Does anyone have links to cheap materials/toys for a bird play stand?

[Ilse]

I'm looking to make the ultimate birdie play gym- I'm not willing to spend $70 AUD for a little thing that will barely hold Red and I've been feeling crafty lately, so what do you guys think would be good to buy and use?

I'm looking solely for links because at the moment we don't have a car! We just happened to get caught in the terrible hailstorm in Australia's capital and our car was written off instantly- The back window is completely gone, the front one is cracked, and the car is covered in dents. Obviously because of that I can't go out and get any materials just yet, but once we have access to a vehicle I'm planning to go to Bunnings to get some wood and maybe some pipes if they have them.

Also, I know some kinds of wood are toxic, but does anyone know if birds actually have a preference for a type of wood? I know it doesn't really matter as long as it's safe but if they do, I'd try to get that!

 

[Shezbug]

For the actual play gym you could use a wooden close horse and add toys, tunnels and bridges to it maybe?
Bunnings will certainly have things you can use.... untreated pine is what you will want (they have pretty sanded stuff and not so pretty stuff so double check you’re getting the cheaper non showy stuff) and they will even cut it to the length you want if you ask them, they hardly ever charge for the extra service. They sell balsa bits and pieces in the craft section which is usually somewhere near the paint section and last I checked they sold sea grass mats which were not chemically treated in anyway.
I’m sorry to hear about your car, I hope your insurance comes through fairly quickly so you can replace the car.

 

[Yoshi&Raphi]

You can make one pretty cheaply! I made one using a umbrella stand: to hold the branch in place, rope twine and sea grass matts (you can find them in the door matt section in Bunnings for only $2!)

 

[Davi]

So sorry to hear about your car - that's tough and I hope you have your transportation back again soon! I've done the same thing suggested by @Yoshi&Raphi (using a heavy outdoor umbrella stand to hold a branch/pole that I then add on to. As to what wood your bird will prefer, that depends on how much of a woodchuck they think they are! My budgie and cockatiels only like the soft stuff, like balsa and very thin pine, but my sun conure likes to get in there and chew on anything she can get her beak on!

 

[Hahns0hmy]

for about 50.00 you can build one out of pvc and the best part is you can constantly remove the pieces and change it around so they dont get bored.

 

[Fuzzy]

Also think about hanging gyms... a large Boing screwed to the ceiling is great fun and you could hang a toy down the middle. If you have access to large multistemmed branches you can set them in cement in a terracotta pot.

Really sorry about your car.

 

[Mhert]

Cargo nets or anything up high tend to be a great hit. Some people will use the slide out tray from their cages and hang those up too, could put a lot of boings or rope perches on it.
Plastic chain is cheap, my IRN and sunnie enjoy the challenge of walking across them, you can also hang toys and boings off of that.

 

[222katie]

I'm looking to make the ultimate birdie play gym- I'm not willing to spend $70 AUD for a little thing that will barely hold Red and I've been feeling crafty lately, so what do you guys think would be good to buy and use?

I'm looking solely for links because at the moment we don't have a car! We just happened to get caught in the terrible hailstorm in Australia's capital and our car was written off instantly- The back window is completely gone, the front one is cracked, and the car is covered in dents. Obviously because of that I can't go out and get any materials just yet, but once we have access to a vehicle I'm planning to go to Bunnings to get some wood and maybe some pipes if they have them.

Also, I know some kinds of wood are toxic, but does anyone know if birds actually have a preference for a type of wood? I know it doesn't really matter as long as it's safe but if they do, I'd try to get that!

Someone has probably already said this somewhere below but pvc pipe is cheap and fantastic! Just get some vet wrap and wrap the places the bird will be walking for traction. There’s no limits to size or shape and they’re actually a blast to design and put together. I’ve already made two gyms for my bird, a large one for the living room and a small one for moving around the house.

 

[ali_and_birdie]

I'm looking to make the ultimate birdie play gym- I'm not willing to spend $70 AUD for a little thing that will barely hold Red and I've been feeling crafty lately, so what do you guys think would be good to buy and use?

I realize I'm posting this a little bit late, but ... here's my 2 cents:

I have 2 play gyms that I made out of garment racks, which you can order from Amazon or other websites pretty cheaply. One is made of bamboo and the other metal but I wrapped both of the top bars (you can do this with vet wrap, hemp rope, etc). I wrapped the bamboo one because I wasn't sure if it was sealed with anything toxic and I didn't want her to be able to chew on it. I wrapped the metal one just because it was super slippery.
You can hang ropes, ladders, other toys, etc from the top bar.

I forget where I got the metal one but the bamboo one is the Homfa Bamboo Clothes Rack from Amazon ($38 USD). I have toys hanging from the top bar, and there are 2 sort of shelves at the bottom -- I lay paper towels on the top shelf to catch poop, since it's right under the bar, and I store toy making supplies on the bottom shelf.

 

[Gribouille]

Here is mine, didn't cost a thing. I collected the wood outside, bore holes and glued "extra" branches. I got the rope cheap from a natural-materials dog toy I untied, and the curtain rode is the cheapest one from IKEA (bought it for my boy's room in our former house, didn't need it here).

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