What do you get the bird who has nothing?
Granted, Harry, our parakeet, has a swing, rings and a climbing toy. But those get old. Hanukkah’s nearly here and Harry deserves a treat. Surely, there must be something new that’s for the birds.
There is. There are – several things, in fact. We ordered a few and gave them a try.
Harry’s just wild about millet, but the Sun Seed Company thinks he wants more. Its Homestyle Easy Meals Bean Pastamore, a freeze-dried melange of beans, rotini pasta and fruit, is billed as “a complete, home-cooked Italian dinner” and can be microwaved in 2 minutes – about the same time it takes to nuke leftover lasagna.
The directions are sketchy: You’re supposed to add just enough water to let two tablespoons of mix “float freely.” But good luck microwaving two tablespoons of anything. The water ran evaporated. Next we tried adding hot water and (per the directions) letting it steep, then cool. Either way, the results did not tempt Harry, who took one beady-eyed look and hung upside down on his perch.
At long last he pecked at a bean and jumped back. He didn’t deign to try the rotini pasta, obviously subscribing to the theory, “Never eat anything bigger than your head.”
Harry’s finickiness aside, we had high hopes for Kong. Kong, king of the dog toys, now markets one for birds – a bright red rubber thing that looks like something from the Museum of Modern Art’s design store.
We stuffed its hollow core with a sprig of millet – the only treat that wouldn’t pour right out again. (A stopper would be handy, and you could teach your bird a new trick in the bargain.) Then we clipped it to the cage and waited.
Harry did his usual backward perch flip, then leapt away. Not even the millet tempted him. Once we saw him give it a half-hearted peck, but that was it.
We were beginning to despair when along came Mirror Mate – a mirrored perch with a built-in motion sensor. Once it detects any movement or change in lighting, it triggers a prerecorded 10-second message or song.
We sprung for the expensive version – which lets you record your own message – and sat back. Curious, Harry fluttered to the perch. (Did we mention it comes with a food tray?)
“Hi, Harry! Hi, Harry!” said the mirror. Harry fluffed his feathers. “Hi, Harry! Hi, Harry!” He looked, he ate – he was enchanted.
Luckily, the mirror can be turned off at night.
Finally, there’s the Barcelona cage, a kind of bird condo with its own “mess containment system” – a contoured apron to catch debris. It comes in four “decorator” colors and boasts architectural side panels, a patented door latch – and a suggested retail price of $129.
Harry cost $19.99.
Maybe for his birthday.
Here’s where you can find the bird products mentioned in the story.
Sunseed Homestyle Easy Meals Bean Pastamore sells for $5.99 to $6.99 at the following New York City stores: Animal Crackers, Mikey’s Pet Shop and Dudley’s Paw.
Bird Kong ($5.95 small, $6.95 large) is available at PetCo and Pet Supplies Plus.
Mirror Mate ($23.99 for the recordable voice option, $16.99 for a prerecorded bird song) will be available at local New York PetsMart stores in December. To order the Barcelona bird cage ($129) call (888) 553-BIRD, or visit http://www.animalenvironments.com