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Playstands / Branches / Hanging things?

Bird rooms, aviaries, cages, foraging trees, play gyms, and stands. Discuss your parrot's locations and perches.

Playstands / Branches / Hanging things?

Postby Viatrixa » Tue Feb 23, 2016 5:37 pm

We'd like to start letting Simo spend even more time outside of his cage. He's still not very comfortable around us when he's outside of his cage (or when I stick my hands inside his cage he's still a bit uppity) so we figured that maybe a way to remedy this is just to try further interaction with him, gently and patiently. Let him get used to being around us outside of the cage.

Figured that the best way to do this would be to try and offer him "designated" places outside of his cage. So he can just chill and hang. When we let him out he flies back and forth a few times and settles on the perch we propped on top of his cage that also holds the ceiling gate open. He'll sit there until he goes down for food and then we usually close the cage.

So I'm wondering what would be a good chill out place for him? Our apartment is very scarcely furnished (it's small so we like to keep it simple!) which is why he hasn't found a good place for himself. In our previous apartment when he was let out he loved to be on the curtain rods. So we were wondering if it would be a good idea to try and attach some branches that hang from the ceiling or maybe a multi level playstand? (Since he's a shy bird I figured he might feel safer higher up or would this be detrimental to getting him to be comfortable around us?)

His cage itself is actually very large too so another option could be to just "extended" upwards by attaching things that run from the cage's top to the ceiling? If it's of any useful information, he absolutely prefers rope perches to anything else. Any ideas? :P
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Viatrixa
Conure
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Re: Playstands / Branches / Hanging things?

Postby Wolf » Thu Feb 25, 2016 9:07 pm

Not trying to be difficult, but I like all of the ideas that you mentioned. Also you could hang other things from a suspended branch, you know, toys and maybe even a boing or two.. Sometimes it just takes allowing the bird to move about freely and time to make up its own mind that you are indeed its friend.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
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Re: Playstands / Branches / Hanging things?

Postby Viatrixa » Tue Mar 01, 2016 4:11 am

Wolf wrote:Not trying to be difficult, but I like all of the ideas that you mentioned. Also you could hang other things from a suspended branch, you know, toys and maybe even a boing or two.. Sometimes it just takes allowing the bird to move about freely and time to make up its own mind that you are indeed its friend.


Honestly all of these ideas are also extremely easy for us to bring to life. Our apartment is lovely, super well lit (huge windows so the sunlight is amazing) and very simply furnished (we like to keep things minimalist :P) so it also by default has a lot of space for him to fly and few places to really go to - so we know he'd be drawn to any places we set up for him. Pretty much zero dangers (no things to get stuck on, no spikes, wires are all nicely coiled up which he can't reach anyway). Not just that, but eventually we'd like for him and both us to get to the point where we can pretty much have him be free in our apartment when ever we're around (which is almost all the time since I'm on disability). I mean honestly, looking at it, it'd be a shame to waste that precious opportunity and I also think Simo would greatly enjoy it.

He's generally comfy around us (and me even more so) but there's still work to be done there. :roll: All we really need is some beak proof safety mesh for the windows and places for him to go on and I think he'd be even happier.

Speaking of which, my husband thinks that it doesn't necessarily have to be "beak proof" so long as I keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't chew on it but I don't knoooow, I think I'd feel better if it was in fact beak proof. Actually I'd like some recommendations on this; material and such.

(the play place set up is easy enough for us; this is Finland after all so branches and wooden material isn't exactly very hard to get a hold of ;) )
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Viatrixa
Conure
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Re: Playstands / Branches / Hanging things?

Postby Wolf » Tue Mar 01, 2016 1:20 pm

I don't know of any window screen wire that would be beak proof. There is an animal version of this type of screen although I don't recall what it was called, but it is what all of my windows have on them. My birds are more interested in hanging out with me than being on the windows so I have had no problems with this.

Not all woods are safe for your birds but you can easily search on the internet for parrot safe woods to get a listing of toxic and non toxic woods for your birds.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 8679
Location: Lansing, NC
Number of Birds Owned: 6
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal
African Grey (CAG)
Yellow Naped Amazon
2Celestial Parrotlet
Budgie
Flight: Yes


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