pvc playstands

[bookworm0550]

so i've been seeing a lot of people making their fids playstands out of pvc on other forums. Has anyone on here ever made one before? Or know how? I'm interested in learning how to make one. It's probably a lot cheaper than buying one online I'm assuming. I wonder if you can attach toys to it too???

[momo]

people make them all the time.. you need to go to the hardware store and get the pipes and joints etc..

I initially was going to make one.. but a friend of mine said a wood one was better for gripping and its alot more natural..

you could make a mix of natural wood and pvc..?

[bookworm0550]

i could use both...just not very creative right now...hehehe.

[bookworm0550]

like i don't even know where i'd get the wood and how that would attach to it

[lemonypickett]

I just bought Dewie a playstand on Drsfosterandsmith.com for $89 - I think PVC is expensive to buy, and is slippery.

Here is a pic of the Dew Master on his new playstand (which is too big for him)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg39/lktistes/IMG_1306-1.jpg

[momo]

Get your boyfriend to make it for you bookworm..?
You will need to find safe branches.. cut them down.. clean and wash them..
he can either put it together with rope/string.. or he can get some nails.. a screw driver.. etc and put it together like that..
all you gotta do is tell him which ones to join together..

haha.. this is why I bought one... with my fellas line of work he doesn't have the time to make one for me..

[Pips mom]

I have also seen some of the creative playgyms people have built out of PVC pipe. I think to prevent it from being slippery, they wrap cotton rope around it. I have heard bad things about PVC, that it's bad to use for pipes, so I worry that it might be bad for birds to be on and maybe chew on?? so I would definitely go with wood! I can brag.....my boyfriend is an awesome carpenter and he has built one that my birds use often and love. It has a ladder that extends out, you can move it and I open the cage door and put the ladder in setting it on a perch so birdies can can go in and out on it. Then they climb on the cage and can go back in their cage if they want food or water. I'm trying to convince him to build them and sell them, and now we just found that a bird expo thing is coming nearby us in April, he might build some to sell there!

[bookworm0550]

haha, i think i'm just gonna order the playstand I've been eyeing. much easier and quicker!!!!

[Flapjack]

My birds have 1 giant tree, a smaller tinkertoy playgym and a pvc training t-stand.
You can either put vet wrap on it, or scuff up the pvc. I chose the vet wrap method, so they wouldn't be mouthing the pvc. Works great! So many kinds of connectors and shapes to make. It was a ball picking them out. I even had 3 guys in the plumbing store coming up with ideas. Each one going around picking out parts and saying "ohh, how about this..." It was pretty funny.

[bookworm0550]

don't you have to glue it together? It looks like you don't need to, but i've read that's what people do.

[Elle]

I wanted to be creative too but why? The chances that my birds will play with a plastic playstand are slim. They like to chew so I took the easy way. Each year I buy a new set of Tinker toys. They love it and chew it to pieces. When they seem to get bored with it, I take it apart and start all over again and they have a brand new playstand.:happy:

[linda040899]

Elle,
I love the tinker toy idea and I agree with your reasoning! However, I will never forget the small wicker basket you gave to one of your lovies (I think it was Blu) and you took photos to show the daily demise of that basket! Also don't remember if that post is in our current community or if it was on EZboard.

[Elle]

Elle,
I love the tinker toy idea and I agree with your reasoning! However, I will never forget the small wicker basket you gave to one of your lovies (I think it was Blu) and you took photos to show the daily demise of that basket! Also don't remember if that post is in our current community or if it was on EZboard.

It's in our current community. It was Blu AND Pheobe who did that. The pictures were on shutterly and it no longer exists. I found the thread but the pictures are no longer there. I know I have the pictures somewhere on my computer. I'll find them!

I have a similar basket in the bathroom downstairs and I am amazed that Pheebs didn't notice it yet considering the only paper she has to chew is in the budgie cage, which gets changed daily because she is building her nest in there.

[LauraO]

You can do a web search on homemade playgyms and get a bunch of good ideas. We have ordered a couple of 3 story playgyms from these folks and the lovies and meyer's parrots really took to them after some adjustment time.

http://www.birdgymsrus.com/

We also have $500 worth of manzita stands for our bigger parrots but they are collecting dust. None of them like either of the two we have and I don't think they are high enough.

