Where can I buy these parakeet/small animal chews in bulk?

November 6, 2013 7:21 AM

My budgies love love love these chew toys and are about to chew their way through a third of these, made from the same stuff. But at $10 a piece, it's getting a little ridiculous. That first link says they're made of yucca -- is there somewhere I can either buy these toys in bulk, or just get ahold of tons of the raw (dried) material and cut it up myself?
posted by fiercecupcake to Pets & Animals (5 answers total)

One of my neighbours had a big yucca in his garden which I cut down for him. I could have cut you an eight-foot long stack of those chips. But that was last year.

Maybe try an ad to see if anyone local to you has one they want cut down? They're very soft and fibrous - quite easy to cut even with a handsaw.
posted by pipeski at 7:49 AM on November 6, 2013

Yep, asking around is a good bet! At least a few of your neighbors probably have flowering yucca plants in their yards; you could try offering a nominal amount of cash in exchange for the ability to pick up their spent stalks since most people don't use the plants for anything but decoration. They are commonly used as firestarters because the dried stalk 'wood' has a very low ignition temperature, so if you're aware of any wildcrafting/naturalist/survivalist circles, those folks might be able to help you fine-tune your search.

This store appears to offer bulk yucca wood, though they're currently out of stock -- you might drop them a line to see if/when it will be back, or where they source their raw materials.

Otherwise, here is a store that sells the chips in bags of 100.
posted by divined by radio at 8:08 AM on November 6, 2013

This place has a bunch of yucca rounds - 100 for $29.
posted by barnone at 8:23 AM on November 6, 2013

Response by poster: So it is the stalks? They look so small. The toy in the second link is probably at least 4" in diameter.
posted by fiercecupcake at 9:25 AM on November 6, 2013

Some yuccas grow to the size of small trees. The one I cut down was about 10 feet tall and easily six inches in diameter.
posted by pipeski at 9:56 AM on November 6, 2013