Cockatiels are curious birds with a suspicious streak, and most of the questions we get about toys come down to the same two things: what will they actually use, and why are they ignoring the one you just bought.
Rather than picking ten toys we happen to like, we looked at what our customers actually bought over the last 12 months, then narrowed it to the ones with a review from a Cockatiel owner. There is also a section at the end on what to do when your bird will not go near something new.
Jump to Peck and Play Forage Box, Foraging Grass, Simple Caterpillar Dangles, Simple Hammock, Mineral Nibblers, Bamboo Ball, Aussie Triangle Hut, Sola Cabbage Balls, The Firecracker, Beginner Foraging Cup or Why Won't My Cockatiel Touch a New Toy?.
1. Beak Joy Peck and Play Forage Box
Rated 4.76 from 54 reviews
This is the toy we sell more of than anything else, and it is not close. The box turns up already packed with woven balls, wooden pieces, cardboard and coloured shredded paper, so there is no assembly and nothing to fill. You take the plastic cover off and hand it over.
What a Cockatiel does with it is pull the top layer out piece by piece, drop most of it on the floor, then start on the layer underneath. The cardboard box itself is safe to chew, so once the contents are gone they usually start on the walls. The Large holds more than 25 different textures and shapes, and you can keep tucking treats back between the layers as they work through it.
"Such an amazing play box for my cockatiel! He is happily playing with both - the contents of the box and the box itself. All the items are neat and made very well - just for my bird's taste."
Inna P., verified buyer, 5 stars
If your bird has never seen a forage box, leave a few favourite treats sitting near the top for the first few days rather than burying them.
Learn more about the Beak Joy Peck and Play Forage Box
2. Raw for Birds Foraging Grass
Rated 5.0 from 16 reviews
Not a toy at all, which is exactly why it sells the way it does. It is a bag of Queensland grown Rhodes grass, and it is what you stuff into everything else. Baskets, forage boxes, wicker balls, a tray on the cage floor. There are still small seeds sitting in the grass heads, so a Cockatiel picking through it is finding something rather than just shredding for the sake of it.
"He loves to make a mess with the foraging grass, looking for treats that might be in the grass."
David W., verified buyer, 5 stars
Pack it loosely the first few times. A tightly stuffed toy can look like a solid lump to a bird that has not worked out there is anything inside it yet. One bag goes a long way across several toys.
Please note this product cannot be sent to WA or TAS.
Learn more about Raw for Birds Foraging Grass
3. Simple Caterpillar Dangles
Three thin wood discs joined with leather straps, with a few beads hanging underneath. At roughly 16cm by 5cm it hangs in a Cockatiel cage without taking over the whole thing, and the discs are thin enough that a Cockatiel beak can actually mark them. Plenty of wooden toys look the part and never get touched because they are simply too hard.
There is no rope on this one, which matters to some owners. John B. bought it for that reason and left the review "My cockateil loves it. No ropes to injest with this one at least." Coralea M. put it more simply, calling it a "wonderful toy for my cockatiel, he absolutely loves its".
Try hanging it beside a perch your bird already uses rather than out in open cage space. They will get to it sooner from somewhere they already feel settled.
Learn more about Simple Caterpillar Dangles
4. Simple Hammock
Rated 5.0 from 19 reviews
A woven seagrass mat on jute rope with a few wooden blocks and flower beads down the sides. It works as somewhere to sit and something to chew at the same time, and it is deliberately plain next to the bigger, brighter toys, which is usually why it lands with birds that take their time about anything new. Georgia P. summed it up in six words: "Excellent hammock, my cockatiel loves it".
Start it low and against the side of the cage so it feels solid underfoot. Once your bird is using it you can move it up.
Learn more about the Simple Hammock
5. Mineral Nibblers
Rated 4.83 from 18 reviews
A mineral block with colour, beads and a chain attached to it. If your Cockatiel walks past the cuttlebone every day without touching it, this is the same idea presented as something worth investigating. They chew the block, play with the beads and swing the chain about, which is more than most birds do with a plain white cuttlebone clipped to the bars.
Both the Small and the Large suit a Cockatiel, so it comes down to how quickly you want to be replacing it.
"They were ok . My birds were slow to warm up to them . But are happily nibbling them now."
