Because two weren't enough...

Mother Pluckin' Bird Toys recently had a sale on their atoms/swings/boings and perches. I couldn't resist the temptation to finally purchase a third atom, which arrived today.



It is truly one of the favourite items for all the birds in the house. My first two are hung in the birdroom and in the computer room, this new one will be placed in the basement.

I've been considering a third atom for a while now, and initially was thinking of actually going a size up and getting a large. However, considering that the mediums I have now have always been enjoyed by all birds, even larger Léa, the difference in cost between the two sizes (and subsequent difference in shipping charge) and, most significantly, the fact that the space where I'm thinking of hanging the atom is much more suited for a medium size one (I will be using a ceiling protector and beneath the spot where I want to hang it is located a table with a table stand, which limits available hanging space), the choice became clear, although this time I opted for the PVC connectors as they don't have any colour which will fade with time and washing.

Given that it was being shipped in a fairly large box, I thought I might as well get a wood refill kit to maximize the shipping.



These Waffle Wafers are a favourite of Léa's (although some of the smaller guys are finally starting to chew on pine that thick).

Can't wait to hang this atom up!

Recent orders - part 2

At the end of December, Mother Pluckin' Bird Toys was having a sale on their toys, and this included skewers.

As I was in need of an additonal small corkscrew skewer for one of the small Pois as well as a slightly larger one for Léa, I figured it was the time to order. Generally, when I've participated in Mother Pluckin' sales, it was for 10% off - this time, the rebate was 15%! I just couldn't pass.

To save on shipping, I made a joint order with Crystal (from Crystal's Bird Toys).

Today, I went top pick-up my skewers.



The small skewers comes pre-filled with some wood pieces but obviously not the medium. However, the medium has a nice swivel piece. While the height of the smaller one would probably be ok for Léa, I felt safer ordering the medium as the ball at the end is larger and will probably be more complicated for her to undo (doubt the smaller one would be a challenge).

On top of this joint order, Crystal and I also ordered some wooden parts at Woodworks together. I got a few hundred hardwood beads to fill up my bin - I'm sure the birds will be happy about this, at least once I start making more foot toys and regular toys!

Atoms and odd balls!

Someone on one of the parrot forums I go on was trying to decide between an atom from MPBT and the Odd ball from Oliver's Garden.

I have both, although in different sizes, and figured I'd show comparative pictures on the forum to help her decide.

So here they are!

First, atom on the left, odd ball on the right.



I then figured it would be nice to use a bird as a model. So out Pixel came..



..and she would only stick to the atom. The odd ball was less stable (probably due to weight difference) on the couch so each time I would put her on the odd ball, this happened..



So out Joey came. He was quite happy on the odd ball!

1/2 of my Sidewalk Sale bounty!

Earlier this week I finally got hold of two thirds of my Sidewalk Sale bounty - more specifically the stuff I had ordered from Mother Pluckin' Bird Toys (MPBT) and from California Bird Nerds (CABirdNerds). I still have to receive wood coins from Pet Products by Nature and a few custom toys from Things for Wings.

I've ordered from MPBT before. This time around, I just kept it to different wood refill kits. The mini maze munchers are already well loved!



This was the first time I've ordered with CABirdNerds however.
I went crazy and ordered A LOT of beads. The big bag has 1000 beads in it....



I've already started making some foot toys with the beads. The MPBT blocks will mostly be used on their corkscrew skewers or given as is in their foraging bowls.

Another money spending moment

Avian Avenue, one of the forums on which I'm more active, is having it's Semi-Annual Sidewalk Sale. What does this mean? It means that some of the vendors that happen to be members offer deals for a limited time. Past ones have been for a day, this one is on for TWO days. It has started today and keeps on going until the end of the day tomorrow.

I've done my spending.

With a friend (sharing shipping costs is fun!), I've ordered from Mother Plucking Bird Toys (MPBT) and California Bird Nerds (CABirdNerds).

From MPBT I've got a few refill kits with different types of woods, specially the mini maze munchers. The regular size have been a success so far, I can only imagine how a smaller and easier to hold version will be even more accepted by the boids.

From CABirdNerds I have ordered a large amounts of different types of wood as well as some paper rope and some leather rope to string them up.

