Zilla's New Playstand/Gym!!!

[Amanda_Bennett]

I finally got the vet wrap yesterday at Coastal and found the time this afternoon to get some of it on her play stand. Still have some to put on the bottom, but my arms got tired. :54:

I think she likes it! She's been on it for about 45 minutes and won't get off!

 

[Kiwibird]

WOW! You did a GREAT job! Zilla's face is the look of "is this really all for ME?!" lol. She looks so happy I love that it can be hung from the ceiling too. Good luck getting her down

 

[getwozzy]

Wow!! That looks awesome!! Great job! Zilla looks like a happy camper!

Did you find a good deal at coastal for your vet wrap?

 

[Sunset_Chaser]

Awesome! Zilla looks so happy! Where did you find the plans for this? :54:

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

WOW! You did a GREAT job! Zilla's face is the look of "is this really all for ME?!" lol. She looks so happy I love that it can be hung from the ceiling too. Good luck getting her down

Thanks April! When it was on the floor she she saw Simon play with the one "palm frond" toy and she was growling at him from the top of her cage! Thankfully he isn't much into toys that don't have catnip in them, so he left it alone and intact after about 30 seconds.

I can reach the top bar even while it's hanging (low ceilings and I'm above average height) so I can reach her chest to get her to step up (or down) and it will be dinner time soon! She is nothing if not a chow hound!

I made it so I could hang it or set it on a table or counter in hopes I can hang it in a corner of my office some day when she is more used to "new" people coming and going. And I can move it from room to room so she can be with me more (she doesn't like being on me when I am moving around too much)

Wow!! That looks awesome!! Great job! Zilla looks like a happy camper!

Did you find a good deal at coastal for your vet wrap?

Thanks Shirre, I'm just glad she wasn't afraid of it! She jumped right on and tasted everything within beak reach! Even climbed to the lower levels and checked those things out too!

Vet wrap at Coastal was 1/2 the price it was online and I got to choose my own colors! The only color they didn't have that I really wanted was orange, but I will keep checking. I'm sure she will chew on it and it will have to be replaced at some point.

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Awesome! Zilla looks so happy! Where did you find the plans for this? :54:

I was supposed to have plans? Oooops! :54:I knew I was doing something wrong

Really what I did was google pvc parrot play gyms and printed some of the pics that I liked, handed them to the maintenance man I have on the property (he is also my back up plan for Zilla if something would happen to me) and gave him $$$ (the whole thing including vet wrap was under $60.00) and he went to home depot got the stuff and came back and cut everything for me out in his shop.

I gave him a general size of what I wanted and a general "spacing" of how far apart I wanted the "tiers or levels" He brought it all in to me after cutting everything and I put it together and put the vet wrap on it.

All the hardware is stainless steal and he just drilled little holes where we wanted to put the hooks and eye bolts. No glue was used, I just put the vet wrap on and slid the pieces together enough that there was some vet wrap between the two so it won't slide apart with her on it.

 

[weco]

Nice looking playstand Amanda, but you might want to watch Zilla carefully, just in case she decides to taste your ceiling around the swag hanger.....the way you've got your playstand hung, she can easily get to the ceiling.....if she ever likes the taste of the sheetrock (it's got calcium in it), you'll never be able to match that textured ceiling if you were to need to patch it/have it patched and since that hook is probably an old swag lamp hook that you can unscrew but can't screw back in.....the saving grace is that the parts are still available & all can be replaced.....you just have to figure out what you want to use as an excluder to keep her away from the ceiling.....

 

[4dugnlee]

That is AWESOME!!! Great job!!! Zilla must be soooo happy!!!

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Nice looking playstand Amanda, but you might want to watch Zilla carefully, just in case she decides to taste your ceiling around the swag hanger.....the way you've got your playstand hung, she can easily get to the ceiling.....if she ever likes the taste of the sheetrock (it's got calcium in it), you'll never be able to match that textured ceiling if you were to need to patch it/have it patched and since that hook is probably an old swag lamp hook that you can unscrew but can't screw back in.....the saving grace is that the parts are still available & all can be replaced.....you just have to figure out what you want to use as an excluder to keep her away from the ceiling.....

