The Practical Parrot #3]

Value-priced plastic baskets can be immensely helpful in sorting and storing your bird supplies They're easy to move around, washable and allow the contents to be visible. Look for plastic measuring spoons and cups. My lory loves to shake her spoons and she dips the measuring cup into her nectar so she can drink from it. Small food scoops (also found in dime stores) as well as the spoons, come in real handy for bird vitamins, seed containers and powdered/pelleted foods that are doled out on a regular basis.

Hold onto those ugly old socks that you'd normally toss out during spring cleaning. Use one as a hand puppet to play and roughhouse with your bird (only if your kids react favorably towards it - many birds, especially if wild-caught, are fearful of any hand covering).

Invest in a decent pair of pruning shears. Trimming perches to length and cutting corn on the cob becomes a pleasure instead of a chore.

The use of hooks or eyelets to hang ladders and swings from ceilings of masonry or sheetrock is usually very inviting to the inquisitive beak. This often results in repairs to said ceilings or worse (Ed note: Also the danger of ingestion of lead based paint which might be on the ceilings from years past).

Instead, hang a wood frame on the ceiling and suspend the "climbing gear" from eyebolts through the Plexiglas in the frame. The eyebolts should be set back far enough from the edges to keep curiosity to a minimum once experimentation by the bird has proven the frame to be out of reach. The thickness of the Plexiglas is dependent on the size of the bird and the size of the frame. We use 1/4 " Plexiglas in a 4'x4' frame, with the four eyebolts set back 16" from the sides. This arrangement and proportion work well for a macaw or a cockatoo. The use of screw links to attach the climbing gear and toys to the eyebolts makes them easy to service and rearrange for the birds' enjoyment. The frame can be as simple or as decorative as needed and can be used to actually hold a picture. The back of the Plexiglas can be painted the color of the ceiling. The underside of the plex is easily cleaned. Sound insulating materials can even be placed between the plex and the ceiling (it's called the good neighbor policy).

Parts list:

1. Four hooks with anchors (for masonry ceilings) or four toggle type eyebolts with fender washers and nuts (for sheetrock). 2. Four S-hooks. 3. Four eyescrews or hooks to screw into the back of the frame at the corners. 4. Four eyebolts with fender washers and nuts to hang the perches from. 5. One frame with Plexiglas of the appropriate size. Please note: This configuration can be scaled down according to size of bird and beak.