plumsmum
Regular Member
Think you should start a business @DizzyBlue?
Homemade Forage Pouch
- Thread starter DizzyBlue
- Start date
@Oli Fry I purchased a bag of leather tooling scraps online will have a look see if I kept the details of the place I purchased from just bought the thinnest I could they are undyed veg tanned scraps of off cuts usually sell for about a tenner for a large bag. As its leather you get to reuse quite a lot as the birds take the little knots out to gain entry rather than trashing the little hanging bags. Also purchased one of those leather plaited toys for parrots at one of the bird shows and basically took it apart to use then leather long strips as the hanging straps.
You could go a step or two further …. did you ever make little boxes when you was a kid? Basically cut a template and fold?
Bradders on here makes little forage boxes out of those cardboard egg boxes the cup parts one on the bottom with a bit of sisal bit of shredded paper inside with treat and slide another cup part on the top like a little weird shaped globe. Hang en up and away you go.
Others on here have made forage trays filled with all sorts of stuff like shredded paper and that wood stuffing that is used inside teddies and hidden things wrapped in white paper inside it so they have to go rummaging around find the paper balls open them and get the treat.
Have you ever played with banana leaves? You buy them fresh for actual cooking food in like chicken or fish … it's an Asian thing but they make great parcels for hiding stuff in. I often trawl around some of the eco friend food dish suppliers on line and buy things like palm leaf dried cones etc and adapt those kind of things. Ok so you buy in bulk but its not that expensive.
Used to trawl the reptile places as well and buy coconut husks which is the outside hairy part of a coconut and then cut it up to make my own toys.
Or you could if doing a BBQ this year do a bit of a tropical one … order your fresh green coconuts lop the tops off have the BBQ party with everybody drinking the fresh juice and then use the husk and inner for your birdies fun https://coconutty.co.uk/products/fr...0&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign
bit more expensive doing it that way but it makes a talking point at the BBQ, its organic and fun and secondary purpose for the birdies …..
You could go a step or two further …. did you ever make little boxes when you was a kid? Basically cut a template and fold?
Bradders on here makes little forage boxes out of those cardboard egg boxes the cup parts one on the bottom with a bit of sisal bit of shredded paper inside with treat and slide another cup part on the top like a little weird shaped globe. Hang en up and away you go.
Others on here have made forage trays filled with all sorts of stuff like shredded paper and that wood stuffing that is used inside teddies and hidden things wrapped in white paper inside it so they have to go rummaging around find the paper balls open them and get the treat.
Have you ever played with banana leaves? You buy them fresh for actual cooking food in like chicken or fish … it's an Asian thing but they make great parcels for hiding stuff in. I often trawl around some of the eco friend food dish suppliers on line and buy things like palm leaf dried cones etc and adapt those kind of things. Ok so you buy in bulk but its not that expensive.
Used to trawl the reptile places as well and buy coconut husks which is the outside hairy part of a coconut and then cut it up to make my own toys.
Or you could if doing a BBQ this year do a bit of a tropical one … order your fresh green coconuts lop the tops off have the BBQ party with everybody drinking the fresh juice and then use the husk and inner for your birdies fun https://coconutty.co.uk/products/fr...0&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign
bit more expensive doing it that way but it makes a talking point at the BBQ, its organic and fun and secondary purpose for the birdies …..
Michael Reynolds
Regular Member
you can buy leather shoe laces from the shoe mender but make sure they are not coloured with dye and are natural, I find this is the cheapest way.
Wendy Wolfe
Regular Member
I use the rough brown corrugated paper that comes in packages - poke a few seeds and small pieces of spaghetti into the corrugations and tie up to be destroyed at will.
Oli Fry
Regular Member
Thanks Dizzy! I'll see what untreated leather scraps I can get hold of. One of my greys, Grumpy, is a hyperactive character in constant need of new things to do, so I was thinking that maybe hard-to-open 'leather walnut pouches' would be good for her! Regarding banana leaves, yes, my birds love them. They are good for wrapping palm nuts in, and so on.
Wendy Wolfe
Regular Member
Just remembered that (organic) loofah is something to forage in too!
Can buy those at the health stores and quite a few supermarkets too 
but has to be natural and not the bleached one
brilliant thought @Wendy Cooper-Wolfe
but has to be natural and not the bleached onebrilliant thought @Wendy Cooper-Wolfe
I have a hole punch as I used to have horses so used to have one to punch holes in leather when adjusting bridles, stirrup leathers etc just punched a hole in each corner and one I the middle and used the unplaited leather toy as the dangly strings think the hardest part is doing the knots 9 times out of 10 have a flipping parrot hanging off my fingers supposedly trying to help! And we all know how that goes on! Really I should thinking it through tie the longest string on one of the corners and perhaps punch two holes in one corner so can do the knot ties but hand it up more envelope shaped … hey ho something to experiment with when I make some more
Kendra
Regular Member
@DizzyBlue it is the knots I have trouble with but will give them a try (if I have not packed the stuff away) my flock are always wanting something new.