[wilkiecoco]

I'm with Elle. kiwi has absolutely no interest in any toy stand i buy him, except the box they come in. however, there is a wicker basket in the computer room that i keep my papers and such in which he works on daily. cost me three bucks, and he has endless pleasure with it daily!

elle - where do you buy the tinker toys - toys r us??

[dieflying]

Tinker Toys! That's brilliant! Kath loves to climb up and up and those would be perfect! Makes me want to run to the toy store right this minute.

[thebubbleking]

I make mine with wood since i am paranoid about the birds chewing off pieces especialy my sun conures..
I use guava wood as it is abundant here,a hard wood and is non toxic and safe.
I dont use glue, i make the gyms useing dowels, dovetails and make the holes a certain size so the other pieces going into the holes are snug and secure (all about measurements).
I would be happy to send you pics of the toys and gyms i have made just send me a pm always happy to help:D

[LauraO]

I'm with Elle. kiwi has absolutely no interest in any toy stand i buy him, except the box they come in. however, there is a wicker basket in the computer room that i keep my papers and such in which he works on daily. cost me three bucks, and he has endless pleasure with it daily!

elle - where do you buy the tinker toys - toys r us??

Robyn: You make a perfect point. I've come to realize some of the best birdy toys are birdy safe things we have around the house. Bumpy, or alexandrine's new favorite toy is an empty yogurt plastic container. She whips it around, bites on it, rolls it around, and fights with it. Things get really crazy when we put seed or treats in it to make it nosey:omg:.

It's the same with our grey. He loves pens (I empty the ink out), newspaper, and LOVES to throw around rolled up socks:x.

Of course, we still spend a fortune on birdy toys but it's always fun to see what our birdies find interesting.

[Elle]

elle - where do you buy the tinker toys - toys r us??

Toys r us or Costco. This time of the year they sell a big tub for about $35 I think. There's lots of plastic parts in it but there are some in there my birds likes to play with too.

[bookworm0550]

what's a Tinker Toy???

[momo]

I have never heard of these tinkertoy things. but googled it.. oh I want one I want one! not only one for me so I can play with one for elmo lol..

is it something that is only exclusively sold to Toys R Us.. or can you get it at places like walmart?...

[bookworm0550]

yeah, i googled it too...maybe i should go take a look at it. i'm sure you can buy it anywhere...through the net maybe. yeah, i've never heard of tinker toys either.

[bookworm0550]

can they chew that wood??? is it climbable? what do you do w/ it? I guess I just don't get it >o

[Kiwi*]

tinkertoy!!!! what a good idea!!! my little cousin use to play with that stuff... never though of getting some to making it a gym for my bird! purdy sure you can get it at any Toy store....

[momo]

bookwork you can just build creations out of it..
go to google images.. people have made wind mills.. racing cars.. im sure if you got enough together you could make a play pen. :)

[bookworm0550]

haha, maybe i could build a playpen. TADA!!!! i wonder how strong it holds up. I think my fids will tear it down

[5bird7]

tinkertoys - checked on their history - have been around since 1914. My brother had them as a kid in the 50s, and my son in the 70s.

Now that's a great idea for building a gym for Patty. When she's thru with this nesting period, I've got to get her interested in other things besides being a wannabe mommy. :rofl: I also signed up on birdtricks email list months ago just to get some ideas of training my bird and received an email today about how he gets his birds to play (and forget their boredom) by hiding their food in their gym toys and making them forage for it. So today has been a good day - three ideas to work with. Tinker toys, wrapped pvc pipe and hiding food. ( I love forums)

[Elle]

Bookwork:Yes, it is chewable bit it's okay, it's wood. The paint has no effect on my birds. They can clim on it and they love it. I attached a coconut on mine and the birds like tofin their way into it. You can hang toys to it and treats like millet. The possibilities are unlimited.

mom: You will need to shop around. I'm pretty sure you can find elsewhere then toys r us. I don't know about walmart. I know Price Club or Costco in Canda sells them during the Holiday season.

5birds: I have small stainless steel cups that I want to hang on it to hide food and treat so they can forage. You gotta be a little bit creative but you can do anything, really!