Raising Rocko: Another Way to Feed Your Hungry Toucan

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Toco toucan Rocko is SUCH a great eater. Lately I’ve been branching out and trying new things and I’m finding it helps so much to keep a list of what my birds can eat, what is good for them and what’s better used in moderation right in my kitchen so that those items do or don’t make it on a grocery list and into their mouths later.

For Christmas our friend sent us a box full of pears, and they were PERFECTLY ripe! I stabbed a couple through a skewer for the first time ever for Rocko and he LOVED the new game of “eating the pear”. I started by holding it for him, then once he got the hang of it after I peeled some of the skin off to expose the juicy fruit, I was able to attach it right by his food dish at the perfect height for him to dig into it.

He had a blast and it let me know that I could pit the pears next time and hang them on the skewer for him again in the future. Skewers have always worked perfectly well for my toucans in the past and I love that Rocko appreciates them too.

Another thing you can do with toucans is use twine or thread of some sort and string the fruit along that, almost like Christmas-light style and weave it or hang it upon their aviaries/cages for them to eat. Since toucans can’t chew or destroy things like parrots, they are much easier to provide foraging opportunities for that won’t be of one time use!

(Always omit seeds and pits when using the skewer, this was just a test with Rocko and wasn’t left in his cage all day but if you plan on leaving it cut the fruit and take the cores out so it’s safe for your birds. Even toucans shouldn’t have seeds.)