Happy Pet Building Block Maze Toy

A parrot with nothing to do does not sit quietly. It invents a job, and the job is usually something you own — the skirting board, the edge of the curtain, its own chest feathers. Foraging toys exist because the alternative to occupying a clever bird is not calm.

This one gives the bird two things at once. The wooden blocks slide up and down the frame, so there is a puzzle to work out, and treats can be hidden inside, so there is a reason to bother working it out. The wood is natural and the colouring is stated as safe and non-toxic, which matters because a bird will nibble a toy as well as solve it — the chewing is part of the design rather than damage to it. It measures 37cm and is made to hang from any cage. Happy Pet describe it as a large, hard-wearing toy and treat holder for parrots and large birds.

• 37cm long, made to hang from any cage
• Natural wood with colouring stated as safe and non-toxic
• Blocks slide up and down the frame
• Treats can be hidden inside, to encourage foraging
• A chew toy and a treat holder in the same object

The name does not mention birds, and this is a bird toy. It is sold as a Building Block Maze Toy with nothing on the front naming a species, and it is made for parrots and large birds. It is also 37cm, which is a serious amount of toy to hang in a cage — measure the cage first, because a toy that fills the space is a toy that stops the bird using it. Nothing supplied to us gives the wood type, the hanging hardware, the size of the blocks or the size of the gaps treats sit in, so exactly what will fit inside is unknown until it is in front of you. And a wooden toy in with a parrot is a consumable: being taken apart is what it is for.

Who it's for: owners of a parrot or another large bird with more intelligence than occupation, and anyone whose bird has started chewing the furniture instead of its own toys.