If this is your first time on my site, welcome.  Since 1992, I've been building a line of totally unique and 100% original Bottlebrush stuff both you and your parrot will love.  It can and will change ALL of your lives, however, I need to ask you for something extremely valuable, a few minutes of your time.  

If you're lucky enough to have a happy, well adjusted bird, my Bottlebrush stuff can and will keep it that way.  However, for those of you with behavior problems, my Bottlebrush stuff was designed to help, and it can and will help you get the kind of bird you wanted when you brought your parrot home.  

I'm going to ask you to read 2 pages on my site.  The first page discusses the situation most parrots find themselves in, and the second page provides the foundation for improving your birds day to day life. If, after reading these two pages, my stuff and concepts don't make sense to you, thanks for your time and best of luck in your search.  If my concepts and stuff does make sense to you, welcome.  Together, we can and will change all of your lives.  

The first page is Want to improve your parrots life, try one of my Bottlebrush Parrot Play Gyms.

Why your bird needs a properly designed Play Gym?  In the wild, your bird wakes up, unites the flock, and for them, go to work.  Going to work means flying around the jungle, looking for food, napping, hanging out with flock mates, etc.  One thing they wouldn't do is hang out where they roost.  Why?  If predators know where your bird roosts, all they need to do is figure out how to ambush your bird for a nice birdie midnight snack. 

Now, the ONLY time your bird spends the day where they roost is when they are nesting.  So, you do exactly what the parrot industry tells you to do, lock your bird in their cage during the day, over time, your bird begins to think of their cage as a nest, and as with any nesting animal, feel the need to defend their turf.  In my opinion, about 90% of all parrot related behavior problems are cage related. 

So what's the solution?  Simple, a tree to hang out in during the day, and a safe place to roost at night.  You have the roost, your birds cage, now you need the tree for during the day. The TREE should be a properly designed Play Gym. Lets look at what makes a properly designed Play Gym. 

First, lets divide play gyms into 2 categories, Lower tray and upper tray.

Lower tray. Most Play Gyms are done this way. These have a simple, square or rectangle tray the sits on the floor. Having the tray on the floor means your bird can simply climb down the perches, and presto, he's on the floor. This means he has to be closely supervised when he's on his gym, and you'll never be able to Play Gym train him. Cheap for the Play Gym maker though, after all, your only making one tray. 

Most Play gyms have a square base with a wood border. This is done for the convenience of the Play Gym manufacturer, period. You cut the base, nail some 1" X 4" pine and you have your base. Good for them, bad for you. Lets say the perches themselves are made of Manzanita or some other hard wood or worse, PVC.   Like I said, your parrot has to chew. In no time they will discover that soft, chewy border around the base and destroy it in no time. Once the tray is destroyed, what's left?

Here's another problem with your standard base aside from a wood border. If you go to your local Office Depot, you can buy a beautiful Computer desk that comes in a box, you put it together. (The pic to the left is one of those desks, the one I'm sitting right now. The wood grain on the top is heavily worn, exposing the particle board. I don't allow it to get wet. If this we're a Play Gym, and your bird spilled water, well...) These are made of a material called Melamine, which is particle board with a mica looking top and bottom. If you use it for furniture, like your computer desk, It's cheap and great. However, here's the problem with Melamine, Water will destroy it.  If you use it to build a Parrot Play gym, all it takes is for water to get to the particle board and it will swell and literally fall apart.  Look at the base of the play gym you're considering.  Look underneath, if there is a finish, white or wood grain mica looking stuff, that's Melamine, Run, don't walk away.  This play gym won't last very long.  

Why do most play gym makers use a wood border and Melamine, It's cheap and fast, period. 

Upper Tray. Having what I call an upper tray is done so your bird can't climb down. My gyms we're designed like this. You can allow your bird to play all over his gym, but he can't climb down. These are more expensive to build, but the benefits a two tray gym are worth the added expense. More on that later.

I spend a lot of time and money building the trays I do because I want them to be virtually indestructible. 

Here's what I do. I start with furniture grade 3/4 plywood. The trays are cut, and the Formica is applied. I use Formica because it looks great, and is easy to clean.  Instead of using a wood border, I use 1/8" X 11/2" aluminum as a border. No sharp edges ever, my play gyms have a sleek, clean look. However, here's the important part. My tray assemblies are designed to last for years and years.  If I build the trays so they last, and are a beautiful piece of parrot furniture for you, and the branch assembly is replaceable, why will you ever need to buy another gym?  Let's be clear here, you care about the trays, your bird cares about the actual perch material.

I'm proud of every gym I build.  And, as most custom builders do, I hand sign, date and number every gym I build.  Again, these are hand made, custom configured specifically for your bird.  