I have also ordered from Pet Products By Nature (PPBN) - this is a first. I have got some natural wood coins in the past from Things for Wings, since they were sold in smaller quantities there and Things for Wings also happens to be a Canadian store (easier on shipping). Well, seeing how loved the cottonwood and willow coins were by my flock, I decided it was time to order large quantities so with PPBN I went!

And speaking of Things for Wings, I did also order a few custom toys seeing how all the other custom toys I've seen Danita make have been thoroughly awesome, I figured why not offer more awesome toys to my guys?

Hopefully this load of wood/toys will last me a while...

What do you mean, this is bigger than my head?

"What do you mean this is bigger than my head???"


"Hmmm..maybe it is..."


"Ooops..loosing balance!"


The block of wood Zuri is playing with came from the Mother Pluckin' Avian Block Party Refill Kit.

Just received a Mother Pluckin' shipment of toys!

I did it. I ordered straight from Mother Pluckin'.
Well it's not entirely true. I joined in on an order a friend was doing. We had planned to do so for a while (cut shipping costs) and since I had heard of a sale which was going on on one of the parrot forums I follow, it just seem that now was the time to do so.

Here's what I got.



Since not everything shows up clearly, I got the following:

-medium atom
-acrylic ceiling protectors 12"
-small refillable stainless steel corkscrew
-mini waffle wafers - wood mixed (coloured + natural wood)
-avian mini maze munchers - wood mixed (coloured + natural wood)
-avian belgium waffle refill kit - wood mixed (coloured + natural wood)
-avian block party refill kit - wood mixed (coloured + natural wood) and all type of blocks

So far, the only thing that is up for everyone to see is one of the ceiling protectors - I put it on my already hanging atom (since the baby links that were holding it prior to this were menacing to snap at any moment..) and so far, it's managed to terrify Shade, Pixel and even Zuri. Joey, Petey and Piper don't seem to have any issues with the big terrifying blue piece of acrylic...

Testing out the Atom

Petey, Zuri and Joey have all tested out the Atom.
They seemed comfortable enough on it to preen at times.
Both Piper and Shade are still unsure about it though.

Some pictures.

Zuri


Zuri


Joey


Petey


Petey

A shopping trip to Parrotdise Perch

Last week-end I was in the Toronto area.
I've gone a few times before, however I never even thought of heading out to Parrotdise Perch in Mississauga. Well, I did do just that on Sunday.

I went knowing I wanted one thing: a Mother Pluckin' Atom. Yes, I've made homemade versions of the atom myself using an array of supplies; hula-hoops, stainless steel screws, rope and PVC connectors or simply hula-hoops and vet wrap. The birds didn't mind them but I knew I one day wanted to purchase the real thing. What has stopped me so far? The one bird store here that had them for a while charged an insane price for them. Ordering them online meant shipping from the States and although I finally did do this once, I'm still a bit weary that I will someday get stuck with custom fees (less likely brokerage since most vendors seem to be using USPS to ship to Canada). Then I saw the price Parrotdise Perch sold them for; while more expensive than the US, once you factor in conversion rate as well as shipping costs, it seemed like it was advantageous to purchase it at Parrotdise Perch.

And I did.


The Mother Pluckin' Atom

Does that thing ever feel solid and well built! Definitely tighter than whatever I did with mine, the core is a stainless steel rod and the hardware, which is also stainless steel, used at the top allows the atom to rotate fully on itself without ever blocking.

While I was there, I tried not going overly crazy purchasing toys; I tried to keep in mind the price of some of the items elsewhere and this alone allowed me to put stuff back on the shelf (or to not even pick it up in the first place) since not everything was necessarily a better deal there. However, I did indulge in a few more Mother Plucking toys, as I face the same dilemma ordering those online as I did the atom. I got two of the Small Refillable Stainless Steel Corkscrew (since it was all they had left, would have liked one for each of my Poi (this item was too big for Piper)) as well as a Avian Mini Maze Muncher, which I have wanted to try out for a while.


The Small Refillable Stainless Steel Corkscrew and Avian Mini Maze Muncher

I also grabbed a few interesting looking foot toys and a babble ball.

Overall, it was a pleasant shopping experience and I'll probably drop by the store more often when I am in the area.