Toy Choices

Hello Everyone,
I have been reading different threads on this forum and others, and yesterday I made a deposit on a baby Turquoise GCC that I will be picking up in about a month. I'm now left with the task of gathering all the supplies I'll need before my month is up. I've been scanning the local pet shops, and they have some interesting things, but I'm still a bit lost on the SIZE of the toys that I should get. YouTube is a wonderful thing, and I've been able to compare the size of the toys that I see to the birds, but I was wondering if anybody had any further advice. I plan to make a few things myself, and my cat's toys will surely be "borrowed" from time to time. I mostly see general sizes online (small, medium, large), and I know the GCC is typically considered a small-size parrot, but I wonder if their curiousness and activity level would make the medium sized toys a better choice. Obviously it has to fit in the cage, so the macaw-sized object are out, but if anyone has any general toy-oriented feedback, that'd be just great!
Thanks in advance!

My green cheek usually plays with the small toys. The things that are large just sit there.

Bells, he loves bells. If we are in the room he will ring the bell until we take him out. He does it to get our attention.

Be careful of store-bought toys. Just because they sell them in bird or pet stores, doesn't necessarily mean they are safe. Don't buy anything made of:

a) any metal but stainless steel (metal poisoning is a serious condition that can be fatal if untreated in a timely manner).

b) rawhide (it shouldn't even be given to dogs, it's undigestible -wild animals don't eat it, can choke them, cause crop impaction or an intestinal occlusion, and there are documented cases of salmonella).

c) chains (their beaks and claws get stuck in the links and they struggle so hard to free themselves -they panic- that they end up breaking something).

d) any kind of twine (same as the chain, their claws get caught but, even worse, they can hang themselves with it).

e) little parts that they can pull off and swallow (they can choke them, cause crop impaction or an intestinal occlusion)

f) chemically dyed materials (they could be toxic)

g) cloth or wool or anything that can unravel (see d, e and f)

Try instead to create your own safe toys. Birds like simple things like a rope or braid made out of untreated, natural sisal to climb up and down - a sheet of white paper scrunched up into a ball - a paper cup (like Dixie) with a white piece of paper tied around the top (like a lid) and a treat inside (great foraging toy!) - a 'garland' made of sisal rope with cork circles threaded through it (natural cork coasters, make a hole in the middle, thread the rope through the hole and make a knot on either side) -a small spider plant to chew the leaves and roll around in - a bunch of little skinny branches tied all together (make sure they are not poisonous and bake them at 450 degrees for 15 minutes to kill any 'nasty' like parasites or fungus) - pine cones (big favorite of my birds) - an unread magazine rolled up and stuck between the bars to shred and chew on (I get the real estate ones they stack up at the entrance of the convenience stores and just pull the covers -to make sure that what they chew has been untouched by human hands) - a bunch of dry miniature indian corn (like the kind they sell around Thanksgiving)... you catch my drift. Lots and lots of good, clean, safe stuff out there to use without having to pay dearly for something you don't even know what it's made of.

The toys labeled for parakeets and small parrots in the store, as these are the proper sized items. Ladders to climb, plastic or wooden beads to move on a stick, rings to climb through (provided they are larger than the finch's body), bells to ring, plastic balls or penguins to push around the cage or aviary floor, plastic or wooden swings to perch and swing on, and bird pacifiers are all excellent choices. Wooden chew toys sold for parrots are not necessary, as finches do not have the same need to chew hard substances that parrots exhibit.
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Brian
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It IS very difficult to judge the size of toys from pics on the net. I have purchased medium toys, they've arrived and they were SOOOO big I gave them to my friend's amazon, it happens quite frequently. Sometimes the small size are too small and unsafe.

I now buy according to the material its made of and I can redo a toy to appropriate size if needbe.

IF you buy anything with cotton, make sure its SUPREEM cotton, it breaks off in tiny pieces and is 100% digestible-cannot strangle or cause impaction.

I only buy the safe tubular bells-my conures have removed clappers before-they could swallow them so they do not get them now.

I like soft pine or balsa wood, I do NOT like wooden spoons-they splinter and could poke a bird in the eye. They become very sharp when chewed.

I will also not allow lava rock in my house, my tiel Penny ingested his and almost died from crop impaction and iron toxicity, his story is written up online.

My conures have also splintered plastic toys so I only allow heavy plastic balls they cannot penetrate.

You have the perfect opportunity starting with a young bird to teach foraging!! I'd buy lots of foraging toys, foraging kits and blocks. A great homemade foraging toy is a heavy plastic linked chain-take coffe filters, hide treats inside, twist and stick through the links. My conures love to work for their food by opening these.

You will learn over time which are your favorite sites to buy toys from.

BTW-I love turquoise GCC!!! I can't wait to see a pic!! Bren