DIY Bird Treat

Hi, Rachel here! I have a DIY treat you can do for birds today--either pets or wild birds! Almost all birds love popcorn. Making a popcorn string is relatively easy and it should last for a little while.

You will need:

Popcorn
thread
needle
a bird-safe stopper, such as a wooden bead

So, you will need to start with some popcorn. You shouldn't use the packaged bag popcorn because chemicals and such in the popcorn are potentially harmful to birds. There are three ways you can make bird safe popcorn easily.

With an air popper, you don't need anything but the kernels to make popcorn. With the stove popper, you need some kind of oil, so I would suggest coconut oil. The last way to make popcorn safely is to place a small handful of kernels in a brown paper bag, fold down the top a few times, and put it in the microwave for a few seconds, till the pops are about 1 second apart. Don't leave it too long or it will get burned!

After you have some clean popcorn, you can thread it using the needle and thread.

Use your stopper to tie to the end so the popcorn won't just slide off. For pet birds you only need 10-15 pieces of popcorn but if you want to put some outside for wild birds, you may want a string several feet long. It's all up to you though.

Don't be surprised if your bird won't touch the treat for a few days. Many birds will take a little time to be comfortable enough with something in their cage to try chewing on it.