Cynthia & Percy
cockatoo mania
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avian Angel
Archiesmom is highlighting Elvis's Graceland
Interview Questions:
1~ What kind of birds do you have and how many birds did you design your setup for?
My special-abled bird is a peach-faced lovebird, named Elvis, and he is the only one that I designed the setup for. However, I purchased the cage specifically so that Elvis would be able to be near his beloved Akira, with a neat little divider between the two so that she wouldn’t be able to chase him around. The setup has worked wonderfully and Akira doesn’t seem to bother toes on the shared wall. Elvis appreciates being able to see his love without her being able to pick on him! I highly recommend double-flights to anyone who has a similar situation in their household.
2~ What is your birds handicap?
Elvis has severely splayed legs which makes it impossible for him to perch without assistance, as well as navigate a cage since he does not have the full use of one of his feet due to potential nerve damage. He is unable to get a good grip on the cage bar, which makes it difficult for him to further navigate the cage.
3~ Are there any budgeting tips you discovered while doing your setup?
Always look for sales! We have so many wonderful vendors on Avian Avenue, and there are lots of good deals to be had if you put the effort in to looking for them. Also, DIY is a completely acceptable option, especially when you know what you are looking to make, but can’t seem to find it. Also, in regards to the cage…check out Craigslist! There are lots of deals. This cage is actually Allison’s old double-flight that she had, and I got it for a fraction of the cost of buying a new one, which I am eternally grateful for.
4~ Is your setup changeable or stationary and do you add or make changes continually or do things stay primarily as is?
It’s changeable, and I’m currently tweaking it around to continue to work and improve Elvis’ experience. For instance, he was getting sores on his leg from spending too much time on his platform perches, so I moved them in his cage to help prevent him from using them as his sleeping perch. I’m adding things to his cage, but slowly. He still doesn’t play with toys, but seems to be learning. It’s a constant balance between adding fun things for him and making sure that they aren’t going to inhibit his ability to move around the cage since he needs to have space to utilize the cage bars. He can only do it in short spurts so he needs a strategically placed perch along the way to aid him.
5~ Where did you find your materials if you made it yourself or where did you purchase the setup and do you have favorite places to purchase safe toys and/or supplies that you find reliable?
I am making some platform perches for him that will be DIY. I picked up the untreated wood as scraps from a cabinet company and they were FREE and the hardware from Lowes. Most of the perches and toys in his cage have been purchased from various AA vendors when they were having sales, as well as a few toys were purchased locally, as I believe in helping support the local market as well.
For outside of the cage, I’m picking up some PVC piping and caps from Lowes and am going to be making some ceiling protectors so I can hang my GAG net (which Elvis is able to grip so long as he sits on one of the “knots” and he seems very capable at navigating the net), as well as an extension from the net for my Rosie triangle swing, as Elvis is able to perch on this toy while gripping the sides of the swing, and this is one of his favorites. He gets around quite well and is an adept flyer and lander now that he has had some practice.
6~ Do you have a favorite item that you bought for your setup?
His atom/boing! I think it’s just the prodigy pet one if I’m not mistaken. He loves it! He obviously can’t swing like a normal bird, but he can get in the center of it and the toy rocks back and forth and he seems to really be enjoying himself. It makes my heart glad to see him finding ways to enjoy the things that he otherwise wouldn’t be able to do.
7~ If you made any DIY toys what is your bird(s) favorite and were there any failures?
I have made toys on the skewers for my birds, to moderate success. I have one though that has been passed from bird cage to bird cage and it goes unplayed with
. Oh well! I think it looks cool anyway. Toy parts came as a gift from my SS, and the skewers I picked up on sale sometime last year.
8~ Did you incorporate into your setup any foraging toys and how did your bird(s) take to them and was age or inactivity a factor?
Elvis doesn’t really “forage” yet, with his grip it makes it hard for him to even get his food out of his bowl, but I have placed multiple bowls around his cage and will put treats in each one to try and encourage him to move around a bit. He enjoys millet, and I have a toy that requires him to forage for the millet which he seems to enjoy. I’m hoping to be able to get to a point where he will be able to rip open small medicine cups to get some millet eventually.
9~ What difficulties did you encounter, if any, and how did you remedy them?
Elvis wasn’t able to utilize a lot of his cage space because of his inability to get to the location. He depends on his beak to really aid him in moving around, and through trial and error in placement of perches, I found that if I put them all around his cage at certain levels, it would help encourage him to use the space. For instance, I had to place rope perches along the top, but then on the side underneath it, a platform perch that he could just slide down the bars to reach vs. having to attempt to crawl to. I made a hefty purchase of perches from The Cheeky Parrot store when they had their sale going on, and have used them to help give different textures and sizes for Elvis and to help increase his mobility. I’m also hoping that it will help with the use of his own foot if he has different varieties of perches because as far as I know, in his previous life he just had round dowel perches.