I will watch her carefully to make sure she doesn't eat the ceiling. The hook is actually the one her other play gym used to hang on. I had to re-arrange the living room to get her Christmas tree in...LOL The bolt is in a stud and I can take the hook off and replace it with another one (I bought a bunch awhile back to hang plants with) The maintenance man here is VERY good at his job and I have seen him patch some things and match the texture, so in the event she did get a "bite" of ceiling I am confident he could fix it.

After the Holidays and her tree leaves the living room I plan to move it over in front of the window and will have to use some stainless steal chain to get it low enough she can look outside from the top "perches" so I will make sure she can't get the walls or ceiling there either.

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

That is AWESOME!!! Great job!!! Zilla must be soooo happy!!!

Thanks! I'm very happy with how it turned out.

She does love it! She didn't want off until dinner was ready! And then wanted back on it!

 

[KimKim]

Looks great I love how it can be hung or set on a table, such a great idea!

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

I wanted multi-purpose since I do live in an apartment and really don't have the room to have a separate stand/gym in every room. And I am going to make a place in my office to hang it so she can spend more time with me during work days, so hanging was not an option it was a necessity, my office is only about 10' X 12' or so and there just isn't floor space for anything else. Other places like the kitchen, bedroom and dining room it needs to be able to sit on a table (I can't put hooks in every ceiling) :54:

I think one of the pics even shows my office, it has the big white dry erase board on the wall.

 

[Kiwibird]

I forgot to mention- Zilla's feathers are looking noticeably better than when you first started posting. The improved diet and treating her medical issues looks to be paying off

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

I forgot to mention- Zilla's feathers are looking noticeably better than when you first started posting. The improved diet and treating her medical issues looks to be paying off

Thanks April I'm glad you noticed and let me know. I think I don't see the improvement as much as I should just because I see her all day every day! She is getting more of the blue/lilac above her eyes and the yellow looks a bit brighter, my Mom noticed that yesterday and commented on it. I have to look back at past pics to really see it for myself.

She has been losing a lot of feathers lately and I am doing a lot more "preening" around her head and neck for her!

 

[henpecked]

OWA's are the greatest birds. i 'm sure she is responding to such good attention. Good choice for a companion parrot.

 

[Allee]

Amanda, you did a brilliant job on Zilla's play stand. She looks like she owns the world. I'm glad you found the vet wrap in the colors you wanted and got a good price. Zilla looks wonderful, the two of you are a great combination and I can tell you are having so much fun together.

 

[RavensGryf]

I LOVE that Amanda! It's really, REALLY a nice looking gym. Looks super fun too

 

[JerseyWendy]

WOWZA!!!! That is one seriously AWESOME playstand you built for your sweet Miss Zilla, Amanda!!! LOVE all the toys, too.

That is one lucky Zilla-birdy.

 

[Kiwibird]

I forgot to mention- Zilla's feathers are looking noticeably better than when you first started posting. The improved diet and treating her medical issues looks to be paying off

Thanks April I'm glad you noticed and let me know. I think I don't see the improvement as much as I should just because I see her all day every day! She is getting more of the blue/lilac above her eyes and the yellow looks a bit brighter, my Mom noticed that yesterday and commented on it. I have to look back at past pics to really see it for myself.

She has been losing a lot of feathers lately and I am doing a lot more "preening" around her head and neck for her!

I bet she is molting out all those damaged feathers! She was looking pretty ratty at first with all those grayish/black feathers on her (which was absolutely not your fault), but she's getting her zon shine back now When an amazon is HEALTHY, their feathers have a near-iridecent look to them that makes them absolutely stunning. With how quickly miss Zilla is improving, I would expect she'll be back to perfect plumage within a year or 2!

 

[Dopey]

That is so awesome. Makes my play stand look kind of bare. Guess I need to shopping for birdie toys...AGAIN.

Where is "Coastal?"