Suppose your bird had a tree he absolutely loved?  A place that was fun, interesting and a great source of exercise.  The actual branch assembly was made like a real tree and of a type of wood that was comfortable to stand on, never hard or slippery, and great for chewing and gnawing.  A place where he felt safe, secure, and natural.  A place that allowed him to do what's natural, hang out in a tree, being a bird.  That's what your bird wants, and what I offer.  And, think of the fun you'll have enjoying your bird being happy and having a fun life, like parrots are supposed to have.   

To build a gym that would do this, I needed to start at the beginning, and find a new kind of perch material.  My experience with Manzanita, PVC, and wooden dowels, etc, convinced me that I needed a new kind of wood for my gyms.  

Let me introduce you to Bottlebrush. Bottlebrush is a decorative landscape tree that was originally imported to South Florida from Australia. Hey Cockatoo owners, that should get your attention.

The outer Bark of Bottlebrush is soft, and chewy. GREAT for chewing, and your parrot will LOVE to chew on it. Consider Bottlebrush bark like the frosting on a cake. However, the wood underneath is PERFECT for GNAWING, not too hard or too soft, right in the middle. However, it gets even better.

Bottlebrush has nice soft bark that naturally grips your parrots feet without requiring they hold on. Kind of like tennis shoes on a slippery tile floor. They can relax comfortably, without gripping. Think about how much more comfortable that would be for your bird. Manzanita, PVC, Driftwood, wooden dowels, etc, require holding on, and that's get uncomfortable pretty quick, and can cause foot sores and cramping problems.   

Bottlebrush has another great benefit, Gnawing.  Gnawing is critical for proper beak conditioning, shaping, and is also just plain fun.  Like dogs gnawing on a bone.  However, most wood used for parrots is either too hard or too soft.  Bottlebrush falls right in the middle, hard enough to last, but just right for gnawing.   Basically, the reason I use it, and why your bird will LOVE it, is because they can both Chew and Gnaw Bottlebrush.

For you, Bottlebrush looks great. A kind of tan, blond color. However, Bottlebrush will be your parrots favorite wood to chew and gnaw on, and stand on, and will LAST. When you buy my Bottlebrush stuff, both you and your parrot will be happy, and satisfied. Try it, you'll be delighted you did.

Let me jump ahead here for a second. Since 1992, I've built over 9300 Bottlebrush Play Gyms, Hundreds of Hanging Gyms, tens of thousands of Bottlebrush in-cage perches and thousands of Bottlebrush toys. Generally, parrot owners fall into 2 categories, those who will ONLY use Bottlebrush, and whose birds LOVE Bottlebrush, and those who've never tried it. This is the best wood there is for your birds. I don't say that because I use it, that's WHY I use it. Back to my gyms.

OK, so I had the right wood for my gyms, now to the design. The most important design feature is the tray in the middle. Here's why. Your bird can climb all over his gym, but can't climb down. It's like a fenced yard for a dog, they know where they can go, they have boundaries. With a tray on the floor, the way most parrots stands, towers are made, the building costs are half the cost of mine, but all it takes is a step down and your bird is on the floor, not good for you or your bird.

However, the tray in the middle also offers another natural behavior, the ability to forage.  Foraging is normal bird behavior.  Ever seen your bird poking thru the debris at the bottom of their cage?  Foraging for birds is natural and just plain fun.  

Here are some of the other features my gyms offer.

Construction details.  You care about this stuff, your bird doesn't.

Let me give you a quick rundown about my gyms.   Basically, they consist of two distinct items, the Trays and the Branch assembly.    

The basic idea behind my trays is that they basically last forever.  As long as they aren't left outdoors, (need a gym for outdoors, check out my Hanging Gyms),  my trays will never need to be replaced no matter how long you have them, or what kind of birds use them. 

The Trays.                                                           

1. 3/4" furniture grade plywood, no Melamine or Particle board ever.
2. On top of this plywood, I use Formica in 4 beautiful colors.  You can choose Blue, Green and Slate Black marble pattern, or Chestnut Burl Formica.    I use smooth, high gloss Formica for beauty and my gyms are very easy to clean.  
3. 1/8 X 11/2" Aluminum border on the top tray, 1/8 X 3/4" on the bottom tray.  Most gyms use a wooden border, cheap and fast, but your bird will destroy a wood border in no time.   Aluminum will virtually last forever, and that's the idea here.  
4. Between the two trays, I include a stained and finished pedestal.  These pedestals provide my gyms with stability, and they look great as well.  
5. Casters are standard, and my gyms fit thru standard doors.  

The Branch assemblies. 

Now look at one of my branch assemblies. Birds live in trees, and that's how I designed my branch assemblies. There is a main vertical trunk, with branches, I call them stairs, coming off the main trunk, exactly like a TREE.  Gee, seems to make sense to make a tree for a bird. 

My gyms have a main top branch, and a bottom branch that are connected by a set of spiral stairs. The diameter of the perches is determined by the size of the bird it's ordered for. One important thing to realize about Bottlebrush is that it isn't slippery, and your bird doesn't have to HOLD ON. That means perch diameter isn't critical. My Green Cheek Conure can literally climb all over a Macaw sized gym. 

When I build the branch assembly, I use a wide variety of perch diameters. On the gym pictured above, perch thickness varies from over 2" on the main top branch, to 1/4" on some of the staircase branches. This is natural for birds, and prevents foot cramping and foot problems. 

The number of stairs in the staircase depends on the size of the bird it's built for. Too few stairs or too many stairs make the gym impractical and uncomfortable for your bird. 

Large model 2 showing the way I stagger the steps.   This model is the most elaborate I offer, with a double set of spiral stairs.  This particular gym has over 11 feet of USABLE space, all packed in a 21X 34" tray.   

