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6 DIY Cockatiel Toys Your Pet Will Love (With Pictures)

By Visnja Radosavljevic
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pair of white cockatiels in cage

Cockatiels are playful little parrots that make excellent pets due to their gentle, loving nature. This is a small parrot species, ranging between 11–14 inches. However, don’t let their size fool you!

Cockatiels are very active and playful, so it’s your responsibility to provide them with enough mental and physical stimulation. Luckily, there are numerous ways to keep a cockatiel entertained—you could even build DIY cockatiel toys for your pet.

In this article, we’ll talk more about DIY cockatiel pet toys and provide you with some excellent plans for toys you can make today and surprise your winged friend.

The 6 DIY Cockatiel Toys

1. Cupcake Liner DIY Cockatiel Toy by Ompb Club

Materials:Cupcake liners, paper straws, a pin, beads, craft raffia string
Tools:Scissors
Difficulty Level:Easy

If you’re looking to quickly make a fun and entertaining toy for your pet cockatiel, you should definitely consider making this cupcake liner DIY cockatiel toy. It only requires you to have scissors, cupcake liners, paper straws, and embellishments such as beads.

However, you could also use similar household items you can find; anything colorful and parrot-safe will provide plenty of fun for your cockatiel. Making this pet bird toy is very fun, and as this is an overall easy project, you could also involve smaller children in making the toy.


2. Climbing DIY Bird Net by Bird Tricks Store

DIY Climbing Bird Net
Image By: birdtricksstore
Materials:Rope
Tools:No tools required
Difficulty Level:Expert

Like most other parrot species, cockatiels love to climb, so you can consider making them this awesome climbing DIY bird net. This project doesn’t require any tools; all you need is a rope.

However, you need to tie quite a few knots to make the net, so the project requires you to expert your skills in tying knots to perfect your net. If making this climbing net for your cockatiel, ensure to use a rope made of bird-safe materials to prevent health issues in your winged companion.


3. DIY Dixie Cup Foraging Cockatiel Toy by Best in Flock

DIY Dixie Cup Foraging Cockatiel Toy
Image Credit: bestinflock
Materials:Dixie cups, leather or rope, treats
Tools:Scissors
Difficulty Level:Easy

If you have Dixie cups around your home you never got the chance to throw out, you can use them to make a Dixie cup foraging cockatiel toy. This is an extremely easy and straightforward project that requires little materials and can be made in a couple of minutes.

All you need to do to make this cockatiel foraging toy is to poke a hole at the bottom of the Dixie cups using scissors, a thin piece of leather, or a rope to connect each cup. Get your snacks ready and place them under every cup; your cockatiel will start looking for ways to get the treats.


4. Puzzle Pieces Cockatiel DIY Toy by Instructables

DIY Puzzle Pieces Cockatiel Toy
Image Credit: instructables
Materials:String/rope, puzzle pieces
Tools:Scissors, drill
Difficulty Level:Easy

Most people have a bunch of different items collecting dust on their shelves, including old puzzle pieces they may not need. If you own a cockatiel, have some old puzzle pieces, and are looking to make a quick and fun toy, consider making this puzzle pieces cockatiel DIY toy.

To make this cockatiel toy, you’ll need to drill old puzzle pieces through the middle, connecting them with a string or a rope. Once you reach your desired puzzle toy length, hold the toy in your cockatiel’s cage.


5. Egg Carton DIY Cockatiel Foraging Toy by Pet DIYs

DIY Egg Carton Cockatiel Foraging Toy
Image Credit: petdiys
Materials:Egg cartons, string or rope, treats
Tools:No tools are required
Difficulty Level:Easy

If you’re looking to make something for your parrot, but don’t have plenty of time and resources, think about making this egg carton DIY cockatiel foraging toy. This is an extremely simple parrot toy DIY plan that only requires you to make egg cartons and either a string or rope.

After you attach the toy, ensure you provide all your cockatiel’s favorite treats to promote play and help your parrot engage with the toy easily.


6. Paper Straw DIY Cockatiel Toy by cheepparrottoysntips

Materials:Paper straws, cupcake liners, wooden beads, zip ties
Tools:Scissors, crop-a-dile, pilers, snippets
Difficulty Level:Moderate

If you have an active cockatiel who likes to play, you may be lacking ideas on toys you could provide. When looking for a way to entertain your bird, you should think about making this paper straw DIY cockatiel toy. This YouTube instruction video contains all the details about successfully making the toy; the project is moderately difficult to build because it requires a few different materials and tools, such as paper straws, snippets, and wooden beads.

Due to the various materials needed to make this cockatiel toy, we can say that this is a moderate project, but you should still not have any issues making it if you stick to the plan.

Final Thoughts

Before getting a cockatiel, ensure you are ready to care for this fantastic parrot species. These birds have long lifespans and require regular mental and physical stimulation, which is why they’re not the most suitable pets for everyone.

However, anyone who loves birds will enjoy spending time with cockatiels, making them all kinds of DIY toys, bonding, and playing.

If you already have a cockatiel, be sure to create one of the DIY cockatiel toys from our list and have a fun play session with your parrot.


Featured Image Credit: Creative arts gallery, Shutterstock

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Visnja Radosavljevic
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