The big homemade toy idea thread

[marie83]

Pets at home do brand new egg cartons but you will be able to get them much cheaper from an egg supplier/farmer or anywhere else that sells supllies for chickens.

[Maria]

I googled, “Where do you get unused egg cartons?” And this is the list that came up so far LOL. Might they have them at Hobby Lobby?


Egg Cartons

www.rockin-g-ranch.com/eggcartons.html - Cached
private eggs sales, crafts, personal use. All cartons are new and unused so no chance of cross contamination. Egg Cartons are sold in lots of 25 or more.
Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Empty Unused Egg Cartons - 10-pk

www.amazon.com/Empty-Unused-Egg-Cartons ... B006IF93F4 - Cached
Empty Unused Egg Cartons - 10-pk. There are no customer reviews yet. Create your own review. Unlimited Instant Videos; Prime Instant Videos. Unlimited ...
@ Empty Unused Egg Cartons - 10-pk Sale - Kitchen Sale

https://sites.google.com/a/lohratx.../e ... 10-pk-sale
High quality and sturdy. Helps protect eggs against stresses exerted during transportation and storage. One pack of 10 cartons. Perfect for storage and reselling.
###@ > Sale Empty Unused Egg Cartons - 10-pk Price - Kitchen Sale

https://sites.google.com/a/.../sale-emp ... 0-pk-price
For Sale Empty Unused Egg Cartons - 10-pk : JeffersLivestock JEF-HAFE1. One pack of 10 cartons; High quality and sturdy; Great for crafts - Perfect for storing ...
Buy Empty Unused Egg Cartons 10 pk For Sale

https://sites.google.com/a/.../buy-empt ... -for-sale/
Full Empty Unused Egg Cartons - 10-pk Reviews Click Now!!! Searches : Low price Empty Unused Egg Cartons - 10-pk , Offer for Empty Unused Egg Cartons ...
Vintage 1950's Swift's Brookfield Unused Egg Carton from manylittle ...

www.rubylane.com/item/.../Vintage-1950s ... eld-Unused - Cached
This is a Vintage 1950's Swift's Brookfield Unused Egg Carton. This is a dividable egg carton. It is perforated in the middle for this. There is water damage to this.
On Egg Shells, Cartons, and Disposals… - This Week for Dinner

thisweekfordinner.com/2012/.../on-egg-shells-cartons-and-disposals/ - Cached
Jun 28, 2012 ... Broken egg shells in the egg carton. I firmly stand by the adage that you should never put broken egg shells back in the carton with unused ...
Parrot Forum • View topic - The big homemade toy idea thread

theparrotforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=8782 - Cached
**Egg cartons (unused of course) can be hung up, attached to side of the cage or put on the bottom. You can keep them intact or cut them into ...

[Eurycerus]

The amazon egg cartons look like a good deal. six bucks for ten unused cartons. Seems like hours of entertainment! I'll have to get some.

[Maria]

I have went to Home Depot, starting on my crusade about experimenting with making parrot toys for my parrot, as a very possible cheaper way than purchasing the high marked up pricing at the parrot shop. My next step will be to go to Hobby Lobby and pick up things I can make toys with (wood pieces, plastic pieces, and cardboard and paper pieces, little cardboard boxes, wicker pieces and little wicker baskets. I also saw packages of those white wiffle balls at the 99 cent store (those plastic balls with the holes in them - you can also stuff treats into these balls, my parrot loves and chews these balls up)).

Hopefully this thread will help with questions as to what is safe and what is not, to purchase and use, as I'm making toys, and can refer back to it for answers.

I mainly know to stay away from anything which is glued together or has adhesive on it, be careful of metal pieces or anything sharp, and that certain types of wood is toxic to them. And that mainly what could be used for toys made for babies is safe for birds, as babys put everything in their mouths too. BUT that also, not everything which is safe for humans, is safe for birds.

