Toys?

[MiaCarter]

Leo519 - Careful with the chain on that hay ball. I've seen finches get their feet/toes caught up at the pet store.

I would remove the chain and replace with a pipe cleaner. (One of the normal fuzzy types; not the shimmery ones as the tinsel-like fibers can be dangerous if ingested).

The pipe cleaner is nice and soft and there's nothing to get caught up on.

I bet they loved their foraging bin!
My guys love them. It's rather messy and they get hay everywhere, but it's worth it!

A tip on the hay: pop it into the freezer for a couple days before use to kill off any bugs, etc.

[Leo519]

So I got a bigger dish, one from from the reptile department as recommended by Wildbird.
It was kinda pricey, but decided it was worth it since it's larger, looks more natural, and has a nice weighty feel to it.
For now I put in just a few stones and the one lava rock, but I plan on changing it up every now and then by adding more and/or different stones.
The food I put in it is their daily seed blend, some Miracle Meal, and a little Insect Supreme and Health Greens.

[Leo519]

Pic of my foraging feeder

[Leo519]

One of my owl finches using the foraging feeder

[Peeks-and-Sherry]

WOW! So many great ideas!! Thanks everyone, I can't wait to try some of these out!

[Atbird]

Leo519

That's really cool.

[wildbird]

Very nice setup. The real tree branch helps to make it more natural too. You can even add more stones to keep them busy. Petco sells pieces of lava rock that screws on to the cage wire for a beak conditioner. I bought a couple of the ones that were flat so the birds could perch on them, and they love them. It's their favorite perch.

[Leo519]

Here's a short video of my finches using their new feeder :

https://youtu.be/MDobj6E_8CQ

[Koko]

Foraging feeder - awesome! My boys has not been tried it yet! Thank you for idea.

They are fond of swinging on bamboo swing (circle shape). They love everything what is fluffy and what they can pluck. Even toilet paper. When they tear it into smithereens, I take it from the cage. Now they build the nest from fluffy grass
Now I will try to organize the foraging feeder for them!

[Leo519]

Koko

Glad you like the idea for your finches too!
I heard about it from another FF member and thought I'd give it try.
Turns out my birds love it.. I put in different sizes and numbers of stones every few days just to help keep it "new" for them

[Nerine]

I fill suet baskets with nesting materials (but no nest!) such as dried moss, hay, feathers, ripped up kleenex and paper towel etc. Finches love foraging around on it, and pull out random bits and pieces.

But you are right...finches don't seem to have much use for bird toys.

[tam]

Your birds have it made. Sounds like your doing everything right. They are so pretty. BFF . -tam

[Sojourner]

Koko

Glad you like the idea for your finches too!
I heard about it from another FF member and thought I'd give it try.
Turns out my birds love it.. I put in different sizes and numbers of stones every few days just to help keep it "new" for them

I have a pair of budgies who would hate you for that, and never get anything to eat, either! I swear this must be a new type of parakeet, bred for suspicion and paranoia, LOL! They are TERRIFIED of any changes to their situation at all. Move something in the cage, and they act like you just tried to auction off their mother to white slavers.

And I have found something my finchly pair like to play with, finally.

Lemongrass stalks. I kid you not. They like to drag them all around the cage, nibble bits off, and generally just toss them around. They do not try to make nests with them, but they do play with them a lot. Plus, they smell good. It IS just a fragrant species of grass, after all. I'm talking about the green leafy grass stems, not the bulb part we normally use as an herb.

[Bfitzthum]

My baby finches love the mirror and bells.