Braided Newspaper Bird Toy

Lucy is an aggressive newspaper ripper-upper. If there was a contest for shredding paper she'd win for sure - I always compliment her on what a fine mess she's made and what a good nest builder she'd be LOL. To try to get her to stop ripping the papers that line her cage (which makes a big mess of bird poop, fruit, veggies, and newspaper shreds! Disgusting...) I made her a hanging paper braid hoping that'd be more interesting. She loved it - Dave said I'm just encouraging her to shred paper but I think it's a good distraction and she enjoyed it... it still made a big mess of course  but at least it was a clean big mess!

Cut strips of newspaper, clip a few strips together at the top. Braid until about 6" to go and then add in additional paper strips - along the lines of french braiding your hair if you know how to do that. Braid until it's long enough to form into a circle then hold closed with a short cable tie (or twine). I made two circles and joined them together, then hung in her cage. Cheapest bird toy short of pepper tree sticks, q-tips, or any of my stuff that she grabs off the counter before I can stop her!

she has a much larger cage (I call it her condo) that she sleeps in,
but she loves to be in this "baby cage" during the day and we move
her around to different parts of the house. 

3.7.18: healthy cauliflower soup
3.7.17: making breadcrumbs
3.7.16: foam shamrock indoor wreath


Happy moment ~ watching the bird play with the toy I made her, of course!