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Are
you wondering what other starling owners do to
make life with a pet starling easier? This page
is filled with lots of bright ideas from starling
owners. Click on any topic in the following list,
or simply scroll down to read them all. Enjoy!
Unofficial
List of Bird Rules
Ideas
for Starling Toys
Cuttlebone
Making
a Sleeping Box
Dealing
with Droppings
Dealing
with Water Splatters
Washing
Cages
Barriers
around Cages
Grates
in Cage Bottom
Water
Bottles & Chicken Waterers
Unofficial
List of Bird Rules
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| 1. |
If
I like it, it's mine. |
| 2. |
If
it's in my beak, its mine. |
| 3. |
If
I can take it from you, it's mine. |
| 4. |
If
I had it a little while ago, it's mine. |
| 5. |
If
it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way. |
| 6. |
If
I'm chewing something, all the pieces are mine. |
| 7. |
If
it looks just like mine, it's mine. |
| 8. |
If
I saw it first, it's mine. |
| 9. |
If you have
something and you put it down, it automatically becomes mine.
|
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-
Author Unknown
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Ideas for Starling Toys
Some
of the toys made for parakeets make good toys
for starlings. I bet they would enjoy one of the
little mirrors that attaches to the cage. Make
sure the toys don't have small parts that can
come off easily. The plastic wiffle balls, like
golfers use for practice, make good toys. The
starlings love sticking their beaks into the holes.
The bells that are bell shaped are also good,
but make sure the clapper is attached securely.
The jingle bells are dangerous, as they can get
their toes caught in the holes. Some of the toys
made for human infants are good too. A pacifier
with a handle that the bird can't get his head
into is fun. The teething ring toys that you can
slide on a perch will work. I have one of the
small parrot toys that has a lava stone on the
end, that hangs on the cage, and Starnus seems
to like pecking at it.
Small keys
attached to a ring are okay, but make sure your bird can't get his head
into the ring. The card board paper towel tubes, cut into two or three
inch tubes are good. Again, make sure he can't get his head stuck in it.
Some
of the cat toys would be good, such as a small cloth mouse or the many
types of roll type toys made for them. The kind made for cats to bat around
can work if you remove any string or elastic.
I avoid anything
with string, anything small enough for the birds to try to swallow, and
anything that may have zinc or lead in it. --
by Jackie
Pinecone
& Suet Toys
Pinecones should be soaked in a mild bleach bath, (1 teaspoon bleach to
a gallon of water, and a drop of dishwashing detergent;) you don’t
need to be exact. Soak for about 15 minutes. Rinse well, and bake for
15 minutes on a cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven. Turn the oven off,
and let it cool with the pine cones still in it. They should be very dry.
I get the fat trimmings from the grocery most will just give it to you;
some charge a few cents per pound). In a heavy pot melt it down on the
stove top on low heat. Don’t try this in a microwave, for it causes
a heat build up that makes the microwave stop working. I was sure I had
broken mine for good. After it is melted let it cool in the fridge, then
reheat it. This will make it harder, as without the reheating it will
be too soft to keep its shape.
Let it cool so that it is semi-hard, and add things like peanut butter,
dry breakfast cereal, currants, insect food, cornmeal, granola, whatever
you think your bird will like. Then pack it in the pinecones. They should
stay good in the freezer for a month or two. Attach with a ribbon to the
cage. They seem to prefer the blocks of lard, I haven’t tried that
but it would sure make it easier. Click the following title to view recipes
for suet: Suet
recipes. Also try this website for more suet information and recipes:
Suet: Facts,
Feeders, & Recipes. Have fun! -- by
Jackie
More
Toy Ideas
Her favorite toys seem to be things with holes in them. If it's cloth,
she just loves to stick her beak in and widen the hole. She loves to throw
paper around and shred it. Sometimes I will pick up a piece up and toss
it around a bit pretending my hand is a beak. Then I'll kinda peck at
it a little with my fingers. This usually gets her interested in whatever
I'm messing with. She also likes to play with this little wooden hangy
thing with holes drilled in it. Originally it had peanuts in it for my
Quaker parrot, but now I put different healthy snacks in there for her
and she likes to get them out. Another inexpensive, fun thing is to have
a pan of dirt (store bought so as to reduce the possibility of spreading
disease) and plant dandelions, chickweed, wild strawberries and other
healthy plants. Hide some meal worms in there for her to find, but only
a few because they are not terribly nutritious. --
by
Pixie
One toy is
three plastic screen like balls with a bell at the end. We're going to
put crickets in them! The other hangs and has different colored beads
and wood with rope and a bell. They have a little cell phone that makes
different sounds when the bottons are pushed. Also my mom took a box,
about four inches deep and put pine bedding in it, and it hangs in their
cage. They love it! They enjoy playing on paper plate holders. Also a
bowl full of "LARGE" items they can chick and play with. You
could give them a pill bottle with buttons and paper clips that they absolutely
could not get open. They love rattles, milk bottle caps, their own chick
garden, and even cat toys that have no small parts that can be broken
off. Even bird toys, I replaced the little ring with a large key chain
they can't break off and swallow. -- by
Indica
A plain paper
sandwich bag can give a Starling a nice afternoon, also paper napkins
to shred is lots of fun too. -- by
Patti
Well, I like
those little plastic dealiemajobbers that come off the gallon milk jugs,
I love tossing around the shredded long strips of newspaper that mom's
shreds for the bottom of my cage, toilet paper rolls with holes poked
in them in which mom sticks treats inside, then folds the ends in so I
have to reeeeeeaaaaalllly work at getting the goodies out. there are more,
but I really have to go help mom stomp out the invasion of sugar ants
in the pantry... -- by
Ringo Star-ling
Someone told
me about this toy on the message board. You get a small stick/log and
drill holes into it with a nail and daily stick treats in the holes for
Oscar to probe out. I also have a rock with holes in it that I put treats
in for Murphy. Everyday the treats are gone. --
by
Robin
Concerning an entertaining cage, I've found that Stormy occupies
herself pretty well if I keep toys in her cage. Most of her toys are the
type made for parakeets. She has a mirror, of course, which she loves
to pry off the cage wall daily. She also has a plastic penguin on wheels
which she loves to attack. A hanging bell to ring, a couple of small plastic
balls with a bell inside and a plastic dumbbell are also her regular toys.
