So I bought a playstand from that "Bonka Bird Toys" website the one guy posted here about, and it came in. It's an acrylix playstand with latters, toys, bells, and swings. Pretty fancy looking, and REALLY colorful. Thought I'd share my experience with it so far.



It came in this fairly big, flat box. It took me a little while before I was ready to open it (I had to recover from an asthma attack), but once I was, my dad and I opened it together.
When we opened it, there was another box!

Once we got into it, the thing was covered in bubble wrap. I have to give them props for packing it really well. Once we got the bubble wrap out of the way, it was still covered in another plastic wrap.

You'd think with all the layers we had to go through just to get into it, it would be in fairly good condition, right? Well one of the first things my Dad notices, is that one of the pieces is broken. It was one of the vertical latters, just at the bottom rung. Luckily, it was fixed quickly with superglue, which didn't take very long to dry.

While it was drying though, I let Alex and Lucy check it out. Alex was terrified and wanted to hide in my hair, but Lucy, like the curious busy-butt she is, wanted to check it out.

Once the piece seemed dry enough and I started putting it together though, Lucy got scared and flew to her cage, while Alex got curious.

Getting the main pieces together was a little tricky. It wasn't really figuring out where they go, but when I would try to put one in, the other would slip out. Eventually I got the four main latters in as well as some extra pieces, and Alex decided to climb up the side all by himself. I didn't know if he was checking it out, or he really wanted to be on my shoulder.

Then as I was putting the toys on, Lucy flew back to see what it was. She stepped up for me, and let me put it on her. She enjoyed it, while Alex finally decided that it was terrifying, and that he just liked playing with the extra attachment parts.

Lucy even got on the swing by herself. I ended up taking a video, since she was moving too much for a picture.

(Link for whoever the video doesn't work for: http://vid49.photobucket.com/albums/f28 ... 9mww3z.mp4)
I honestly can't tell if she likes the swing or not, but considering she got on and off it multiple times probably means something good.

So would I reccomend this? Not sure, honestly. Someone on a facebook group I admin for bought the same thing, and ended up with a lot more broken pieces than I did. So I guess it depends on how safe it is while being delivered.

The only major thing I don't like is that it appears to lean on one side, and it's a little wobbly. I may have to find a way to fix that tomorrow. Other than that, it accomplished it's goal: It kept a busy-butt busy! I mean, she still wanted my laptop keys, but at least it kept her occupied as I used my iPad.

If Lucy's happy with it and Alex is happy with parts of it, then that's ok with me.

That's awesome

In spite of the quirks, it looks really nice. It's interesting that the birds accepted it right away too, because it looks so different from what they're used to.

Awesome!

You mean someone on my group you admin for lol just had to say it lol.She really seems to like that swing.

Yes, I mean your group.

And I'm sure she's just trying to keep herself balanced, which just ended up in it moving back and forth. Being the stubborn bird that she is, it took her a few times to realize that it will never stay still with her on it.

Or maybe it is fun for her. If anythiing, I would expect Alex to like the swing, since he's gotten into the habit of hanging on one of the toys in his cage. To be fair though, he just does that to chew on the hook that is holding the toy up. He ignores the cool looking stuff and plays with the things that aren't meant to be the fun part.

Thanks for sharing your experience with it. I'm still looking for a nice play gym for my bird.

Well, the brand's website says it's good for conures. It might be something to consider. it's somewhat small though so I don't know if it's good for anything bigger than a green cheek.

I looked on the website I ordered it from (Bonka bird toys), and the others don't seem too impressive. The company that makes the stand though is called "Kings Cages", and they have a good looking selection. Some of their wooden play stands look ideal for birds that like to hang on their toys, too.
Here's the website if you want to look: http://www.kingscages.com/index.aspx

Alex has gotten used to the playstand, and now they both like it. One of their favorite toys is this string that has two acrylic beads tied to the ends, that came with the playstand. One will stand on the top latter and the other will stand on the bottom latter, as they both pull at it. It's pretty funny. Lucy likes the bird shaped mirror, and Alex seems to like the bells. Neither one of them have showed a great interest in the tassel toys yet (oddly enough, they have a tassel-like toy in their cage that they both like to play with).

For a good 15-20 minutes, I was able to just hang out on the couch as they were both on the playstand. It was nice, until something outside the window scared them and they both flew in different directions. At that point I had to put them in their cage anyways, because my mom started cooking.

So far, it's working out pretty well.

I have the same playstand, and I and my tiels love it.

I had the same experience with the playstand being really, really well packed, but one piece broken. I called the company, and they immediately sent me a replacement for the missing piece.

Right now, I am using it in an abbreviated version. It's about half as high as it could be. Also, I usually don't use the bottom tray. I do think the bottom tray is a good idea, but I usually put the playgym on top of the cage, so I don't need it. Also, sometimes I put it on a table, and I just put newspaper under it. It's easier to throw the newspaper away than to clean the bottom tray.

I have had this gym for about a year now. I don't give it to them every day. Maybe twice a week I get it out, and they are kind of excited to see it. Nothing has broken since I put it together.

It is is light enough to just pick up without the tray. Now if only the feet would stay on mine, that would be better.

I guess newspaper could be put on the tray too. The only problem I had cleaning the tray was when I put seed in the bowl. It has little reinforcer-type things along the sides, and the seed shells got stuck in the little holes behind them.

Lucy is such a busy-butt and has to get into whatever she can find, so the fact that this can keep her busy is really nice. Not only that, but Alex is so clingy, so something that can keep him from flying to mine, my mom's, or my dad's head while any of us are in the same room, shows how much they like it.