Fargos home made tree stand

[tab_xo]

You know how we say in Australia bird toys are so expensive.....

This... costs.. 70 dollars -_- looks about 5 dollars worth... Gosh i hate bird stores in Australia.. haha Just insane! Pretty annoyed with it all, but not much i can do now! But honestly... 70 DOLLARS?!?!?!?!?


Anyways, so made a few little toys for his tree.. He seems to like it, so thats good! At least he plays on it lots now!









Some plastic chain pieces hang down along the middle branch...



And see, Smeagol just loves it.. He plays on it all night long.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Wow, Tab, yes, 70 AUS Dollars is too much for the toy parts.

But DANG!!! Look at Fargo's room. Or wait...Fargo, Sméagol and Tab's room that is. I am in awe here. NEVER a boring moment in Fargo's (and Sméagol's) life.

 

[strudel]

Holey moley, that's one lucky set of pets. Fantastic!

 

[tab_xo]

Hahaha Strudel.. and thats only ONE side of the room hehe


I swear Wendy, they get toys from america, and then just triple the price So not fair!

Do you know what Fargo does at night time? Cause Smeagol wakes up about 6pm.. So Fargo goes, and sits on Smeagols cage... and they try and kiss each other through the bars.. Not a word of a lie, Fargo just waits for him to be allowed out, then they play for a few minutes, then its his bedtime

AND THE BEST THING IS!!!! Smeagol is as good at toilet training as Fargo is :O They are both such good boys, they never make a mess anywhere naughty!

 

[strudel]

Smeagol is as good at toilet training as Fargo is

I hope to train my bird to poo where I want (and never on me)

 

[Betrisher]

Tab, I don't buy bird toys any more! Can't afford it at the rate the Beaks chomp 'em up all the time! Instead, I go to the Op Shops and look for plastic baby toys and kitchen things and wicker baskets. Wicker baskets are especially good value because the birds get hours of fun chewing them to smithereens!

I've also posted a link in another post (it was called 'Cheap Australian Supplier') for a place where you can get a metre of plastic or stainless steel plated chain for the same price as you've been paying for a foot! I just spent $47 there and I got six metres of chain in different colours, four metres of stainless steel curb chain (1.6mm and 2.0mm) six stainless steel carabiners (a dollar ten each) and some joining links for the plastic chain. There's also a place on ebay that sells all kinds of rope by the metre and it's as cheap as anything! I got three metres of sisal rope (1" thick) for less than eight dollars.

Another thing I do is visit Spotlight and get the empty fabric bolts from them (they're happy to give them away!). The local newspaper office has bigger 'bolts' that hold newspaper and these cut up nicely into birdy bagels. I buy end-rolls of newspaper for three dollars. I can use the paper for my cage bottoms and cut up the cardboard cylinder into bagels. If you want, you can mix up food colouring and paint the plain cardboard.

Another thing I do is watch out on ebay for wholesale deals from China. I recently bought 200 wooden spatulas for leg waxing (actually, they're plain old tongue depessors) for three dollars. I've soaked these in food colouring and now they look exactly like the ones you buy @ four for a dollar from the bird shops!

What else? I save *all* plastic bottle and jar lids that come into the house. You can drill holes in them and string them onto something (haven't found a beak-proof string yet) for chewy toys. Also, soft plastic bottles like Masterfoods Tomato Sauce or American Mustard bottles make good chewies.

At the supermarket, you can buy drinking straws, paper cups, paper plates and plastic spoons to hang for Fargo to demolish. These actually last a bit longer if you string or tie them in bundles. At the Op Shop, you can buy cheap paperbacks (Mills and Boon) which are almost as good as a phone book for shredding.

Recently, my *dear* husband dragged a wooden pallet home. It's plain, untreated pine and he has cut half of it into little rounds (like 3" cookies) and drilled holes in their middles for stringing. The other half, he sliced into strips and I poke those at random around the cage for the Beaks to chomp on. They *love* their pallet-lollies, so Kim's going to get another one soon. We're lucky enough to have a timber supplier in the next street.

What we don't have is much bushland. If we did, I'd be checking out bottlebrush and grevillea and gum trees to put whole branches (leaves, fruit an all) in for the birds to chomp. I wish I had a chainsaw, because that would make 'acquiring' bush timber a bit easier. Nevertheless, I 'acquired' some nice sheets of paperbark the other day and Dominic spent the *whole* day turning it into confetti. The Beaks didn't like it: too soft. They prefer chewing on the lintels of my doorways and I keep telling them 'Stop eatin' mah house!' but they just ignore me...

I hope some of this has been of use to you? I know the nice-looking plastic bird toys *look* great, but really, see if Fargo goes for the colour or the feel of his toys. I've found that, while the Beaks definitely prefer things which are red and yellow, they don't really care whether a toy is coloured or not: they'll eat anything, basically. So don't be spending $$$ you need to buy fancy stuff for Kyros!

 

[JerseyWendy]

AAAAWWWWWW!!!! That is THE sweetest thing in the world, Tab!!!!

What will Fargo do without Sméagol???

 

[Betrisher]

Poo! POO!!!???

Today, I got sh@t on by Barney (in my hair), by Madge (down the arm-hole of my top - don't ask me how she managed it) and by Dominic (splatt -right in the intersection between my pinky and next toe). After Ellie had stopped laughing, she helped me pick out the poop and then let out a great bellow because Madge had pooped right down her very long red plait. LOLOLOLOL! There is justice in the world! After *I* had finished laughing, we spent a good half hour showering the Beaks who cheerfully gnawed the pull-string off the kitchen blind. Then, they sh@t on my African Violet, which I've put near the window in an effort to get it to flower. Thanks, guys.

