We are very happy to announce Cydney (Cydney) as our July featured Feathered Estates setup! The Theme for July is 'Setups Used By A Single Bird'. Cydney sure has made an awesome place for Kai to enjoy!
1 - What kind of birds do you have and how many birds did you design your setup for?
Kai is my only bird, thus his setup is completely for him. He’s an Iris Lorikeet, almost three years old and usually weighs about 60 grams. This past month my roommate and I moved and my bedroom ended up with a ‘nook’ from a stairwell that was promptly turned into Kai’s play area. While I do have a cage for him for when I’m at work or at night, he spends a lot of his time out on his stand.
2 - Is your setup for a handicapped bird?
No, though I’m sure it could be with a few renovations.
3 - Are there any budgeting tips you discovered while doing your setup?
I’m a college student, so I’m always on a budget! I wait for sales, shop for prices and make as much as I can on my own. I’ve found that skewers are the most efficient way for me to be able to constantly change up Kai’s toys without always buying new things. I also take advantage of natural entertainment when I visit my parents. Dandelions and Willow branches make excellent foraging/shredding toys as long as you get them from a reputable source! Michaels, Lowes and Home Depot are great for supplies shopping as well.
Having a small bird makes it a little easier to afford some of the ‘cooler’ toys simply due to size and shipping cost.
4 - Is your setup changeable or stationary and do you add or make changes continually or do things stay primarily as is?
Given the space in my room, there aren’t many places for Kai’s setup to go. I do change out the toy hooks above and on the playstand with different toys to give him variety. I’m constantly stringing up new skewers and changing Kai’s toys around in his cage and his play area, though the main pieces of his setup, the cage and the stand, remain in the same place for the most part. I also have a cagetop playstand that was given to me by a friend who didn’t use it. It sits in our living room for when Kai comes to hang out with my roommate and me.
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 made Kai’s playstand out of branches that had fallen from a Maple tree during a bad ice storm two winters back. I stripped the bark from the branches and let everything dry out for a couple weeks. Afterwards I had my tool-savvy dad and grandpa help me put everything together. For Kai’s window shelf I bought an untreated plank at a hardware store and had them cut it to size.
I don’t often order new toys but when I do, I prefer to use AA vendors and avoid buying things from box stores.
6 - Do you have a favorite item that you bought for your setup?
My current favorite item is my new MPBT skewer from the SWS! Kai also loves his BOTR perch from Aunt Joanna and his corner shelf in his cage. I also have three pieces of awesome grapevine that will eventually become a hanging gym. Another excellent purchase was Kai’s flight cage. Even at just 60 grams, Kai is more active than a lot of birds. I can’t imagine keeping him in any smaller of a cage as he uses every bit of space.
I have to say, I also love Kai’s pedicure perch. It’s the easiest way to keep his toenails from getting needle sharp!
7 - If you made any DIY toys what is your bird(s) favorite and were there any failures?
Kai’s favorite ‘toy’ is his playstand. He spends a lot of time on it and he’s reliable enough to be left out when I’m not in the room or gone for short periods of time. My dad had a piece of plywood for a base I purchased a laminated tile for the top and wheels to make the stand mobile. With SS hardware for toy hooks, the whole stand cost me less than $30 to make. Kai also really loves the small orbit/atom I made for him using clear pvc and untreated twine.
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?
I didn’t originally design his setup with foraging in mind. The majority of Kai’s food will spoil if left for extended periods of time (birdie bread, fresh fruit and veggies, nectar) so that makes things a little more difficult. However, he’s always willing to forage for dried chili peppers in shredded paper in his foraging sphere in his cage and for assorted foot toys in his SS toy bucket on his playstand.
9 - What difficulties did you encounter, if any, and how did you remedy them?
Renting is the largest difficulty, though having a small bird makes it a little more manageable. It’s easier to fit more small things into a small space than it would be if I had a larger bird.
Having a small lorikeet, I had to take the mess potential into account. To keep the landlady happy, my friend and I thumbtacked clear plastic (think dropcloth type) to the walls around Kai’s space. With his nook, I knew I didn’t want him in the very bottom corner of the space, as there’s no real efficient way to get back there since it’s under a stairwell and slanted. To avoid that, we created a false wall with the plastic sheeting. We also put a sheet of plastic on the floor under where the playstand would be. Once that was in place, I laid down newspaper under the stand area (free and easy to change), plastic desk chair mats under the cage area and a throw rug out in front of the cage. I also hung a cloth shower curtain behind his cage. The rug and the curtain are easily washed, too.
10 - What do you like least about your set up (if anything)?
Given the shape of the space, it’s kind of awkward to clean. The ‘leave no trace’ with having birds and renting is a pain as well. I’d love to eventually have more space to dedicate to him so he can have multiple stations to choose from.
11 - What do you like most about your setup?
I enjoy that Kai has his own space, even if it is in my room. The window nook only has his stand and toys in it and he has the space to play independently if he likes. I fitted a ‘shelf’ of sorts over the original windowsill so Kai has somewhere safe and flat to play in front of the window. The stand itself is another favorite about his setup.
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?
There isn’t much that Kai is afraid of. He’s still young but has always been exposed to many new things without problems. He took to his stand right away. The window shelf in his current setup probably took the most warm up time. It wasn’t so much that he was afraid of it, but moreso that he would rather play on his more familiar toys.
13 - Any future renovations planned?
Always.
