. Then when I get a chance I will put 1 inch chicken wire with it so the tiels can fly. I am figuring .5 acres. It should cost a little more than an aviary.

[marie83]

Put a couple of holes in the thicker natural branches to hide food in for foraging.
Leave the leaves on branches for your bird to pick off (please ensure the leaves are safe as well as the branches though)
Willow/vine twigs woven through the cage bars or a box filled with little twigs and leaves to forage in.

Other than that I'm a bit stuck for natural ideas but some ideas that would still be far away from the plastic/acrilic type toys so would fit in with a more natural theme would be:

Leather strips/sissal ropes.
Glue free cardboard boxes to hide stuff in.
Unused egg cartons.
Home made wooden toys, that way you can choose to colour them or not. they could be made out of natural branches if you wished.
Willow or vine balls.

Other than that I don't really know. The way I feel is that the artificial toys are good too because variety adds enrichment. I know my birds seem to favour noisy toys and it is hard to make a noisy toy out of natural things, but at the end of the day you know your bird and your set up best.


I'm sure other people will be able to come up with other ideas. I lack imagination lol.

[Farlap]

Marie83, they are
All
Great ideas thanks and
Just what I was
Looking for.