Basket Play Stand

[Saerphe]

I'm still working on getting Akimi used to it, but she's stepped up onto it by herself a couple times today, so I think we'll be able to get to the point where she can hang out on it regularly.

I got the basket for $3.00 at a thrift shop, and hung the swing, toys, and dish on it. It's textured, so a poorly balanced klutz like Akimi can easily climb around on it. She could also chew it if she wanted, but she's not really big on chewing - she does sometimes of course (her natural perches are a testament to that), but she much prefers noise-making toys like bells, which is why I get her the bamboo balls with little jingle bells inside (I check regularly to make sure the bell doesn't fall out and she can't get at the bell) so she can chew and jingle at the same time. The basket has a wide enough bottom and is heavy enough that she could fly to and land on it with no problems, but it probably wouldn't be suited to birds much larger than a sun conure.

It was a lot cheaper than the usual table-top small bird play stand, and it's super easy to move around. Just thought I'd share it.

[Wolf]

I would probably add a smooth rock ot two to the bottom of the basket for weight and to give her a sharpening stone to dull the nails and sharpen the beak on.

[Pajarita]

Yes, weight would help to keep it solidly 'grounded'. But great idea! I've often found that spending lots of money of elaborate toys and stands is pretty much a waste. Lots and lots of stuff around the house (cardboard boxes, wooden hangers, clothes pins, catalogs, etc) or that you can get in a thrift or 99cent store that you can use for birds.

[Lori]

That looks GREAT!

[Saerphe]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I'll try and find some good stones to put in the bottom.

I borrowed Akimi's favourite toy from her cage (the green rubber ball with the bell inside) in the hopes that it would get her to hang out more on the stand and boy did it ever work. She was on the basket almost immediately. She even climbed onto the toy and hung from it a few times, as well as reaching for it from the swing. I was surprised because her balance is fairly poor and I'd never actually seen her climb onto a hanging toy to play with it. I guess the diet I've put her on and having a wider variety of natural perches are doing her some good.

These photos aren't very good at all... every time I'd lift my phone to get a photo of her hanging, she'd stop what she was doing and climb down to pose.

[Pajarita]

Yes, they are little hams, aren't they? Be careful with the sunflowers seeds, they can't really eat that many of them.

[Saerphe]

She's quite photogenic that way.

Don't worry, she only gets them as treats. That's a few days worth of accumulation. Since she doesn't spend a huge amount of time on her basket yet, I don't need to change the paper as often as I do in her cage.

[Saerphe]

I was able to get a better photo of her rockin' the jingle ball. I got her a second one especially for her basket stand.

[Navre]

The basket is a great idea!

My GCC has the exact same toy and it is also one of her favorites. She rings it in the morning to wake me up.

[Pajarita]

Awww, great picture and what a little beauty she is! GCCs don't look it at first sight but they have lots of colors on them, mine has white, two tones of grey, black, pink, red, maroon, yellow, orange, blue, teal and several shades of green - all of these on such a little bird!