In regards to outside the cage, it was a pretty easy fix of wrapping vet wrap around the branches so he would have something to grip when he landed. He likes to be like all the other birdies, so that meant giving mom heart attacks when he would try to land on the tree gym to hang out with them as well. But he’s able to get a good grip and get settled with the vet wrap, and he’s learned which branches have something for his other leg to grab as well, so thankfully it’s worked itself out.
10~ What do you like least about your set up (if anything)?
I still haven’t successfully found a way for Elvis to be able to utilize the space under his platforms. He sometimes has difficulties navigating corners so I think that has something to do with why he can’t get under there. I feel like it’s a lot of wasted space on the one side of his cage, but he really likes the height of that platform so I don’t want to change it. I’m still trying to figure out how I could make it possible for him to get under there and be safe, as I wouldn’t want him to try sliding down or climbing up as I would worry about him attempting to wedge himself between the gap of the wall and the platform.
11~ What do you like most about your setup?
I like the space he has to fly! He’s learning that he can fly from cage wall to cage wall in his cage and get where he needs to go as well as using the walls for climbing. Also, the same goes for the room. Elvis is able to go anywhere in the bird room that the other birds go because of the room for flight. He really likes to think he’s a big tough boy when he can fly to Archie’s cage and strut around on the top, or fly to the tree-gym and join Akira for some raffia shredding!
12~ Did your bird(s) take to the setup right away or did they approach it tentatively needing time to adjust and do you feel their age was a factor?
Besides the fact that he doesn’t really know what to do with toys, Elvis is my fearless boy.
He has never backed down from anything that I’ve put in his cage or changes I’ve made, he just takes them in stride. He’s my brave little man!
13~ Any future renovations planned?
Always!
I’ve ordered the Foraging Bundle #6 from Avian Superstore, which includes the Mango Deluxe Foraging stand. It’s due to arrive next week sometime, and I am going to get that all set up. I’ll wrap it in vet wrap and Elvis can figure out where he needs to land so he can enjoy the stand. It’s also going to dictate where the GAG net goes, as I want to be sure that the birds are able to access both the tree gym and the playstand from either the sides, or the ends of the net, depending on placement. And I intend to have the Rosie swing hanging from the middle so Elvis can slide down from the net to his swing, and from there, have a clear flight path to both gyms.
And then Mr. Hunka Chunka Elvis himself...in AKIRA's cage, because he's my food thief!
Interview Questions:
1~ What kind of birds do you have and how many birds did you design your setup for?
My special-abled bird is a peach-faced lovebird, named Elvis, and he is the only one that I designed the setup for. However, I purchased the cage specifically so that Elvis would be able to be near his beloved Akira, with a neat little divider between the two so that she wouldn’t be able to chase him around. The setup has worked wonderfully and Akira doesn’t seem to bother toes on the shared wall. Elvis appreciates being able to see his love without her being able to pick on him! I highly recommend double-flights to anyone who has a similar situation in their household.
2~ What is your birds handicap?
Elvis has severely splayed legs which makes it impossible for him to perch without assistance, as well as navigate a cage since he does not have the full use of one of his feet due to potential nerve damage. He is unable to get a good grip on the cage bar, which makes it difficult for him to further navigate the cage.
3~ Are there any budgeting tips you discovered while doing your setup?
Always look for sales! We have so many wonderful vendors on Avian Avenue, and there are lots of good deals to be had if you put the effort in to looking for them. Also, DIY is a completely acceptable option, especially when you know what you are looking to make, but can’t seem to find it. Also, in regards to the cage…check out Craigslist! There are lots of deals. This cage is actually Allison’s old double-flight that she had, and I got it for a fraction of the cost of buying a new one, which I am eternally grateful for.
4~ Is your setup changeable or stationary and do you add or make changes continually or do things stay primarily as is?
It’s changeable, and I’m currently tweaking it around to continue to work and improve Elvis’ experience. For instance, he was getting sores on his leg from spending too much time on his platform perches, so I moved them in his cage to help prevent him from using them as his sleeping perch. I’m adding things to his cage, but slowly. He still doesn’t play with toys, but seems to be learning. It’s a constant balance between adding fun things for him and making sure that they aren’t going to inhibit his ability to move around the cage since he needs to have space to utilize the cage bars. He can only do it in short spurts so he needs a strategically placed perch along the way to aid him.
5~ Where did you find your materials if you made it yourself or where did you purchase the setup and do you have favorite places to purchase safe toys and/or supplies that you find reliable?
I am making some platform perches for him that will be DIY. I picked up the untreated wood as scraps from a cabinet company and they were FREE and the hardware from Lowes. Most of the perches and toys in his cage have been purchased from various AA vendors when they were having sales, as well as a few toys were purchased locally, as I believe in helping support the local market as well.
