# Pigeon toys



## SilverFeral (Dec 15, 2015)

Hello everyone,

I would like to share my experience with good toys for pigeons. I entered the term in search but did not find any posts about toys. Sorry if I missed some.

From my experience pigeons don't like parrot toys, as they don't chew. They can't hold them in their legs or climb on them. But they still love to play.

What should never be on a toy is something that has feathers, hairs or small strings or pieces of wood they can bite off. Remove these.

What is good:
- Cat toys (of course not ones that were used by cats) but brand new ones purchased just for your pigeon - they like to fight with them  even the little fabric mouse ones. They also like balls with bells in them;
- Cat treat dispensers - I put in little sunflower seeds or hemp seeds, so they chase the ball around and peck at it;
- Hamster toys - there are hamster toys designed to have food placed in them. Like this one:
https://imgur.com/St2BOVe

Avoid ones where pigeon can get its head of foot stuck. Just small holes from which it can peck the food out.

- Dog or parrot puzzles. They are those boards that have holes in them which are covered by light lids with handles. Dogs or parrots are supposed to lift the covers to get treats from the holes. Pigeons can do this too  as long as there are not supposed to crank something or pull out heavy pins.

- Cat fabric tunnels. Depending on the birds, some pigeons will not be afraid to go in them and trough them. Put them on a shelf somewhere. The only danger is that it might encourage nesting behavior;

Never forget other joys like bathing, and mineral blocks for pigeons. I noticed pigeon love the mineral blocks made for them, not just to eat them, but just to scrape and chip them and shorten their beaks.

And lastly, pigeons can learn tricks. This is not just fun for us, but for them. I have two toys with a bell inside. I taught my pigeon to ring one for sunflower seed, and other for hemp seed. He learned this so well that now he rings the appropriate toy when he want a treat  so he has now trained me. And he looks so happy when he rings the toy and gets what he wants


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## Spencer (Jan 16, 2020)

Hi how can I teach my Pigeon Peter to ring the ball bell for treats I'd love to get him to do this


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## SilverFeral (Dec 15, 2015)

Hello Spencer,

I got a cat toy plastic ball that is hollow and has holes on it. Bell is inside. I peel some sunflower seeds so he can see that and give him one or two. Then he follows my hands intensely and tries to get the seeds from my hands. Then I proceed to peel some more and put in the ball. he will try to get the seeds, put the beak in the ball and move it. As soon as it rings I say something he will recognize and give him a treat - another sunflower seed. We do this few times each day. First step was me saying the word and he would go and ring the ball, and I would give him a sunflower seed. And later on when ever he wanted a sunflower seed he wold go to the ball and ring it, upon which I would give him the treat immediately.

After he was very good with the ball, I got another toy, different shape but same system, and did the same but with hemp seeds.


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## Spencer (Jan 16, 2020)

Hi silver Ferrell that all sounds good thanks for that


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