Parrot Tree Survey

[Michael]

Some more questions for you guys about the optimal tree. Can you please fill out this survey by rating the importance of each item on a scale of 1-10. I know it would be nice to have it all, but in fairness realize that including everything would make it prohibitively expensive so rate things to demonstrate preference on what is more critical as well. Just copy the questions below and put your answers next to them.

1) Safety of hazardous materials
2) Ease of cleaning
3) Durability
4) Aesthetics
5) Food bowls
6) Wheels
7) Keeping the bird on*

8) How tall would you want the tree to be?
9) What size base board?
10) How many perches?

*What I mean is the tree being set up such that clipped parrots cannot get off of it to go on the floor or anywhere else. How important is this to you? How high would the first perch have to be above the base to ensure this?

[Eurycerus]

1) Safety of hazardous materials (Not sure why you even included this considering how careful you are about your parrots, I strongly doubt you would use toxic materials to build a bird perch...)
10) How many perches? (Many i.e. 6 or more)
3) Durability (It would be lame if it fell apart)
2) Ease of cleaning (pretty helpful to have to not too hard, but I'm not sure what the range of difficulty would be)
7) Keeping the bird on* (This is iffy, I didn't know what to do with it, I personally wouldn't want it too tall for a clipped parrot because if they fall they might hurt themselves)
8) How tall would you want the tree to be? (four to five feet, not taller than me definitely)
4) Aesthetics (pretty things are nice but it's a parrot play thing so eh *shrugs* also wood is pretty in and of itself)
9) What size base board? (as long as it's stable I don't care)
6) Wheels (I set mine ontop of tables and things to get it out of the way, so wheels would be sort of annoying until I have a house to myself)
5) Food bowls (I feed and water my bird in her cage)

I found it a tad easier to just reorganize them.

[marie83]

1) Safety of hazardous materials - 10
2) Ease of cleaning - 8, possibly less I don't mind hard work
3) Durability -9
4) Aesthetics -4
5) Food bowls -1
6) Wheels -7
7) Keeping the bird on* - 1

8) How tall would you want the tree to be? 4-5 foot
9) What size base board? Not too bothered I can put paper/towels down
10) How many perches? minimum of 4 but would prefer as many as possible without overcrowding it I think because I would like my parrots to be able to climb around but its hard to say without knowing rough length and shape of branches.

[hooligan]

1) Safety of hazardous materials: 10
2) Ease of cleaning: 7 (it would be really nice, but it's not a deal breaker)
3) Durability: 7 (not having it break if I bump into it is important, but I have a small parrot, so it would be difficult for her to destroy it)
4) Aesthetics: 5 (I think bird toys are usually pretty ugly, which is why birds like them. A good shape and a nice base is good, but I would mostly want something she would enjoy using.)
5) Food bowls: 6 (It would be nice, but I'm not sure she'd use them since she usually prefers to eat in her cage or wherever we're eating.)
6) Wheels: 1 (If there wasn't a locking mechanism for the wheels, I'd probably give this a negative score. If it moved while she was on it and she wasn't expecting it, then that would be the last time she would want to use it.)
7) Keeping the bird on*: 7 (This is important for safety reasons, but Scrubby doesn't like being on the floor and if she really wants to get off something, she'll jump even if it's high up. So really, I would be happy if the base was as tall as a typical ottomon but something end table height would also be nice.)

8)How tall would you want the tree to be? Not super tall. I'd be more open to something tall on a short base, but I have a small bird that is a scaredy cat, so she'd probably want something that doesn't seem daunting
9) What size base board? Whatever is stable. This isn't really important to me.
10) How many perches? I guess it depends on the size of the branches and what they look like, but 4-5?

[Nir]

1) Safety of hazardous materials. -10 for obvious reasons
2) Ease of cleaning. - 5 not a big deal.
3) Durability - 7 I don't want it to just break easily.m
4) Aesthetics - 6 not that important as long as it doesn't look like something I can make in a min.
5) Food bowls - 4 A bowl with a divider would be nice but not a big deal
6) Wheels - 0 I don't want a wheel since I prefer a table top tree
7) Keeping the bird on* - 4 I am not planning to clip my bird

8) How tall would you want the tree to be? 2.5 to 4 feet
9) What size base board? A reasonable size to catch poop while bird is sitting on it.
10) How many perches? Lots of different size perches in different angles and different levels so the bird can climb and have fun. Also so I can put toys on it.

[Grey_Moon]

1) Safety of hazardous materials--10 for the usual reasons.

2) Ease of cleaning--- 3 good to have but enh not too big a factor

3) Durability---8 Jay's a chewer---those standard dowels get gnawed down pretty fast so I wouldn't want those---grapevine has been her preferred wood to stand on over anything else.

4) Aesthetics---0 don't care so long as its safe, durable and keeps her entertained

5) Food bowls---0 I find bowls are too much of a hassle on trees, make too much mess, get full of feathers/food/toys bits if left empty and I do not feed her on her tree (playtop or stand-alone) so for me they're just a hard to remove addition that gets dirty fast and is of no benefit.