Right now the big one is the grapevine flyer I want to make. It’ll be hung between his cage and his floor stand.
1 - What kind of birds do you have and how many birds did you design your setup for?
Kai is my only bird, thus his setup is completely for him. He’s an Iris Lorikeet, almost three years old and usually weighs about 60 grams. This past month my roommate and I moved and my bedroom ended up with a ‘nook’ from a stairwell that was promptly turned into Kai’s play area. While I do have a cage for him for when I’m at work or at night, he spends a lot of his time out on his stand.
2 - Is your setup for a handicapped bird?
No, though I’m sure it could be with a few renovations.
3 - Are there any budgeting tips you discovered while doing your setup?
I’m a college student, so I’m always on a budget! I wait for sales, shop for prices and make as much as I can on my own. I’ve found that skewers are the most efficient way for me to be able to constantly change up Kai’s toys without always buying new things. I also take advantage of natural entertainment when I visit my parents. Dandelions and Willow branches make excellent foraging/shredding toys as long as you get them from a reputable source! Michaels, Lowes and Home Depot are great for supplies shopping as well.
Having a small bird makes it a little easier to afford some of the ‘cooler’ toys simply due to size and shipping cost.
4 - Is your setup changeable or stationary and do you add or make changes continually or do things stay primarily as is?
Given the space in my room, there aren’t many places for Kai’s setup to go. I do change out the toy hooks above and on the playstand with different toys to give him variety. I’m constantly stringing up new skewers and changing Kai’s toys around in his cage and his play area, though the main pieces of his setup, the cage and the stand, remain in the same place for the most part. I also have a cagetop playstand that was given to me by a friend who didn’t use it. It sits in our living room for when Kai comes to hang out with my roommate and me.
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 made Kai’s playstand out of branches that had fallen from a Maple tree during a bad ice storm two winters back. I stripped the bark from the branches and let everything dry out for a couple weeks. Afterwards I had my tool-savvy dad and grandpa help me put everything together. For Kai’s window shelf I bought an untreated plank at a hardware store and had them cut it to size.
I don’t often order new toys but when I do, I prefer to use AA vendors and avoid buying things from box stores.
6 - Do you have a favorite item that you bought for your setup?
My current favorite item is my new MPBT skewer from the SWS! Kai also loves his BOTR perch from Aunt Joanna and his corner shelf in his cage. I also have three pieces of awesome grapevine that will eventually become a hanging gym. Another excellent purchase was Kai’s flight cage. Even at just 60 grams, Kai is more active than a lot of birds. I can’t imagine keeping him in any smaller of a cage as he uses every bit of space.
I have to say, I also love Kai’s pedicure perch. It’s the easiest way to keep his toenails from getting needle sharp!
7 - If you made any DIY toys what is your bird(s) favorite and were there any failures?
Kai’s favorite ‘toy’ is his playstand. He spends a lot of time on it and he’s reliable enough to be left out when I’m not in the room or gone for short periods of time. My dad had a piece of plywood for a base I purchased a laminated tile for the top and wheels to make the stand mobile. With SS hardware for toy hooks, the whole stand cost me less than $30 to make. Kai also really loves the small orbit/atom I made for him using clear pvc and untreated twine.
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?
I didn’t originally design his setup with foraging in mind. The majority of Kai’s food will spoil if left for extended periods of time (birdie bread, fresh fruit and veggies, nectar) so that makes things a little more difficult. However, he’s always willing to forage for dried chili peppers in shredded paper in his foraging sphere in his cage and for assorted foot toys in his SS toy bucket on his playstand.
9 - What difficulties did you encounter, if any, and how did you remedy them?
Renting is the largest difficulty, though having a small bird makes it a little more manageable. It’s easier to fit more small things into a small space than it would be if I had a larger bird.
Having a small lorikeet, I had to take the mess potential into account. To keep the landlady happy, my friend and I thumbtacked clear plastic (think dropcloth type) to the walls around Kai’s space. With his nook, I knew I didn’t want him in the very bottom corner of the space, as there’s no real efficient way to get back there since it’s under a stairwell and slanted. To avoid that, we created a false wall with the plastic sheeting. We also put a sheet of plastic on the floor under where the playstand would be. Once that was in place, I laid down newspaper under the stand area (free and easy to change), plastic desk chair mats under the cage area and a throw rug out in front of the cage. I also hung a cloth shower curtain behind his cage. The rug and the curtain are easily washed, too.
10 - What do you like least about your set up (if anything)?
Given the shape of the space, it’s kind of awkward to clean. The ‘leave no trace’ with having birds and renting is a pain as well. I’d love to eventually have more space to dedicate to him so he can have multiple stations to choose from.
11 - What do you like most about your setup?
I enjoy that Kai has his own space, even if it is in my room. The window nook only has his stand and toys in it and he has the space to play independently if he likes. I fitted a ‘shelf’ of sorts over the original windowsill so Kai has somewhere safe and flat to play in front of the window. The stand itself is another favorite about his setup.
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?
There isn’t much that Kai is afraid of. He’s still young but has always been exposed to many new things without problems. He took to his stand right away. The window shelf in his current setup probably took the most warm up time. It wasn’t so much that he was afraid of it, but moreso that he would rather play on his more familiar toys.
13 - Any future renovations planned?
Always.
Right now the big one is the grapevine flyer I want to make. It’ll be hung between his cage and his floor stand.
That looks awesome....you clearly love your little fid!
