New IRN owner; foraging toys and chewing

[melaniee-jane]

Hi guys!
My family just got the cutest little IRN and I absolutely adore him/her so I want to make him/her as happy as possible! He/she is about four months old and pretty okay with people. He/she only nibbles me now (no longer bites me as if he/she was scared,) is happy to eat out of my hand, loves to hangout on my head and shoulder and loves little head scratches. He/she however haaaates to be touched or handled and often squawks if someone tries to touch him/her. He/she only let's me ever pat him/her (only when I can see he/she is in the mood) and will bite everyone else (I believe this is their fault as they don't know how to approach the bird properly and won't listen to my advice.)

Basically I want to make him/her some toys to play with but i just want to run my ideas by some more experienced owners prior!

I was thinking of stringing some large beads/buttons onto a pipe cleaner and hanging that up? My concerns were if he/she chews through the pipe cleaner he/she knows not to try to actually eat it doesn't he/she? Would the wire in the pipe cause him/her any harm? And are there any materials (plastic, acrylic) that he/she shouldn't be chewing on?

I'm pretty much an over protective paranoid mum here! Hahah they know what they can and can't swallow don't they?

I was also thinking of sewing some buttons onto some spare fabric. Would the types of fabric be a concern with like dyes etc? And would the bird most likely eat the smaller thread?

Thanks for any help, I just wanna make this little baby the happiest he/she can be whilst in the cage!

[MissK]

HI. You can't count on an animal to not chew or eat something they shouldn't. Sometimes it doesn't matter, like when you turn your back and they eat your carrots. Sometimes it does matter, like when the chew on something made of lead. You should watch them with anything iffy. I use jute for most of my bird toys, and it works well. Sometimes, however, if my bird has chewed off a piece and it's just lying around, when he's hungry, it looks like he might chew too enthusiastically, so I don't let him have loose bits.

If you search for toys, you should find a couple of threads on homemade ones.