At Home Depot, I bought the following: Poly Rope (indicated as safe rope for parrots). Those rings I've seen on parrot toys, like used as stoppers on the ends of toys, or used to also hook the quick links to. Only they have large rings like that only, not the small ones. But I have some rings and quick links and chains left over from toys I had bought from the parrot shop. Also, knots can be tied in the end of rope using the knot as the stopper. I also bought a few more quick links at Home Depot. I also bought a drill. I also bought a good piece of wood, which I can place on the kitchen counter, for using when drilling holes in the pieces to make the toys. This way the drill would hit the wood and not the counter LOL. So a make shift ladies work bench LOL. The wood is thick, strong, it's two by four wood, only wider than a two by four, so that there's room to work.

Where do you get those leather strips which we see on the parrot toys at the parrot shops? Are these at hobby lobby too? Quite several things are at hobby lobby, which I've seen on these toys at the parrot shop. Mainly popcicle sticks, of course. Straws are on these toys. Wiffle balls are on these toys. Playing cards, leather strips, etc. Although, not all wood pieces are labeled with the kind of wood they are at hobby lobby, is that correct? I've even seen on the toys at the parrot shop a toy made out of cardboard box/package of food. The box was cut up into little square pieces and strung on the toy. You can see the instructions for making the packaged food on these cut up pieces. I believe they were cut up, of course, because you don't want to use any part of a box which is glued together (glued to other parts of the box itself).

My motto is really becoming people will find ways to keep their birds happy, cheaper, if the prices don't come down a bit, on toys at parrot shops. People are learning how to make their own toys, and actively learning about what is safe and what is not. I think the parrot toys making and selling business should make it more affordable. After all, the birds have to be kept happy. And they have to also be fed their pellet food. If you're also trying to feed them, and keep them properly nutritioned, it could become unaffordable.

[Maria]

Hi, I purchased those alphabet blocks I've seen on the parrot toys at the parrot shop, at Walmart.

I emailed the manufacturer asking about the type of wood, and the substance on them used to make the coloring just to be on the safe side, asking if they were child safe, emphasizing that children put everything in their mouths. These are made for children, so I'm sure they were made with this in mind. Also, most websites I've researched about these blocks for kids reflect that they are child safe if children put them in their mouths BECAUSE they are made with non-toxic paints/inks, and not to be concerned. (as we know children put everything in their mouths). Different companies manufacture them. This company's email response verified for me even further saying "All our wooden toys are made to the highest standards set down by Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Wal-mart. All paints used are safe non-toxic."

Also, right next to them, on the shelf at Walmart, made by the same company, were "Wooden Building Blocks". In this package there were both some colored blocks, as well as some not colored blocks, all of different shapes. My email inquired of both sets of blocks actually, also asking them about these, the fact that, "is there any type of glaze on them? because they are kind of shiny a bit. Is it coated with anything? If so, what?" - - - "Are they coated with any type of sealant or anything? Because if no type of sealer or coating has been put on them, then they are technically mouth-safe. Please explain all, thank you so much." - - -( Keep in mind it also says on the birds-n-ways site that: "Acrylic and Marbella plastic are also used in toy construction. These products are considered safe, once they are dry, as long as not ingested. Acrylic and Marbella plastic also emit toxic fumes during the cutting and drilling process only" (meaning during construction). )

See this link for this at birds and ways: http://www.birdsnways.com/birds/isafe.htm

this sentence, under Toy Safety Tips from Anne Johnson, if you scroll a little bit down the page - - - - - -

Acrylic and Marbella plastic are also used in toy construction. These products are considered safe as long as not ingested.

SO, this company's email response about the "Wooden Building Blocks", about that was: "The blocks are sealed with a clear finish which is also non-toxic."

BOTH SETS OF BLOCKS ON THE PACKAGING SAYS FOR AGE: "18 MO. +" (Eighteen Months Plus).

The company names which are on both these blocks are Garanimals and Maxim Enterprise, and I emailed them both. Garanimals is very popular for child safe toys.

I also went to the infant section and got some "Teethers" beads. Now you know these would be safe LOL. It's what the babies chew on, to comfort their teeth/gums, when they're teething. Any of these teethers, do not get the ones with the gel in them, just the regular bead ones.