I rotate other items to occupy her such as: a little plastic container
with a handkerchief in it, which she loves to burrow into over and over,
and large cut-off rings from a used-up paper towel roll which she throws
and stomps on. When out, she enjoys ripping and shredding newspaper, but
I have to watch to make sure she doesn't eat small pieces. --
by
Victoria
A little
wicker basket to play in. My very own battery-powered electronic cell
phone, which they found at "Toys R Us" for about the cost of
a bag of birdseed (which I wouldn't eat anyway)! It's about the size of
their own cell phones and has a little mirror where the read-out should
be, and it has a bunch of colored buttons that, when I peck them with
my beak, blink for a second or two and then either speak back to me or
play music,depending on how Barbara sets the selector switch.That
funny looking guy hung my little cell phone on the inside of my cage so
that I can look at myself in the little mirror as I peck away at the keys
and talk back to that bird in the mirror when it says "HELLO."
I was a bit fearful at first and it took me a while to realize that I
have to peck the keys hard enough to make them respond, but now that I
have the "hang" of the phone, it's great fun. --
by
Metro
Some more
toys "tested" here: Plastic Jacks, Toy Phone, Paper, Gumwrappers,
Business Cards or Sports Cards, pretty pebbles (large enough not to be
a choking hazard), tug-on toys that jungle, etc." --
by Tree Doc
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Cuttlebone
Cuttle
bone, a treat: Since peanuts are one of his very
favorite treats, I embed very chunky peanut butter
into grooves I cut into it, (otherwise he would
not have anything to do with it.) He has deepened
the grooves, and his beak is in pretty good shape.
The one thing I should have done was introduce
it to him as a youngster; the older Doo-Dah gets
the less he takes to new ideas (Doo-Dah is a ’98
model). -- by
Vee
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Making a Sleeping Box
Make
a "retreat" box: brown cardboard, at
least 8x8x8", with a 2x2" hole in the
front and a 1/2" dia. tree branch on the
bottom. This lets the starling stand/sleep on
the branch while looking out. This roost box should
mounted hanging from the ceiling {for non-caged
starlings} or from the top of the cage. --
by
Bill Lee
We've installed
a little plastic box in Metro's cage, which (when turned on its side and
mounted against the bars) forms a cozy little "sleeping loft"
that she uses each night. To give her a better grip on the plastic "floor"
of this nestbox, we cut a little piece of terrycloth to serve as a "rug"
for her to sit on at night. Sure enough, we find her nestled on this terrycloth
inside the nestbox each morning when we awake. --
by
TFLG
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Dealing
with Droppings
Well,
I use old sheets to cover the couch when Ringo
is out. I don't mind on the carpet, it's easy
to pick up with kleenex, then use a cleaner. --
by
Barb
I have two
Starlings which are allowed out only in the evenings after we've had our
dinner, and they like to accompany us in the computer room and hang around
with us. We keep a box of kleenex for dabbing up "poopies" and
have old towels draped over the tops of our office chairs which are easy
to clean. I know it seems overwhelming when you are a first time "parent"
for one of these neat birds, but you get the swing of it pretty quickly.
-- by
Diane
With him
in his aviary during the day the clean up is easier. We have the "yellow
sponge" that follows him around during the evening picking up the
drops. Since he's with us in the evening, the droppings are pretty much
contained in the area in which we are sitting. --
by
Karia
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Dealing
with Water Splatters
Calli's
folks have a great way of dealing with water
splatters. They designed Calli her own sauna
so that she may bathe in an enclosed area.