I *know* they give a warning when they're about to poo, but it's so quick I can never catch them. They sort of swell up a bit and look as if their blood pressure has just gone up ten points, then they squat and - splatt. One thing I have noticed is that they prefer not to 'go' on whatever they're sitting on. They'll obligingly turn their bottom over the edge of the table or head or shoulder they're on and sort of aim to drop a bomb rather than paintballing near their own feet. Great.

One *good* thing I've noticed is that since I gave them colourless pellets (local shop ran out of colourful ones), their poos are no longer nuclear-fallout green: they're just a nice, pleasant forest-green colour (which really does suit my hair tone much better than the uranium-tinted variety). Poo is an ongoing problem for me (all my relatives seem to be horrified by it!), so I hope you appreciate Fargo and Sméagol for the good lads they are!

 

[kc_y0]

This is why we need to move to America!!! Lets go!! CHEAP BIRD TOYS!

 

[KeroRocks]

Umm what is Sméagol?

 

[tab_xo]

Strudel, just positive reinforcement, but dont give treats, otherwise it can teach them to only go on command! So if they go on the newspaper, just say good boy! haha



See thats the thing Trish. I have TRIED making my own toys, i got 2 planks of untreated pine wood, even tried colouring them, and he didnt touch them... Have had them since december last year and not a single one has been chewed :/

He wont touch any plain coloured wood, and wont chew natural wood.. Only natural pods!

He likes bottles and cardboard, gets straws and paper, so he plays with all that.. But then he runs out of wood, and i need him to chew wood!

and he LOVES plastic.. like those plastic wheels , wiffle balls, and nuts and bolts.. So cant buy them cheap anywhere? and he will destroy it in 2 seconds flat!

and he wont even bother with big pieces of wood, which is strange, because he used to love it, but now, he wont even bother with anything bigger than the size of his beak :/

So i cant even buy BIG blocks, because they wont get touched, so have to get little blocks, which he destroys in a minute!

HAHAHAHA Fargo prefers to eat the house as well But if he gets new lots of toys like this lot, he will focus on all that until its gone.. Then in a few days there is nothing left.. So he gets bored and just my home made things dont amuse him as much! :/


I WISH i had the flowery trees around here.. The only safe flower we have is hibiscus, he gets one a day.. and now we have run out.. So no more flowers Grrrrrrrr


But yes.. He wont be getting much for a while.. Nana will buy him lots for christmas.. Everyone in the retirement home loves Fargo, and wants me to visit with him and show them all HAHAHA But nana likes buying things for him

Have to pay off the lovely debt for Kyros, so all my money has to go towards that.. Lucky he is worth it

 

[Echo]

You room is really turning into a jungle!!! AWESOME!!!

 

[tab_xo]

HAHAHAHAHAHAH OMG

Smeagol is a possum!

 

[Echo]

When is Smeagol going back into the wild?

 

[tab_xo]

they're just a nice, pleasant forest-green colour (which really does suit my hair tone much better than the uranium-tinted variety)

'Hair colouring by the beaks'



Oh yes, I am very glad Fargo is so well toilet trained, especially cause he lives in my room haha Thing training the big macaws is easier though!

 

[tab_xo]

Yes Casey, lets all pack our bags and move to America... Just need to take 3 birds, 3 horses, and a possum right? hahaha


Hahaha Echo, just need more leaves and trees ! He does get lots of tree branches, was too lazy to get them today... Spent too much time just staring at Kyros

Hmmmm, well Smeagol now eats all his fruit and veges, drinks water, and is only on 2 feeds of milk a day, which he just laps from a bowl No longer needs his bottle!

Think he will go into his aviary soon.. From his age, it said he should be released and fully weaned by december :/

So guess will have to let him outside soon, just put him in the aviary near my door, then when he gets used to it, take it into a tree for a few weeks! :'(
He grew up way too fast




And Wendy i have NO idea what Fargo is going to do.. He has bonded with him for like the past 3 months? :/ You can tell Fargo honestly loves him, he SEARCHES for him in blankets and in his cage.. I think hes really going to miss him.. Makes me feel bad

 

[strudel]

You'll have to get another permanent pet for him to play with, not just a foster child.

 

[tab_xo]

You'll have to get another permanent pet for him to play with, not just a foster child.

HAHAHAHA Why dont we just move into the stables, and then he can have 3 horses as room mates :09:

 

[Betrisher]

Tab, try el cheapo pallet wood. The Beaks won't touch proper dressed timber either (unless it's attached to mah house), but the hairy rough texture of pallets seems to suit them. Do you have bloodwood trees or ironbarks up your way? Bloodwoods have long stringy bark which Fargo could pull off like string cheese. Ironbark has shield-like plates of bark which I'm *sure* he'd love levering off. What about a pumpkin? The Beaks love to chomp on those (seeds included). I grow broccoli and the Beaks get more fun out of chewing the stems than they do out of eating the flowers. Same for cauliflower. The husks of sweet corn are good too (although they don't last long).

I've noticed that if I give the guys too much of one thing, they'll get sick of it and stop chewing it. I have to rotate things around, same as you do with toys. I'll think of *something* to occupy Fargo's beak, you mark my words!!!

 

[Betrisher]

Hah! Nother idea! You can get stainless steel bolts with washers and wingnuts from Bunnings for cheap. Get your old plank of wood and drill holes in it, then insert bolts and apply wing nuts. If you drill the holes near the edges, then Fargo might be tempted to chew the wood to free the bolts? Also, try cutting slices off your planks, drill a hole and hang them. It's all in the mindset: a parrot will not touch anything *you* think is rubbish, but he *will* chew on your hut, house or hacienda until you are homeless. So, to get him to chew wooden things, you have to do something to them to make him think they're 'valuable'. See? %D