Now to the actual perch material. Again, lets divide it into two categories, man made materials and natural materials. 

Man made perch material. Under this category, you will find the following:

PVC. If you are looking to put a sprinkler system in your yard, or repair the plumbing in your home, PVC is great. Easy to work with and cheap. However, why would your parrot have any interest in this stuff? They can't hold on to it, even if roughened up, or reshaped. Your parrots feet are designed to grip naturally textured bark without having to actually hold on.  Having to Hold On means your birds feet get tired and cramp up.  In my opinion, don't waste your money on a PVC play gym, your parrot will hate it.

Space age Polymers.  They actually describe this as SPACE AGE.  Don't fall for this hype.  I love this slick marketing, but, still plastic. Again, requires holding on. The marketing here is EASY TO CLEAN, INDESTRUCTIBLE. Good for you, bad for your bird. Don't waste your money. 

Wooden Dowels. I realize this is wood, however, it is basically man made and about as boring as you can get for your parrot.  Again, requires Holding On, but wooden dowels all being the same size also cause foot cramping.  Perch diameters need to vary. 

Please understand something here, I spend a tremendous amount of time and effort being able to offer you Bottlebrush. If I considered PVC or wooden dowels or Manzanita suitable, it would make my life a lot easier if all I had to do was order perch material.

Natural: 

The most common material used for Play Gyms that falls under the natural category is Manzanita.

Manzanita. Manzanita is an extremely hard wood that grows in the desert of Nevada. The main advantage Manzanita offers is for the parrot owner. If you are looking for a beautiful tree to put in your living room, on which you will put your parrot when company comes over, a Manzanita tree is for you. However, let me be blunt here. Manzanita is unsuitable for parrots, period. It is extremely slippery, your parrot can't comfortably hold on to it.  Your parrot standing on Manzanita is like you and I spending all our time standing on ice. It's uncomfortable for your birds feet, period.  Some Manzanita is sandblasted, sandblasting helps, but it doesn't address the main problem with Manzanita.  It's too hard for your parrot to chew and gnaw on, and is frustrating.  I had one of the Large Manzanita trees a number of years ago. My Blue and Gold Macaw learned rather quickly that if he found a crack, which are common as Manzanita ages, he could actually shatter it. Had I allowed him to continue to use the tree, he would have destroyed it in no time. Ask yourself this question, why would your parrot who came out of the jungles of the world want to stand on a tree from the desert. Manzanita is better for the parrot owner than your parrot. 

Here's another serious problem with Manzanita. In order to HOLD ON, your bird needs to be able to wrap his feet around it.  If he can't wrap his feet around it, he can't hold on. Therefore, if your using Manzanita, you need to buy small, thin branches. 

This is an example of a Sandblasted Manzanita gym.  First, it's very expensive, and everything that's wrong with most play gyms.  First, as you look at the branches, it's basically just branches screwed together.  Climbing down would be the first thing your bird does, because this stuff hurts their feet.  The base is Melamine, and it's extremely top heavy.  Plus. no cups.    

Here's another Manzanita tree.  These are beautiful, and make a great decoration, as long as you don't make your bird stand on it.  

What's your bird supposed to do on one of these?  All metal, with 1 18" wooden dowel perch.  And these retail at $200.00.  

Here's one with one wooden dowel perch, and everything else is metal, including metal ladders.  Again, what's a bird supposed to do here.

The common thought regarding these gyms is that they're indestructible and fine, after all, the bird is only there for a couple of hours a day.   Well, consider this.  Do you have a big, comfortable sofa or overstuffed chair.  Of course we do, after all, we want to be comfortable watching TV, reading, etc.    

These gyms would be the equivalent to sitting on a plain wooden chair.  OK for eating dinner, but not comfortable for more then a few minutes.  Doesn't your bird deserve to be comfortable, even if it's only for a couple of hours?  Just a thought. 

This is an example of everything that is wrong with most Play Gyms. The diameter of the perches is so large that only the largest parrots, Hyacinths and Green Wings would be able to use it. The reason, most perch material  is slippery and requires holding on.  In order to hold on, your bird needs to be able to wrap his feet around the branches. This gym was marketed for anything from Greys to Macaws. The actual design of the branches gives very little usable perch space. Your bird would spend about 20 minutes on one of these, climb right down to the wood border base, and destroy it in no time.   The middle tray is only 20" off the floor, and your bird, after he destroys the wood border, will just drop down and be on the floor.  To make matters worse, the bottom tray is tiny, making the whole gym top heavy.   This is a great example of a gym designed to be attractive to YOU, your bird will hate it. 

