Need recommendation for playstand/play gym

[vsk101]

hi there, i'm looking for a large floor playstand for my SI eclectus. I have read soft woods like bottle brush are good. Can someone recommend a playstand? I'm unlikely to make it myself, realistically. I have also heard grapevine and dragon wood are good so any wood suggestions to look for would be appreciated. I prefer not to buy from a large seller that also sells birds because I don't want to encourage that. Thanks

 

[1oldparroter]

The info I was going to give, is on a computer the wifi went out on. However, I used Google and searched several ways for woods safe to parrots and foods. YouTube.com is also another research tool with a search window. I copy and paste to a Desktop folder these various articles or even video's sometime. Youtube has a save function and you can make a folder in it. Grapevine is a safe wood, a coffee tree (not bush), Eucalyptus, Bamboo, Dogwood, Crab apple, Magnolia or Rubber tree for a few. OMG, there are so many "DON"T's" though. Plants, fruit pits like apple, avacado (at all), candles and scents, teflon in the kitchen. By all means skim this site's various threads and topics. jh PS: By all means don't be afraid to build the play gym yourself. Here is a fairly simple way. Use grapevine that is dried and whittle the ends to fit into pvc or its fittings. Use the pvc pipe and fittings to join the grapevine horizontal pieces. Use pure stainless steel or other no toxic metal hardware. Peel the bark from grapevine (or which other wood), lightly sand, soak in few gals of water with 1 tablespoon of bleach for 1 hour, then rinse seally well with fresh water and dry in oven at 250 degree's F (article says); then whittle end's to tight fit in pvc connectors and drill small guide hole into fitting so as to put a screw into the wood. I would be glad to consult. Same name on facebook. jh

 

[vsk101]

Thank you! I live in a small apt in a city and have little space for construction projects unfortunately, so I am hoping to find something to buy and keep for a very long time. Do you have any opinions on ribbonwood (i'm told it's like Arcadia or Acacia) vs grapevine vs eucaplytus?

 

[noodles123]

Note: I have not purchased these, but you can buy some new on ebay etc (not used)-- This one is very small for an eclectus, but you get the idea of what you are basically needing to buy. They aren't cheap, but they are very useful. I would go bigger than this though, for sure...This is, again, quite small

https://www.ebay.com/p/1131574269

This is more along the lines of what would be ideal--- expensive (for sure) but they generally are...I have never bought from these people, but this is kind of what you should probably be considering in the long-run:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/5-AFGRAY-G...188528?hash=item1a8c4fc830:g:SqcAAMXQrC9ScCr1 ---never buy a used play-stand (wood absorbs all sorts of nasty stuff-- so do verify new vs used before purchasing anything).

Another nice (but expensive) option https://www.ebay.com/itm/Manzanita-...noa=1&pg=2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1

Harder to tell the size on this one, but it is a bit cheaper, so it may be worth looking into-- it just looks quite short..like a table-top perch rather than a stand-alone.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3FT-GRAY-G...533348?hash=item1a85b75164:g:~zMAAOSwLVZV3ksc

 

[vsk101]

Thank you, these look amazing! I don't want Manzanita I don't think, because it is such a hard wood. But it gives me an idea of the type of thing to look for in a different wood

 

[noodles123]

Just make sure you know where the wood is coming from--- it isn't safe to use wood from trees that have been near road-sides or trees that have been exposed to chemical sprays/fertilizers etc. They absorb salt, insecticides etc and then it can harm the bird. Also, fungi, mold, viruses and insects can harm a bird on fresh wood (because captive birds don't have the same immunity as wild birds and because a lot of wild birds die off young as a result of disease) --which is why a lot of places kiln-dry or oven-bake the wood (following a good scrubbing). Glues etc should be bird-safe only. Also, never use power-washed or treated woods from a store to try and make your own.

 

[Shine]

I have a stand I got from manzanita habitats.com. ( same company that makes the one in noodles first link) I love it! It's great quality and the customer service is great! It's a small mom and pop shop, family run business. The one I have is a different model and is plenty big for my amazon.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[vsk101]

"Just make sure you know where the wood is coming from--- it isn't safe to use wood from trees that have been near road-sides or trees that have been exposed to chemical sprays/fertilizers etc. They absorb salt, insecticides etc and then it can harm the bird. Also, fungi, mold, viruses and insects can harm a bird on fresh wood (because captive birds don't have the same immunity as wild birds and because a lot of wild birds die off young as a result of disease) --which is why a lot of places kiln-dry or oven-bake the wood (following a good scrubbing). Glues etc should be bird-safe only. Also, never use power-washed or treated woods from a store to try and make your own."

Thank you, Noodles. That is super helpful. The guy who makes the ribbonwood stands says he uses power-washed wood. Is that bad because it won't properly disinfect the wood? I'm also not sure how to get a straightforward reply about where the wood comes from. Thanks

 

[vsk101]

Thank you, I will check it out! I think Manzanita is going to be too hard for his little toes, but I'm hoping they will have other woods.

 

[noodles123]

Power-washing in an industrial setting usually involves chemicals-- if he is doing this on a small-scale it could be okay, but you should ask him if he adds anything to the wash.

 

[vsk101]

Not sure but it looks as though they may be out of business

 

[Shine]

Try this link. https://www.ebay.com/itm/SB60XL3-Manzanita-Activity-Center-Parrot-Tree-Bird-Stand-Toy-Play-Gym-Java-Wood/183721046324?hash=item2ac6a0b134:g:VEwAAOSwgJ1ccCZ5

It looks like maybe they are doing ebay only these days. I couldnt find the website either. This link is the one I have, of basically this design. They are all unique for obvious reasons. Its plenty big enough for my amazon and he loves it! As far as wood goes, I love the manzanita, he cant chew it up and destroy the stand! They are in southern Oregon.