Pigeons are intelligent animals, if they spend most of their time in a coop this can become boring and frustrating for them.
Toys for pigeons can help to keep them mentally stimulated and active.
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Some of the best toys for pigeons include:
Many of these toys are advertised as toys for parrots, cockatoos, budgies and other more exotic type birds, but a pigeon will enjoy them just as much.
1. Mirrors
It is known that, unlike other birds, pigeons can recognize themselves in a mirror or reflective surface.
Narcissistic pigeons could spend hours in front of a mirror preening themselves.
You can get all sorts of mirrors from simple hanging mirrors with bells, mirrors that are also perches, and really fancy ones with additional toys attached.
2. A Bird Swing
A bird swing will go down well with pigeons.
They enjoy lining up along telephone wires and other kinds of cables and branches, so they will no doubt get some stimulation from a swing.
3. A Climbing Frame
Pigeons can climb. Look for climbing frames made of horizontal bars or, depending on the size of the area in which you keep them, vertical poles with horizontal perches protruding from them.
They can also get some exercise by flying or hopping from one to another if you place the climbing toy at either end of the coop.
4. Open Weave Balls
Another good toy for pigeons is open weave balls.
Because they are hollow, you can fill them with some feed, which will spill out bit by bit when it is moved.
That way you can entertain your pigeons and give them some exercise by using their gluttonous natures.
5. Bird Toy Packs
If you really want to entertain, train and educate your pigeon, there are packs of bird toys available.
They are generally designed for parrots but are equally useful for pigeons.
Typically, they have hoop-la type gamed, balls, a miniature skateboard, and puzzles.
As intelligent birds, they will figure things out and will also watch and learn from your tutorials.
Do Pigeons Need Toys?
Living in a cage as a pet also negates the need for their survival skills.
So, with no need for constant vigilance and foraging for food, you would expect that time would weigh heavily on their hands.
Many caged animals, especially those born in the wild, lose their will to live.
The once-proud glint in their eyes turns to one of despair.
This is especially true of predators, but all once wild animals suffer the loss of freedom and movement.
For those born in captivity, including pigeons the lack of activity may lead to health problems, so using toys for pigeons is a good idea.
Keeping Pigeons Mentally Active
Pigeons have proved to be one of the most intelligent species in the animal kingdom.
Indeed, Sir David Attenborough describes the pigeon as the most successful urban bird”.
Not only are they highly adaptable, but their navigational skills are second to none.
Experiments to measure and test their intelligence have shown that they have highly developed recognition skills, can distinguish between different paintings and photos, and can learn to do tasks.
Taking these characteristics into consideration, it is likely that they would suffer boredom if their natural biological rhythms were curtailed.
Pigeons are like any other wild animal in the respect that the continuous hunt for food resources and keeping themselves from being a meal for predators, plus the drive to mate, encompasses their whole time.
Take all that away and there is a great void to fill.
Of course, all this is conjecture, the one thing that is certain is that active animals tend to be healthier.
Therefore toys are very beneficial for pigeons.
Pigeons are highly stimulated by food.
Rewards such as treats can be used effectively to encourage them to use their toys.
They will learn faster and more effectively once they understand that they can gain food by performing the correct actions.
Any kind of toy that food can be hidden inside, but accessible, will go down a treat with your birds and keep them mentally and physically healthier than they would be without any kind of stimulation.
Just search online for “bird toy” or “bird training” and you’ll find so much to choose from.