Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Cool Playstand!

One of my customers, who recently purchased a blue quaker parrot from me sent me photos of a great playstand he made for his new feathered family member. Anyone who has purchased a bird from me knows I emphasize using rope perches and wrapping slippery perches/play areas with vetwrap and/or sissel to give young birds good grip. Young birds on slippery perches will slip and fall, destroying their confidence. This lack of confidence causes a young bird to not move around the cage like it should and can even cause stress related behaviors such as screaming and feather plucking.
I was so impressed with this stand, I wanted to share it with others. :-)

Jerry told me the following about the stand he made: "It was made from 1/2" PVC pipe. It is 41" tall by 20" wide. Wrapped in natural sisal rope and vet wrap. This includes swing, perch, sisal rope ladder, and a treat dish. The whole project excluding the toys cost approx. $35. Savings based on internet price is about $100!!!!!"

If anyone is interested, it was constructed with about 15ft of the 1/2" PVC pipe. 4 - 45 degree elbows, 8 - 1/2" PVC caps, 6 - T PVC fittings, 5 - 90 degree elbows, 1 cross fitting, 1 1/4" PVC cap, pack of sisal rope, 2 rolls of vet wrap."

This was a family project. Jerry and his 9 year old son built the stand, and his wife helped wrap it in sisal and vetwrap. That's a lot of wrapping LOL!

Quaker parrot "Fisher" enjoying his new playstand. His owner, Jerry did a tremendous job! Note how Jerry wrapped all the surfaces with both vetwrap and sissel rope so his baby could climb and play without slipping.
A food cup allows Fisher to grab a snack when he gets hungry.

With the surfaces wrapped, Fisher can climb and play anywhere on his stand. Look at how he is playing with this toy while perching at an angle. This baby has plenty of confidence due to the grippable surfaces.


A sissel rope ladder adds a fun dimension to this already great play area!