Liz F., verified buyer, 4 stars
Worth reading that one twice, because it is the Cockatiel story in two lines. Slow to start, then perfectly happy. Hang it at perch height where they already spend time and give it a couple of weeks before deciding it was a waste of money.
Learn more about Mineral Nibblers
6. Bamboo Ball
A tightly woven bamboo ball, under three dollars, colour picked at random. It is light enough to be picked up and thrown around, which is the entire point of a foot toy, and at that price you can put a few through the cage and swap them about.
"My cockatiel plays with these balls like a dog would! Picks it up with his beak and feet, throws it, bites it, he loves it! It's so cute to watch Teddy play"
Ashlee B., verified buyer, 5 stars
Drop one in a tray rather than hanging it. Foot toys need to be somewhere the bird can pick them up.
Learn more about the Bamboo Ball
7. Aussie Triangle Hut
Rated 4.82 from 22 reviews
Handmade here from native gum with a woven seagrass roof. The Medium is the Cockatiel size, and it is the one in the photo.
If you have been told to get rid of a fabric happy hut, this is the usual replacement. Your bird sits on a proper wooden perch rather than in a fabric pouch, and droppings fall through instead of collecting. It is not chew proof and it is not meant to be, so expect the roof to look progressively more lived in.
"26 year old cockatiel present - he seems to like sitting in there 😊"
Lynnette L., verified buyer, 5 stars
Learn more about the Aussie Triangle Hut
8. Sola Cabbage Balls
Sola is the soft pith of a plant, and these are a sola ball wrapped in a layer of sola petals so it looks a bit like a cabbage. The reason it works is that it is soft. A Cockatiel can tear strips off it immediately, which is the opposite problem to most wooden chew toys. Santa S. left it at "My cockatiel loves her balls, very happy." The Medium 4pk is the Cockatiel size.
Fair warning on the mess. Sola shreds into small light pieces that get everywhere, so these are better over a tray or somewhere you do not mind sweeping.
Learn more about Sola Cabbage Balls
9. The Firecracker
Woven tubes stuffed with shredded paper that bursts out the ends as the bird works at it, hanging on a chain. The dyes are natural and food grade. This is one for a Cockatiel that has decided shredding is its job.
It is also worth knowing what you are buying, so here is the review we would point at:
"Totally shredded within 24hrs but at least they had a good time I guess. I was a bit cranky though, lol."
Vicki H., verified buyer, 5 stars
Five stars, and still a fair warning. Buy it as an occasional thing for a day when your bird needs a job, not as a permanent fixture in the cage.
Learn more about The Firecracker
10. Beginner Foraging Cup
If you are teaching a Cockatiel to forage for the first time, start here. The cup is see-through with a plastic cover, so the bird can see the treat sitting inside and does not have to take anything on trust. That is the whole trick with a species that assumes new objects are a threat.
Once they are lifting the cover without hesitating, mix a little Foraging Grass in so the treat takes some finding, then move them up to something they cannot see into. One reviewer, buying for a mixed household, wrote that "my conure and cockatiel both ran to this foraging cup to test it out". The plastic wipes clean, so fresh food is fine in it too.
Learn more about the Beginner Foraging Cup
Why Won't My Cockatiel Touch a New Toy?
Because it is a Cockatiel. This is the single most common thing owners ask us about, and nearly always nothing is wrong.
Cockatiels are wary of change. A new object appearing in the cage overnight is not exciting to them, it is something to keep an eye on from the far perch. Some birds take a day, some take a fortnight, and a few will glare at it for a week before quietly deciding it is fine and getting on with it.
The way around it is to stop making the introduction a surprise. Hang the toy on the outside of the cage or at the far end for a few days so they can watch it from a safe distance, and only move it closer once they have stopped watching it. Scattering a few favourite treats on or near it does more to speed things up than anything else we know of.
It also helps to keep the cage from being packed. Something to shred, something to chew, something to forage through and somewhere to sit is usually plenty, though it depends on the cage and the bird. Swap a couple out every week or two and bring them back a month later, and the same toys stay interesting all over again.
If you are only buying one thing to start with, make it the Beginner Foraging Cup or a bag of Foraging Grass. Both are cheap, both teach the bird that poking about in things is worth the effort, and everything else on this list works better once they have learned that.
You can browse the full range in our Cockatiel collection.