6) Wheels---3 nice but not a must-have or something I'd even be bothered by the lack of

7) Keeping the bird on---10!! I want her to want to be on it, to keep being interested in it. If it looks pretty but just sits in a corner gathering dust and she prefers to fly off of it then its a waste.

8) How tall would you want the tree to be?--- Doesn't matter
9) What size base board?--Doesn't matter
10) How many perches?---Lots of varying, winding perches---however many fits on the tree while still being economical. Toys hooks are a plus.

[terri]

Hi Michael ,Im going to tell you whats important to me and not do the survey .Everyone seems to love the tree you made Truman.[Are you trying to make a replica of them?]Maybe you could make your smaller and medium sized tree and post them so people could see what their like.Then say that you can do custom orders for what kind of species each individual owns and what they can spend[of course state that their at least 150 or whatever] You could make them with less toys and branches.I think instead of people thinking they like it but cant afford it they might consider this a possibility.Also maybe people could post what they think and maybe they want to wait for after christmas or tax time .To let you know so it doesnt become a lost thread.Its the java wood thats making this expensive[ right?]That makes it look nice.Looks are not important to me as long as its going to work.I know you would use safe materials.I dont need wheels as long as it slides easy.If you made one Trumans size[thats perfect] and added 2 2inch dowels straight through it that would let my macaw be able to use it .My only concern would be it not tippng.I think you should try to get creative and see what you can you for cheaper materials.As for a price I wish I could tell you. I know this is expensive.Its up to you what you put into it.It would be nice if you responded

[Michael]

I know everyone loves Truman's tree but what I'm developing for sale will be nothing like it. Without the toys/swings, I'd probably charge something like $500 to build a tree like that and it would have to be only in the NY area as I would personally have to come and assemble it on location. It's impossible to ship it assembled and it wouldn't even fit through the door. I had to prepare it ahead of time in my workshop and them assemble it on location. It took me an entire day to build that. It really is the ideal tree and way better than anything you could buy for $500. Truman actively climbs up and down and uses all the perches because it is possible to get around and there are tons of places for hanging toys all over. I wish I could sell trees like this but it is just way too unique and customized to be able to mass produce.

The trees I'm developing for sale will be very different but still keeping the same qualities in mind. Non toxic, safe, useful, fun, and good looking are my priorities. Also it has to be easy to ship. I'm giving less priority to cleanability and durability (long term, not short term) because it is inevitable no matter the tree that the bird will poop from above onto whatever is below and try to destroy it.

Since you asked me about Macaw trees though, I went ahead and extended my R&D specifically to scale up the small/medium trees I'm developing for macaws! I also have a couple ideas for some high end models for really extensive macaw play trees. Actually right now it's looking like my Macaw trees will be the best bargain (compared to competition) out of everything. The small/medium trees will be better and cheaper (but not by much on the cheaper bit, still a great deal if it's better and costs the same or less though). However, there is still a baseline cost just for packing it, shipping it, developing it, etc. But on the Macaw trees, I really think I'll be able to have something very sizable for under $300! It may sound like a lot but when you look at the fact that most macaw trees/playgyms cost $400-$500, that's a real bargain!

I don't want to release too much information for now but when the trees are out, I will provide full disclosure about the kinds of woods/metals used in the construction so that parrot owners can feel safe that there is nothing toxic like zinc, lead, or toxic woods! Why do you think other manufacturers don't do that? How much you wanna bet that the damn toy hooks on most trees are the standard zinc coated ones you can get in a hardware store? Thus by cutting corners on a few things that people don't seem to care as much about (aesthetics, cleanability, durability), I will be able to make the biggest priority on safety which to me is #1 and to all caring owners. This is the single most expensive part of making my trees right. If I didn't care about safety or didn't know any better, they'd easily be one forth cheaper. But safety is costly and it's not always the priority of big manufacturers. So I really hope that people will be able to appreciate the careful thought and development that was put into this line of trees.

I've made a few major development breakthroughs in the last week so I think there is a strong possibility I will have a completed prototype by the end of next week and up for sale before the end of the month. So stay tuned and thank you everyone for your input. You've all validated what I already suspected, safety is #1!

[Nir]

Michael out of curiosity, if someone wants a tree that is a bit more customizable (but might be hard to ship), will it be possible for you to make it for a bit more money? Possibly he might want a little bit bigger or more branches version of a tree you have and would pay a bit more. Or possibly a tree similar to Truman but a smaller version of it so the price is reduced. Especially for people who can just pick up the tree from you so you don't have to ship it.

[Michael]

Sure. But it's a pretty big premium since it has to be custom designed rather than produced along with a bunch of others in a standard way. However, the way I have my standard tree line in mind, that may not be necessary. There will be a lot of room for owner customization. You'll see what I mean really soon.