This is one of my Deluxe gyms, pictured from the front and side.  My gyms have a front and back. When the gym is facing the right way, you can see from the pics that there is a clear drop or poop zone behind the top branch. Also, the steps are staggered, so poop falls to the tray, not lower branches.  My trays catch about 90% of the droppings.  

And, lets talk about usable perch space.  This particular Deluxe gym has about 71/2 feet of USABLE perch space.  Every perch can be used, and they're is plenty of room for hanging upside down, running up and down the stairs, etc etc etc.  These are functional, practical parrot gyms DESIGNED to be your birds favorite place.  

Food cups are included, 2 on the Small and Med gyms, 3 on all the other gyms. 

All of my gyms have casters and are easily moved as needed. 

My gyms are assembled using Lag Bolts, which are torqued in place using an Impact Wrench. My branch assemblies will stand up to even the biggest, most active birds.


All of my gyms have another of my unique, original design features, the Spinner. Basically, the spinner is a chunk of Bottlebrush with a hole in it. It's attached to one of the stairs of the staircase and it spins around. Consider it a psychological bird toy. You bird be intrigued with the spinner, why does it spin, yet can't be removed. Great for chewing as well. When one is chewed up, I even include 2 refills. These are a favorite. 

Another standard feature are my use of Screw Eyes on the ends of most branches. These are great for hanging toys, etc. 

Overall height is about 41/2'. The middle tray is about 31" off the floor.

Each one of these gyms is hand made by me, I do it all. I don't ship until it's right, and I'm proud of my work.  Every one is signed, dated and numbered. My gyms aren't cheap, but good things rarely are. I have a saying I live by. The Bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price. That certainly applies to Parrot Play Gyms.

Results/Lets take a look at your birds life with one of my gyms.

You get home from work, greet your bird, and place him in his tree, on his Bottlebrush Play Gym. Immediately, he's in his favorite place, and his life is better. You can go about your business, making dinner, checking e-mails, homework, etc, and your bird has his own life, and is busy playing, climbing, etc. In fact, the reason I call these PARROT PLAY GYMS is because they are designed to encourage climbing, hanging upside down, all the things a FREE bird does.

Your bird now HAS A LIFE.  He doesn't need you to give him one.  Consider what we call Velcro Birds.  Basically, these birds don't like their cages, and YOU'RE the only alternative to them being caged.  So, they cling to you.  Fun at first, but it gets old really fast.  So, instead of your Velcro Bird needing YOU for a life, they have their Play Gym.  This is what my gyms we're designed to do, and they work.  

As you look at the pics of my gyms, you will see the toy that arches over the top of my gyms. Marketed as a great fun toy your bird can chew on and climb on, that's not why I developed it. Again, in the wild, your bird would NEVER stand in the top of a tree and take a nap. To do so would be life threatening. So, I developed this toy that arches over the top of the gym, so your bird feels like he is standing IN the tree, not ON the tree. Again, parrot psychology.

Let me ask you a question? How much do you spend a month on Parrot Chew Toys? $20.00, $50.00, $100.00?  And what happens to them?  Either they're destroyed in no time or ignored.  Either way, you and your bird are the losers.

Most chew toys are made of White Wood.  White wood is cheap and light, so the toy maker colors this stuff and make big colorful toys.  YOU think your buying your bird a chew toy they will enjoy.  However, white wood has no flavor or texture and is soft.  White wood is like you and I chewing on a piece of Styrofoam. 

Your bird needs to chew and gnaw, it's critical.  However, these chew toys aren't satisfying at all, and in fact, lead to what I call Chewing Deficit.

Chewing Deficit is a syndrome caused by a lack of proper chewing and gnawing material.  Initially, this syndrome is identified by excessive, compulsive chewing.  These birds chew anything and everything, walls, doors, base boards, furniture, anything they can find.  Typically, these birds will rampage around your home, desperate to find something to chew and gnaw on.  

As Chewing Deficit progresses, it's also characterized by a lack of chewing and gnawing.  These birds just give up and don't chew at all.  They've come to the realization that they can't find something they like, and don't bother chewing at all.  They ignore chew toys, why bother.      

Once you get your new Bottlebrush Parrot Gym, you won't need to buy any more chew toys. Consider the branch assembly one big chew toy. And, after 1 year, or 2 years, or more of serious chewing and gnawing, you can order a brand new set of branches, remove the original set, install the new set, and presto, you now have a brand new Bottlebrush Play Gym. This is the last Play Gym you will ever buy, and your savings from NOT buying chew toys will pay for your gym in no time. My gyms are an investment, and like any investment, the benefit accrues in the future.

So, if you don't need to purchase any more chew toys, how much will you save monthly.  How long till your actually MAKING money by having one of my gyms, not even considering the value of having a happy, well adjusted bird.  

If you want to improve your parrots life, and yours as well, try one of my gyms. I guarantee both you and your bird will be happy you did, and it will change all of your lives.

So that's my story.  My gyms do what they were designed to do, allow you bird lots of out of cage time, because that's what's natural for your bird, what your bird wants.  What's natural, spending time in a real tree, or in a real cage?  

If you want more info, this is the site for you.  I have TONS of info pages.  

• For a comparison of all types of Play Gyms, visit Lets compare parrot play gyms. How to choose the right Parrot Play Gym for your bird.
•  I also have a page about commonly asked questions, visit Frequently asked Questions, FAQs. Which Bottlebrush Parrot gym is right for my bird, etc.
• And last but not least, if you want to see what my clients and their birds think of my gyms, visit Client Happy Letters, what my clients, and their birds, think about my Bottlebrush parrot stuff.