Betrisher
Well-known member
- Jun 3, 2013
- 4,253
- 177
- Parrots
- Dominic: Galah(RIP: 1981-2018); The Lovies: Four Blue Masked Lovebirds; Barney and Madge (The Beaks): Alexandrines; Miss Rosetta Stone: Little Corella
I was doing a bit of gardening yesterday and my eye lit on a pile of wire hanging baskets I used to put my orchids in. I thought to myself I could make some kind of a climbing toy out of one, so I took it inside and began to twiddle with it.
The wire is coated with thick green plastic and I know you're supposed to be careful of metal poisoning etc, but the local Corellas and Galahs have chomped merrily on these for years and as far as I can tell, no one's died of it. I wondered about wrapping the wire with sisal or cotton rope, but then just decided to hang it upside-down with a variety of things attached to it. So far, I've got a large whiffle ball with treats stuck in it and a few rounds of wood for chewing on. I can't seem to find a bell what might withstand The Beaks, so for now there's a little whiffle ball with a bell inside it.
Anyway, the Beaks have been enjoying their new toy enormously. At first, Madge began nibbling at the green plastic. Once she discovered the big whiffle ball, though, she immediately started mowing her way through the treats. Poor Barn! He's so slow on the uptake sometimes!
Barney is a lot more athletic than Madge. He loves nothing more than swinging from swing to swing and hanging upside-down from things. So of course, he had a marvellous time climbing all over the basket like a jungle gym and swinging off it like a hooligan.
Now that I've got the huge new cage assembled, I have to decide which toys to put in there and which I should keep just for the play gym. With all that space, I'm going to be hard put to fill it!
The wire is coated with thick green plastic and I know you're supposed to be careful of metal poisoning etc, but the local Corellas and Galahs have chomped merrily on these for years and as far as I can tell, no one's died of it. I wondered about wrapping the wire with sisal or cotton rope, but then just decided to hang it upside-down with a variety of things attached to it. So far, I've got a large whiffle ball with treats stuck in it and a few rounds of wood for chewing on. I can't seem to find a bell what might withstand The Beaks, so for now there's a little whiffle ball with a bell inside it.
Anyway, the Beaks have been enjoying their new toy enormously. At first, Madge began nibbling at the green plastic. Once she discovered the big whiffle ball, though, she immediately started mowing her way through the treats. Poor Barn! He's so slow on the uptake sometimes!
Barney is a lot more athletic than Madge. He loves nothing more than swinging from swing to swing and hanging upside-down from things. So of course, he had a marvellous time climbing all over the basket like a jungle gym and swinging off it like a hooligan.
Now that I've got the huge new cage assembled, I have to decide which toys to put in there and which I should keep just for the play gym. With all that space, I'm going to be hard put to fill it!
