PVC Training Perch

[GandalfGreybird]

In prep to bring home my baby CAG, I've been researching training etc. I've seen many trainers, such as Barbara Heidenreich, use perches specific for training. Obviously you could use most any perch, but I would imagine having a clean distraction-free workspace would be a little nicer than the play gym. It also gives the bird a different frame of mind for hard work sessions. Not to mention my current perch is tying up my only stool as its just a table top perch I made from PVC. video here. Yes I'm a dork. I'm also running out today to pick up some more PVC to make a cage top play gym as Marble's cage is missing his.

 

In any case, here's a shot of the finished product as well as an illustrated break down of the parts and assembly. If you use the measurements I did you -should- end up using almost exactly 20' of PVC. Which is handy because they're typically sold in 10' sections. It also gives you lengths you can use if you need to trim the PVC to fit it in your car, and not worry about messing yourself up later.

 

 

 

I went out to my local hardware store and made the following perch for just $11, including the athletic wrap. I used 3/4" PVC, 1" will me a little more stable, I'll probably use that in the future at least for the frame, if not for the perch section itself (depending on the size of your bird). The athletic wrap I had to get from a farm supply store (Farm & Fleet) because I wanted colored wrap. You can find it in the equine section.

 

I chose colored wrap to help the humans in the house keep the perches straight, but the more I thought about it I realized the birds might benefit too if I train them to fly to different colored perches. That way if I move the perch above the window to above the bookshelf, etc. they won't be confused as I've trained them by perch not by location. We'll see how well that works. Alternatively you can use natural rope like Jute, but that does take much longer to apply. And it's not as pretty.

Edited May 26, 2011 by GandalfGreybird
added photo

[GandalfGreybird]

Went back to the store and got 1/2" PVC to top off Marble's cage today. Spent more time wrapping the jute than I did on the entire floor stand! Looks good though. Now all he has to do is learn that its not about to eat him.

 

 

Made intermediary rungs out of just the jute. Little Tiel legs don't reach quite that far.

Edited May 26, 2011 by GandalfGreybird

[GandalfGreybird]

I just realized how many stickers are on that. Should probably peel some off. Glue isn't good.

[k9nurse]

Looks great, are you taking orders? LOL

[JDS5607]

Very impressed!

Those look great! And I love the idea about the different colors!

[GandalfGreybird]

Thanks all. Really not hard to do. The rope is a little time consuming, but very cathartic. Just make sure you keep it very taught as you wrap it.

[Talon]

vet wrap works great to!

[GandalfGreybird]

That's what the colored stuff is. It does indeed

[InfamousAlice]

Thanks for this post! I saved the images to my phone and hit up Lowes! ha. It was so simple to create and Bob loves it! I added to it a bit so I could hang toys on it.

[GandalfGreybird]

Awesome! That was the point of the post. Love to see your variations.

[Doug]

How do you start and finish wrapping the twine?

 

 

 

Thanks all. Really not hard to do. The rope is a little time consuming, but very cathartic. Just make sure you keep it very taught as you wrap it.

[GandalfGreybird]

Ill do another quick demo and post some photos. Basically the first wrap is a basic loop with the tail running along the pipe. As you wrap it holds down the tail. Like I said I'll post photos.

[Doug]

I thought about that for the start, but I am struggling with the end.

 

You don't use glue, do you? Are there safe glues for bird stands/toys?

[GandalfGreybird]

No glue here. kinda the same thing but in the opposite direction. i'll do it at least twice, maybe three times and make sure all your wrapping and loops (at the end) are super tight. so far it hasn't come undone.