Hobby Lobby has chinese food boxes, ones just cardboard box (brown) color, plain, right next to colored ones. I got some of the plain brown ones, just take off that wire handle, and you can make a foraging toy! These have no adhesive on them, the flaps just fold into eachother for closing. At hobby lobby I also got a couple of little wicker baskets with handles, with no color on them, just woven together, no thread through them, no glue. In their wood pieces section: packages of different shapes of woods, including popcicle sticks and the clothes pins without the metals in them, little blocks, etc.; but on these only stick to the ones which say specifically "non-toxic" on the label. These are the ones with the striped label, but not all of those with the striped label made by that company, say "non-toxic". So to be safe, I stuck with the ones which did say that. Right next to that, there's another section of packaged wood pieces, made by another company. These are larger and better and all different shapes, and they are not colored; but the lady who works at hobby lobby told me that they're pine, so I didn't get them, because there are different sites which say pine is not safe, and then there are are also different sites which say pine is indeed safe. Strangely enough, when I went home, I saw a wooden wheel from/on my parrot's toy from the parrot shop, which looked exactly like the wooden wheels in these packages which this lady said were "probably pine because it's the cheaper wood". These packages are not labeled as to what types of woods they are. I'm wondering if they're the same thing, therefore, and are safe after all??????? Does anybody have any insight to this?????????? I'm hoping they're safe, as these would be PERFECT!!! These "so called pine pieces", come with holes already drilled in them too! With both these sections, you can make many, many toys, for much cheaper than buying them already made at the parrot shop, and get alot more toys for your money as well. With the different woods, there are different reasons, and it can get confusing. One says, I think, after the bark has been removed, and there is no more sap, cleaned, after processing, it is safe. Another reflects it is not safe because it is of the types of trees which are "aromatic" (scent, gives off fumes) - and toxic to birds. Some sites say Oak is safe, and some sites say Oak is not safe. Another site I ran across lists different types of maple which is safe, and different types of maple which is not safe. All these sites googled, "woods safe for parrots". Hobby lobby I also got that colored shredded scrunched paper, comes in packages, this is also at 99 cent store and Party City. In hobby lobby's leather strips section, I emailed the company asking if their leather strips are vegetable tanned - asking them the following: (This company is Silver Creek Leather, and their product labels say "Realeather")

"Leather strips are used to make parrot toys, it's just a matter of finding the right kind.

This is the safe criteria for birds for leather strips:
Leather pieces and strips should NOT be dyed and should be vegetable tanned. Other tanning processes use chemicals that are toxic to birds. Rawhide should be un-bleached.

Please let me know, therefore, what process you use, and if these are safe, if they meet this criteria. Particularly any of the brown or tan strips, letters, or stringings."

I bought a deck of playing cards at the 99 cent only store, as I've seen these on hanging chew toys at the parrot shop as well.

I also came across this great website for order parts to make toys for parrots and birds. Marabella beads, and all sorts of other parts, woods, wicker, bamboo, and veggie tanned leather strips, lots of great things there, and you order them each comes a few in a package too, and on some of them the pricing is pretty cheap with pretty much coming in the package, can make quite several toys, still cheaper than buying at the parrot shop. Here is the site. I will be getting the beads and maybe a few other things there: http://www.birdyboredombusters.com/ - - - they also have toys already made you can order, and all their stuff is safe by the bird rules.

I also emailed through that amazon link about the unused egg cartons, asking what type of coloring they use for the markings on the cartons shown through the link, and if they can get or have any which are unmarked, to be used for making toys for parrots, RE: non-toxic.... etc. Haven't gotten a response back from them yet.

Jefferslivestock
Jefferslivestock.com
Email: customerservice@jefferspet.com

and

Harris farms
Harrisfarms.com
Please email us here.
DaveMcGlothlin@HarrisFarms.com

Here is what I emailed to them, also asking if they are non-toxic paints or non-toxic inks:

• Colors/ink used on the egg cartons.
o What is used for this coloring? These markings. Food coloring? Paint? Ink? Anything toxic? Any kinds of chemicals?
• Preservatives or pesticides:
o Are the cartons treated with anything? Any type of preservatives to make them last longer, or pesticides to keep bugs away from them?

