thoughts on melamine, laminate, formica play stand bases

[bobking]

hey there

what are all your thoughts on products used for bird stand bases such as melamine, formica, and laminate??? i decided to build my bird a new playstand which had me researching materials to use for a base. The main things I seemed to find used for stand bases was melamine boards, formica covered wood, and laminate wood. At the same time i also found that all of these things seemed not to be good for a bird to chew on, yet it seems like all stand bases are made from these things, besides peoples homemade stuff.

for me i ended up finding a ss tray (thanks to tips from people on here) that i used along with bird safe wood from my local lumber yard to keep my stand safe and cleanable.

So what are your guys thoughts? do you guys stay away from these things, do you just watch your birds so they dont chew on it if you use it, or do you guys find them not a big deal since most birds cant get to play stand bases?

look forward to your replies and thanks for reading
hope this is the right section for this question lol

 

[weco]

Well Bob, if this is your first catch 22 scenario you faced in parronting, it won't be the last.....

While I'm not privy to your reading sources, I would guess the major problem with the various laminates you mentioned would be the way that they break, leaving sharp cutting edges, with a logical assumption being that if a bird ingested any pieces, they would lacerate the bird's digestive tract.....

I have 2 trees with laminate bases that are skirted with an oak band, though I have never had any of my birds show any interest in hanging out on either base, let alone chewing on them, however, I don't know if that would still be the case if one of them figured out that laminate can be pulled off, given a determined bird with a sharp pointed beak.....another cause for concern might be that the adhesive used in most commercial laminate applications has a toxic formulation, however, in your own construction uses, there is a water based contact adhesive that offers basically the same holding properties as solvent based adhesive.....it's just not as widely used in the commercial laminate industry, though that has started to change the last few years.....

 

[MikeyTN]

If you made the top part high enough, you wouldn't have to worry about them getting down to chew on the base at all. Then you wouldn't have to worry about what product to use for the base.

 

[Merlee]

I have three playstands and two of them have laminate and wood flooring. I have noticed my two birds prefer sitting at the tallest point on each one. As MikeyTN stated, you shouldn't have to worry about access to the base if there is quite a distance from the floor. The only thing you would have to worry about are fumes if something is new.

 

[bobking]

thanks for the answers guys. and yes my concerns where the glues and toxins used to form these products, my last stand never had a base, and so far my bird could care less about sitting on the new base of the new stand LOL. i just wondered what others thoughts on it and if it worried others, or if most bird owners didnt mind as long as their birds didnt bother with the stuff. you would think with all the stuff out there now a days the bird industry (stand sellers and bird stores) would shy away from anything that could maybe cause harm to a bird. but then i guess what ever makes them money right.