File:Po bona.jpg

English: You already know that you need a LOT of toys to keep a parrot entertained if you have a parrot or several parrots. If you're thinking about getting a parrot then get ready to hire a staff of Santa's Elves because you're going to need them. Most parrots love to destroy toys. This is a healthy, necessary, and required behavior. After food, water, and your attention, toys are probably the next most important things in your parrot's world. Toys are not an optional accessory for you parrot; they are essential. Toys provide mental stimulation, physical stimulation, and keep your parrot's beak trimmed.

Parrots spend a lot of time searching and foraging for food in the wild. This entertains them and stimulates them. In your home, the toys provide the necessary means for your parrot to entertain itself. Toys also provide the mental stimulation required by your parrot. Some experts say that the parrot's emotional level is similar to a 2 year-old child. They also say their intelligence is similar to a 3 year-old child. So stimulating toys are just as necessary for you parrot as they are for a 2 or 3 year old child.

There is also another more tangible reason for providing toys for your parrot. Toys are required to keep your parrot's beak trim. The beak is always growing much like out fingernails. Your parrot's beak will become overgrown without something to chew on. This will require a trip to the vet, toweling, and filing of the beak. This is stressful to the parrot and can be avoided by providing toys for your parrot to chew up and destroy.