For outside of the cage, I’m picking up some PVC piping and caps from Lowes and am going to be making some ceiling protectors so I can hang my GAG net (which Elvis is able to grip so long as he sits on one of the “knots” and he seems very capable at navigating the net), as well as an extension from the net for my Rosie triangle swing, as Elvis is able to perch on this toy while gripping the sides of the swing, and this is one of his favorites. He gets around quite well and is an adept flyer and lander now that he has had some practice.
6~ Do you have a favorite item that you bought for your setup?
His atom/boing! I think it’s just the prodigy pet one if I’m not mistaken. He loves it! He obviously can’t swing like a normal bird, but he can get in the center of it and the toy rocks back and forth and he seems to really be enjoying himself. It makes my heart glad to see him finding ways to enjoy the things that he otherwise wouldn’t be able to do.
7~ If you made any DIY toys what is your bird(s) favorite and were there any failures?
I have made toys on the skewers for my birds, to moderate success. I have one though that has been passed from bird cage to bird cage and it goes unplayed with
. Oh well! I think it looks cool anyway. Toy parts came as a gift from my SS, and the skewers I picked up on sale sometime last year. 8~ Did you incorporate into your setup any foraging toys and how did your bird(s) take to them and was age or inactivity a factor?
Elvis doesn’t really “forage” yet, with his grip it makes it hard for him to even get his food out of his bowl, but I have placed multiple bowls around his cage and will put treats in each one to try and encourage him to move around a bit. He enjoys millet, and I have a toy that requires him to forage for the millet which he seems to enjoy. I’m hoping to be able to get to a point where he will be able to rip open small medicine cups to get some millet eventually.
9~ What difficulties did you encounter, if any, and how did you remedy them?
Elvis wasn’t able to utilize a lot of his cage space because of his inability to get to the location. He depends on his beak to really aid him in moving around, and through trial and error in placement of perches, I found that if I put them all around his cage at certain levels, it would help encourage him to use the space. For instance, I had to place rope perches along the top, but then on the side underneath it, a platform perch that he could just slide down the bars to reach vs. having to attempt to crawl to. I made a hefty purchase of perches from The Cheeky Parrot store when they had their sale going on, and have used them to help give different textures and sizes for Elvis and to help increase his mobility. I’m also hoping that it will help with the use of his own foot if he has different varieties of perches because as far as I know, in his previous life he just had round dowel perches.
In regards to outside the cage, it was a pretty easy fix of wrapping vet wrap around the branches so he would have something to grip when he landed. He likes to be like all the other birdies, so that meant giving mom heart attacks when he would try to land on the tree gym to hang out with them as well. But he’s able to get a good grip and get settled with the vet wrap, and he’s learned which branches have something for his other leg to grab as well, so thankfully it’s worked itself out.
10~ What do you like least about your set up (if anything)?
I still haven’t successfully found a way for Elvis to be able to utilize the space under his platforms. He sometimes has difficulties navigating corners so I think that has something to do with why he can’t get under there. I feel like it’s a lot of wasted space on the one side of his cage, but he really likes the height of that platform so I don’t want to change it. I’m still trying to figure out how I could make it possible for him to get under there and be safe, as I wouldn’t want him to try sliding down or climbing up as I would worry about him attempting to wedge himself between the gap of the wall and the platform.
11~ What do you like most about your setup?
I like the space he has to fly! He’s learning that he can fly from cage wall to cage wall in his cage and get where he needs to go as well as using the walls for climbing. Also, the same goes for the room. Elvis is able to go anywhere in the bird room that the other birds go because of the room for flight. He really likes to think he’s a big tough boy when he can fly to Archie’s cage and strut around on the top, or fly to the tree-gym and join Akira for some raffia shredding!
12~ Did your bird(s) take to the setup right away or did they approach it tentatively needing time to adjust and do you feel their age was a factor?
Besides the fact that he doesn’t really know what to do with toys, Elvis is my fearless boy.
He has never backed down from anything that I’ve put in his cage or changes I’ve made, he just takes them in stride. He’s my brave little man!13~ Any future renovations planned?
Always!
I’ve ordered the Foraging Bundle #6 from Avian Superstore, which includes the Mango Deluxe Foraging stand. It’s due to arrive next week sometime, and I am going to get that all set up. I’ll wrap it in vet wrap and Elvis can figure out where he needs to land so he can enjoy the stand. It’s also going to dictate where the GAG net goes, as I want to be sure that the birds are able to access both the tree gym and the playstand from either the sides, or the ends of the net, depending on placement. And I intend to have the Rosie swing hanging from the middle so Elvis can slide down from the net to his swing, and from there, have a clear flight path to both gyms.
And then Mr. Hunka Chunka Elvis himself...in AKIRA's cage, because he's my food thief!