• REASONS:
o Being used to make toys for parrots. Many parrot and bird owners, via theparrotforum.com – are exploring unused egg cartons to make parrot toys with for their parrots.
o Parrots will chew them up (tearing/shredding).
o Therefore anything regarding the above would be toxic to parrots, and they could get sick and die.
o Has to be untreated, with no pesticides, chemicals or paint, or preservatives
o the only thing that can be used for coloring for parrot/bird toys is food coloring.
o Egg cartons used, or course, has the potential to carry and develop disease and bacteria, like salmonella; so of course it would definitely have to have never been used.
o Cardboard, NOT foam
o If you have any which are NOT marked (plain), not treated, and are cardboard, not foam, that would be ideal; then I would know that they are safe to order to be used for making parrot toys.
o They will be used to make foraging toys for parrots, putting treats in them, hanging them in the cage.
o If your egg cartons do not meet this criteria, might you refer me to a place where unused egg cartons meets this criteria?


I have made my first home made toy for my Baby, and was so happy to see him chewing at it and playing with it.

Hope all this helps, my research thus far, as you can see I've been busy doing my homework lol.

[Maria]

I was hoping to get responses back on my research about parts for toy making, to help with my being on the right track, or any warnings? Thanks.

[Maria]

Also, the more we let eachother know which places carry supplies for toy making for our birds, the more of us bird lovers will purchase these items from these places. THEREFORE, the better chances are that these places will continue to carry these items! So buy! buy ! buy !!! It's about supply and demand! If we want to obtain toys cheaper, keep the stock moving! When items move and are good seller items, they keep them in stock!

[marie83]

I am interested in the research you have done, I just havent had time to sit and read through it because that message was very long and I haven't the best concentration span at the moment. I will read at some point.
I think when making suggestions for suppliers then it is good to have your country on your profile.

We also have to bare in mind that too much mentioning of a brand/company could be thought of as advertising, we have to be respectful of that too. For the record this last comment wasn't aimed at anyone, just a thought that was running through my head

[Maria]

This link at amazon with those egg cartons – a 10 pack – shows the pack now for $4.00 at “1 new”, but PLUS $9.95 shipping from Jeffers live stock company! So that winds up a lot of money with the shipping for a 10 pack. So I haven’t really seen a good deal on these yet. But it also just came to me that we can cut off the tops, because they have the colored markings on them, and use the bottom parts only to make foraging cups/toys out of. Cut them in pieces of two cups each. Fill one cup with treats. Fold other cup over to close it (first you would have poked holes like with screwdriver in all four corners to aid in closing). Close/fasten with string through the holes. You can also poke a hole in the middle for hanging in cage. I saw it on this video; great.

Link for unused egg cartons
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/ ... dition=new

Link for making forage toys with egg cartons (can be used as foot toys or hung also) (although this one seems strange to me because at the beginning of the video it’s showing the egg carton with eggs in it, indicating this person is using egg cartons which are NOT unused. We were informed that egg cartons used, or course, has the potential to carry and develop disease and bacteria, like salmonella; so of course it would definitely have to have never been used.). Are we sure about this? If the used egg cartons are clean, as long as they don’t have any egg on them, from like cracked eggs, aren’t they ok to use and would not have any disease or bacteria? I can’t see what would be such the harm. See this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61KURNM5 ... re=related


I also found quite a few good toy making ideas from videos at youtube, when I entered in “parrots playing with toys”. Here are the links to those too.

Cheapest parrot toy you can make.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEuGNKQZ ... re=related


making parrot toys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB4XD5TC ... re=related


make big bird toys fast and cheap – windycityparrot.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvg5uZm6 ... creen&NR=1


easy bird foraging toy – birdie ghosts with coffee filters!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waz7PYe9 ... re=related

[Maria]

How come I'm seeing alot of info on these parrot toy making videos on youtube, for example, about using these rolls, when we are specifically told not to use them because of the glue/adhesive on them, that the glue/adhesive on them is not safe for birds? I've seen other videos on youtube where people are just having their parrots play with these rolls - they have glue on them.

What's all the contradiction and confusion? I would not give one to my parrot to play with because of what information is out about the glue on them, otherwise I would love to save them and use them for him?

Please help with answers everyone! Everything you know! Thanks.