Now she splashes to her heart's delight
with no mess. --
sauna
from Colleen
To see photos
detailing each part of Calli's sauna, visit this webpage: Calli's
Bath and Sauna
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Calli's
Bath and Sauna |
Washing
Cages
I
use to take my cages to a car wash and wash them
there. It was quick when you had lots of cages
or really big dirty ones. I
use soap and water to wash most of my cages and
after it is clean apply a bleach and water solution
in a spray bottle to it, wait about 10 min and
then rinse well. I have heard that some people
use vinegar and water instead of bleach, but either
should be okay. -- by
Jackie
I'm
not sure if it's the best but mom cleans the cages first by using regular
dishsoap or that antibacterial handsoap water, being careful to scrub
into the nooks crannies where bacteria stuff like to hide then rinse well.
After that dries she sprays (from a spray bottle) a 30% bleach solution
on all surfaces then allows that to air dry completely then does it one
more time just for good measure. She makes sure that the entire surface
gets soaked with the bleach solution and lets it air dry. If anybody has
any other ideas do tell!! -- by
Ringo Star-ling
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Barriers Around Cages
Just
a suggestion, but I have clear vinyl around three
sides & the roof of Ringo's cage, (it helps
stop some of the wall art ) You can get it at
the fabric shop, it is sold on a bolt, just like
fabric, and it clings to the cage. You could also
get some of the soft window screening, and stitch
it onto the INSIDE of the cage, I am afraid if
you put it on the oustside, your bird might get
stuck between the screen & the bars. Also,
I saw something in one of those bird magazines
once, called a "dirty bird" cage cover.
You can see thru them just fine, and they are
machine washable, and come in various sizes...
maybe someone out there knows where we could find
them.... -- by
Barb
The lower
half of both front and sides of Stormy's cage is covered by plexiglass
which protects her from curious cat paws and also protects our cats from
a sharp, little beak. We went to the hardware store and had the sheets
of plexiglass cut to fit the front and sides of the cage. Since the cage
is four feet tall, we had the plexiglass cut two feet in height so that
it would leave the top half of the cage uncovered. To attach a plexiglass
sheet to the cage, we punched a hole in each corner and attached it to
the bars with cable ties. (Cable ties are also sold at hardware stores;
we buy them in packages of 100.) The plexiglass is easy to remove for
washing by simply cutting the cable ties. --
by
Victoria
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Grates in Cage Bottom
I
put newspaper in the bottom of Ringo's cage, and
then shred more to put on top of it. I don't want
him to hurt his feet on the bars. I generally
change it daily, and he bathes to often for anything
to stick to him. I would be afraid that the bars
on the bottom would be hard on his little feeties.
And the shredded paper gives his something to
play with. Hmmmmm...... --
by
Barb
I take the bottom
grate out too. Most of the ones I've seen have spacing just to wide for
a starling to be able to walk on it. But I really don't think it would matter
as long as there is some flat surface that they can walk on. --
by
Jackie
This is just
my two cents, but I took the grate out of the bottom of Pip's cage too.
She's gotten her foot caught while walking along the top of her cage once,
though she managed to get it free without injury. I don't use the grate
b/c I worry she could hurt her legs or toes by catching them inbetween
the bars. I change her newspaper two or three times a day and haven't
noticed any nasties on her feet. -- by
Jessica & Pip
We have a
solid plywood bottom on the floor of the cage. The cage is homemade. I
decided on no mesh because it's very hard on the feet. I line with newspapers.
We also have logs and rocks on the bottom so Schweitz doesn't spend all
his time on the newspapers. He likes his logs and branches. --
by
Karia
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Water Bottles & Chicken Waterers
Water tubes
I
use the water tubes for Murphy. The water tubes that sorta look like test
tubes. He has no problem using these. I have them positioned so he bends
down a tad to drink then lifts his head up to swallow. I have two out
for him and I have them attached to his cage with "twisties".
Be sure to tie the twistie from the outside of the cage. They love to
undo twisties. He has used these since a baby.
-- by
Robin
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Water bottles
Hi! I just bought one of these Lixit Water Bottles that attaches to the
side of the cage. Any suggestions on how high up to mount it? Is reaching
down OK or reaching up? Just wondering.... --
by Oscar's Mom
This method
of H20 dispensing is fabulous for his health. I've struck out every time
I've tried to implement it, so I'm a slave to washing water bowls and
refreshing the water 2x times a day. Don't know where you'd place it.
But think of this -- starlings have to take in water and tilt their heads
back to drink. So I don't think low is best, or too high, either. Great
thinking! -- Gina
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Water
bottles.
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Chicken
waterers
When we go away from home overnight, we leave a chicken waterer in Stormy's
cage to ensure that she will have plenty to drink (since she constantly
empties her water bowl all day long.) The waterer has worked very well
for her, although she does tend to play in it and sit on top of it. Our
local feedstore carries several types of waterers, and the one we use
costed less than $5.00. See photo at right. --
by
Victoria
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Chicken
waterer in starling cage.
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