# Do Pigeons Like Toys?



## Vasp

Well... I remember that when Toady was a baby, he used to pick up little pieces of alfalfa hay he found on the ground and toss them, run over to the thrown piece of hay, pick it up and throw it, retrieve it, and continue the whole thing over and over. He also pulls at strings... But do they play with toys like, say, little parakeets will? If you bought them a little bird toy with bells and rope and strings, do you think they'd play with it?


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## maryjane

The simple answer to that is.....YES! Many pigeons love to play with toys, especially younger pigeons. Mine found a plastic whistle on a keychain in my room, and were carrying it around and throwing it, then running up to see what it was and picking it up again. My first pigeon Gonzo loved Koosh balls (the kind with all the rubbery spikes sticking out) when he was a teen. He would beat up those Koosh balls all day long, throw them around, kick them, coo at them, the whole nine yards. He also liked to beat up tennis balls. Those plastic cat balls, with a bell in the middle, are also a big favorite. Q-tips are another thing they like to carry around. I'm sure there are all kinds of things out there they would enjoy, especially if you have some parrot toys.


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## Vasp

That's funny! Sounds like it would be rather amusing. 
I suppose I'll have to experiment then. I've noticed that Toad and Muffin are really, really different. Muffin is aloof and independent, but really smart. But she prefers to forage her food far away from the source (even if there's a huge bowl of it in the middle of the room), which is not very wise, I'd think. Toad is very outgoing and was a very dependent baby. He'd sleep under my chin rather than explore, squeak waaay more, and was more active, flapping his wings like crazy. He also played more and liked to stand right in his water dish to drink, while Muffin would perch on the edge or stand next to it.

Basically, he's impolite, loud, energetic and needy. He has this crazy look in his eyes that makes you think he's not all there... LOL. He's smart, and he learned to fly to my arm on command before Muffin did, and he's way less timid. They've always been so different.


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## zimmzimm3

maryjane said:


> The simple answer to that is.....YES! Many pigeons love to play with toys, especially younger pigeons. Mine found a plastic whistle on a keychain in my room, and were carrying it around and throwing it, then running up to see what it was and picking it up again. My first pigeon Gonzo loved Koosh balls (the kind with all the rubbery spikes sticking out) when he was a teen. He would beat up those Koosh balls all day long, throw them around, kick them, coo at them, the whole nine yards. He also liked to beat up tennis balls. Those plastic cat balls, with a bell in the middle, are also a big favorite. Q-tips are another thing they like to carry around. I'm sure there are all kinds of things out there they would enjoy, especially if you have some parrot toys.


This is a little off track from pigeons but my cat is in love with Q-tips. LOL  
I am not sure why though he begs me for them in the mornings when I am in the bathroom then he hides them under the rung in our living room. There are about 20 chewed up Q-tips under that rug.


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## TheSnipes

My pidgies all gather around my shoes, if I stay in the loft long enough at breakfast time, and what one does the others have to do of course, so pretty soon the whole lot of them are on/around my feet plucking at my pants, sox, bootlaces, everything, esp. the laces. I stand still long as I can laughing at them. I found a small bird toy at a pet store that was a bright yellow duck cutout threaded with about a dozen pieces of heavy twine with plastic knobs at either end so they couldn't get pulled all the way through...I thought it would amuse them since they seem so intrigued by my bootlaces. I hung it on a hook down close where they can reach it. I have seen one or two of them pluck at it in a desultory way but really, it is ignored. I gave them a couple of those cat balls with the bells inside and they were terrified of them. I guess my birds only like boots.


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## Fever

My birds only play one game - the one where they throw all of the food out of their dishes, and then spend the day trying to find it.  


I take that back, actually. They did get their wings on a roll of toilet paper once, and unraveled it all over their room. I have a cat that's brutal for doing that too, only she has access to the whole house. Some days I wake up to shredded toilet paper everywhere, if I don't hide it well enough... and then there's other things, like how she finds all my sponges and hides them in weird places. It gives me respect for people who actually have kids instead of just furry and feathered child-substitutes. These critters are trouble enough for me!


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## maryjane

zimmzimm3 said:


> This is a little off track from pigeons but my cat is in love with Q-tips. LOL
> I am not sure why though he begs me for them in the mornings when I am in the bathroom then he hides them under the rung in our living room. There are about 20 chewed up Q-tips under that rug.


That's funny....my cat Chester loves Q tips too. And tennis balls. And we had a toy poodle who would steal food from the kitchen and hide it under my mom's pillow.  There was always a nice egg roll or piece of toast under her pillow when Tootie was around.


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## Ruby Pigeon

Vasp said:


> Well... I remember that when Toady was a baby, he used to pick up little pieces of alfalfa hay he found on the ground and toss them, run over to the thrown piece of hay, pick it up and throw it, retrieve it, and continue the whole thing over and over. He also pulls at strings... But do they play with toys like, say, little parakeets will? If you bought them a little bird toy with bells and rope and strings, do you think they'd play with it?


Um do you know any toys that would be good? and also a beginner care sheet?


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