reptoman Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 I built a playstand yesterday. Let me know what you all think about this. I have it mounted to a 3/4 peice of plywood with a large lag screw coming up through the middle of the trunk and another screw to keep it from spinning. The stand is right around 5 feet tall give or take a few inches. I took quite a bit of time to get it balanced just right so the tree would stand by itself without the bottom. Makes it really stable. There are 4 locking casters on the bottom so it rolls really easily and the white plastic bottom cover is a sterilite lid from a large tote. The wood is Crepe Myrtle. I saw that it was on the safe wood list so I downsized one of our trees to make this stand . I plan to hang some small toys from this in the next few days. Any suggestions on perch placement, etc are welcome. We will have our Timneh African Grey within a month so this is for her. Thanks! 1
BaileysPapa Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 She'll love it. And if not, send it to my house!
SRSeedBurners Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 Go to Big Lots and get their cheap table covers. Put it on the floor underneath to capture the mess. We ditched all of our floor standing perches in favor of hanging perches - makes it easy to clean. However I still have to chase those floofies all over the house with the wet/dry vac.
Talon Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 Wow. Love it!! Wish I was as clever!! Your bird (once the fear goes away) will have a blast on it and the price was right!!
alex2014 Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 Great job, my 2 tree stands are where Alex and Rocco love to hang out
judygram Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 That stand looks better than some I have seen with big price tags, what a lucky girl she is going to be.
reptoman Posted April 2, 2015 Author Posted April 2, 2015 Thanks for all the nice comments! I can't wait to see if she takes to the play stand.
neoow Posted April 2, 2015 Posted April 2, 2015 Just take it nice and slowly. Alfie always takes a little while to adapt to new things. Especially big scary play stands. It takes time and patience before he'll go anywhere near it, let alone put a foot on it. Don't try and force her on there, as it'll make it even scarier and the process will take even longer. If it's in view of her cage as soon as you get her home, it will be a bit easier, as she'll be able to observe it from a distance before trying it out.
alex2014 Posted April 2, 2015 Posted April 2, 2015 Definitely different for for each bird, when i brought mine home it took Alex about a week before he got onto the tree, but Rocco flew to it and started playing as soon as i turned my back
reptoman Posted April 2, 2015 Author Posted April 2, 2015 I plan to leave it in the room where the cage is so she will see it from the start. I plan to let her explore it from the floor on her own before I try and put her in it. 1
Timbersmom Posted April 3, 2015 Posted April 3, 2015 That's a good plan. It is always best and quicker if you let them "discover" new items on their own and in their own time.
Inara Posted April 4, 2015 Posted April 4, 2015 Beautiful stand. Your new girl is going to be in heaven. My sweet timneh, HRH Inara, loves her tree. She watched me put it together and then I set it outside of her cage. She looks to me for how to respond to things in the environment so I made sure to touch it a lot in front of her and talk about what a good tree it is. If *we* act weird about things, we convey to them that something is to be avoided, in general. Inara, is pretty intrepid about following my lead, so I just walked over to her tree the morning after I had put it together, with her on my arm and some of her favorite little treats, and gave her a few nibbles as she visually examined the tree. Then we went about our usual routine. I set her back at her cage, had just turned my back when I heard the flutter of wings, and she was happily perched in it. In fact, that is where she is now as I type, happily hanging upsidedown from a toy and....oooooops! She just flew over here! You have the luxury of having a baby bird with no history who will likely be more curious about things than fearful of them. She will look to you for clues on how to react and has the potential to become a relaxed, easy going bird. She does not come to you with having had several homes and changing, unpredictable situations before. Talk to her using good language, and describe things clearly to her and you and she will be delighted at how quickly you will understand one another. Loved all the photos, and how diligent you are about preparing for her. Can't wait to watch her grow! 1
reptoman Posted April 5, 2015 Author Posted April 5, 2015 Thank you! I can't wait to get started with her. It seems like it is taking forever but it wont be too long now. I love the picture of your girl, Inara! She really is beautiful.
Acappella Posted April 6, 2015 Posted April 6, 2015 Beautiful job. The only thing I'd add is a bowl or two for treats. Less necessary if your bird is flighted and can fly back to his cage for food or water whenever he wants to. On the stand I built for Dorian I had to add dishes as he doesn't know how to fly.
reptoman Posted April 7, 2015 Author Posted April 7, 2015 I am still working out what to add to the branches. I am thinking a stainless cup or 2 would be a good addition as well. I will add some screw eyes this weekend for hanging toys and other interesting things.
SRSeedBurners Posted April 7, 2015 Posted April 7, 2015 If she turns out to be a wild thing like GreycieMae, she'll like plastic chains with bells. I found that hanging the toys from the roof above the solid playstand/cage/etc works best. Greycie's favorite toy is a plastic chain with bell near the top and one off the end of the chain. She gets going wild on that thing sometimes.
Acappella Posted April 12, 2015 Posted April 12, 2015 Here's a video I did a few years of Dorians playstand. I thought it might be helpful to see how I attached the toys and cups since several years in he still hasn't been able to disassemble any of it lol! http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?195538-Playstand-I-made-for-Dorian&highlight=Playstand+Made+Dorian
reptoman Posted April 16, 2015 Author Posted April 16, 2015 Thanks for the video link Accapella looks very cool. I need to get a few bells and start putting mine together. Those were some very good ideas. How often do you have to take that stand outside to hose it off? It looks like he does his share of pooping on it as well as the base. I assumed that would be the case when I built mine.
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