enrichment questions!

[animalover]

I want to build a play gym for my parrots because I noticed that they are very bored all the time, so my sister bought some bamboo sticks, but I said it would be too unstable for the long run, what about pvc pipes? they're very cheap in this area, and it would be so easy to build one, but im jus wondering if they're safe, ive seen a lot of people use them, but my sister tells me they release some sort of fume?? if thats true what else can I do? I cant do it with wood, so bamboo and pipes are my only option, I already have a layout of how it would look like, but I dont know what materials to use.

also unrelated, but my conure really loves chewing rubber, its the only thing that keeps him distracted and he will do it for hours straight, I dont let him swallow it, but I wanna know, is there any bird toys made of rubber? he wont touch anything else, ive tried a lot of things, but nothing works for him.

 

[animalover]

also, I need him to stay still so I can upon the ready pin feathers, they've been bugging him for a while, and it makes him really itchy, how do I get him to stay still, they've already grown too long and I literally just need to pop it and it will fall off on its own, so far I was only able to do one really quickly before he started moving again.

 

[Zara]

also, I need him to stay still so I can upon the ready pin feathers, they've been bugging him for a while, and it makes him really itchy, how do I get him to stay still, they've already grown too long and I literally just need to pop it and it will fall off on its own, so far I was only able to do one really quickly before he started moving again.

If he won´t stay still, maybe he doesn´t want your help preening.
Just offer him more bathing opportunities. That will help soften the keratin for him.

Bamboo sticks could work if you have a sturdy base.

 

[animalover]

If he won´t stay still, maybe he doesn´t want your help preening.
Just offer him more bathing opportunities. That will help soften the keratin for him.

Bamboo sticks could work if you have a sturdy base.

he started letting me help him more, I opened a few more but hes asleep now

 

[anurim]

they release some sort of fume

I'm definitely not an expert on this, but I do know that when you heat them up, they have a mild smell, which goes away after they cool down. I'm pretty sure that if you let the play gym a few hours to cool down, there shouldn't be any problems.

 

[animalover]

update: would it be better if I got a java tree instead? ill add a lot of toys to it too, but I found a lot of them, still on the hunt for better ones, but just wondering? I feel like they would really like it better than a play gym, and it would have different branch sizes.

 

[Ali]

update: would it be better if I got a java tree instead? ill add a lot of toys to it too, but I found a lot of them, still on the hunt for better ones, but just wondering? I feel like they would really like it better than a play gym, and it would have different branch sizes.

Yeah, that would be perfect!

 

[animalover]

okay so update;
all the java trees I found were from sketchy ads and over 100+ usd, which my mom said no to, she does not want us to waste our money on a dead tree, she said she can talk to her brother and have him get us a dead tree instead, and we can make our own one, some questions.

mdf or plywood? which one would be a better base, and what would be the best thickness?
can we just rinse it and disinfect it? or is there anything else we need to do?
how do we make sure that it is stable enough to not fall over?
I won't be able to drill a hole in it, we dont have a drill and theyre pretty pricey, but I guess all my siblings and I could chip in and buy one, how do we drill into it, do we need a super long nail? idk guys, no one in my family does woodworking so we dont know anything, do u think a Hardware store would be willing to drill the tree for us?
im specifically going to ask for a bird safe tree obv..
any advice would be great! thank u!

 

[anurim]

okay so update;
all the java trees I found were from sketchy ads and over 100+ usd, which my mom said no to, she does not want us to waste our money on a dead tree, she said she can talk to her brother and have him get us a dead tree instead, and we can make our own one, some questions.

mdf or plywood? which one would be a better base, and what would be the best thickness?
can we just rinse it and disinfect it? or is there anything else we need to do?
how do we make sure that it is stable enough to not fall over?
I won't be able to drill a hole in it, we dont have a drill and theyre pretty pricey, but I guess all my siblings and I could chip in and buy one, how do we drill into it, do we need a super long nail? idk guys, no one in my family does woodworking so we dont know anything, do u think a Hardware store would be willing to drill the tree for us?
im specifically going to ask for a bird safe tree obv..
any advice would be great! thank u!

Here’s a photo of how I did mine. It does need a drill, but I think it’s a little easier than putting a long screw trough it. It does not have toys yet, so you’ll only see the structure. Idk anything about the wood, I used some safe wood from my uncle’s garden (I forgot the name) It uses these, which are in an L form.For the base I used 4 of these, and for each branch only one. You can see them if you look closely, they are brown to match the wood, but I think you can notice them. Hope it helps you

 

[animalover]

Here’s a photo of how I did mine. It does need a drill, but I think it’s a little easier than putting a long screw trough it. It does not have toys yet, so you’ll only see the structure. Idk anything about the wood, I used some safe wood from my uncle’s garden (I forgot the name) View attachment 357781 View attachment 357782 It uses these, which are in an L form.For the base I used 4 of these, and for each branch only one. You can see them if you look closely, they are brown to match the wood, but I think you can notice them. Hope it helps you

ooh I just noticed why you need one for each branch, im getting something like this
so I dont think it will be necessary for me, but I will do the ones for the base tho, im not going to be able to keep it in one place in the house, so im making a base with wheels, which im guessing is still fine, thank you so much! it really helped!

 

[anurim]

ooh I just noticed why you need one for each branch, im getting something like this View attachment 357783
so I dont think it will be necessary for me, but I will do the ones for the base tho, im not going to be able to keep it in one place in the house, so im making a base with wheels, which im guessing is still fine, thank you so much! it really helped!

Ohh, that looks cool! Yep, I’m pretty sure it works too. Don’t forget to add pictures when you finish it!