I get e-mails on a regular basis from people looking for a Play Gym. However, they don't tell me their looking for something their BIRD will like, they tell me what THEY are looking for. Usually, the main concern is mess. Here's an example of a Play Gym that might be attractive to someone looking for a gym that MIGHT control mess. However, again, why is your bird going to WANT to stay here. There is NOTHING to do. This gym has 2 wooden dowel perches, the rest of the gym is made of metal. Again, your bird will just climb down, and that means you have to cage him most of the time. Again, don't waste your money on one of these. 

Java wood.  This is the latest wood being used for Play Gyms.  It's as bad, maybe worse then Manzanita.  This stuff is rock hard, and slicker then Manzanita.  Again, being slippery, your bird needs to hold on.  Even the largest parrots don't have feet large enough to wrap around this stuff.  As you look at this massive gym, in reality, there is actually very little usable perch space.  Most is too thick and these birds slide all over it.  Not a comfortable way to spend the day.  And these cost a fortune.  

This is a Java Wood tree, I assume designed for HUGE birds.  The branches are massive, and hard and very slippery.  So, how is your bird supposed to be comfortable on one of these.  

Here's another Java Wood tree.  As you look at this, most of the perches are at a steep angle, and hard and slippery.  All a bird is going to do on one of these is climb down and look for someplace more comfortable.   

This is about as bad as it gets.  Total garbage.  Don't waste your money.

There are numerous other hard woods used for play gyms. Buttonwood, Dragonwood, Driftwood, Grapevine, Citrus and lots more.  Most are used for one reason, they are hard, and will last. Good for you, bad for your bird. The fact that they are hard means your bird is standing on hard perches all day and night, day after day. Try this, take your shoes off, and go stand on a hard concrete floor for the rest of the day. I bet your feet will hurt tonight, and you might even be a little grouchy. Now you know how your bird will feel after being on hard, slippery perches. Here are a couple of other things to look for. 

Look for holes and cracks. For example, a very popular and attractive wood is Buttonwood and Grape wood. It looks great however, it has lots of holes and built in cracks. Those holes and cracks are going to trap food and droppings, however, it gets even worse. I was delivering an order of my Play Gyms to one of my dealers and they had a huge Grapevine tree outside the back door. I asked the owner why it was out there, wasn't he afraid it would get stolen. He laughed and said that was what he was hoping for.  We walked over and he kicked the tree.  Hundreds of roaches scurried out, it was infested.  You can't spray it with insecticide, it was basically worthless. 

Most Play Gyms use these kinds of hard wood as the perch material.  It's great for you. Words like indestructible and easy to clean are used to be attractive to YOU. Not what your bird wants though.  Let's look at a couple of other types of Play Gyms.

When looking at a Play Gym, consider that this is for your parrot, who has the intelligence of about a 3 year old.  Is the play gym going to be entertaining, challenging and a source of exercise. Lets face it, your basic T stand is the equivalent to putting your 3 year old in a high chair with no toys or anything to do. In a matter if minutes, that 3 year old is going to let you know he or she is unhappy. Trust me, your parrot will do the same.

Here's a Hyacinth standing on one of my gyms.  This is a Deluxe, not sized or designed for a Hyacinth, and being used in a parrot store, where space is always a problem.   For a Hyacinth, my recommendation is the Jumbo, or Large model 1 gym, or Large Hanging Gym.  Look at how comfortable Bottlebrush is to his feet.  Standing on one foot is a sign of comfort.  

Stand back and look at the play gym you are considering. Look at it from the perspective of your parrot. Will the play gym be entertaining and exciting for your parrot, or boring and uninteresting? If he can climb down, he will. The idea of a play gym is to keep your parrot entertained and happy. I have a saying I believe in, The Bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price. And here's the bottom line. If your bird doesn't like his gym, and won't use it, why waste your money buying it, no matter how cheap it is. Again, good things are rarely cheap, and cheap things are rarely good. 

So, Lets look at my Play Gyms. 

In 1992, I introduced a brand new type of wood to the parrot industry called Bottlebrush. Here's why it's the only wood I have ever used and why you should use it as well for your birds. 

Why Bottlebrush? Bottlebrush is a local landscape tree originally imported from Australia. The outside bark is soft and chewy. Your parrot can gnaw and chew their hearts out. Your parrot has to chew, its as important to them as food and water. However, the wood under the bark is hard, yet never slippery or brittle like Manzanita. Your parrot will ALWAYS be able to chew and gnaw, and will be happy and contented. Will Bottlebrush last for ever, No. However, consider this. How much do you spend weekly or monthly on chew toys? Once you get your Bottlebrush gym, consider the branch assembly to be one big chew toy. You won't need to buy any more chew toys, and your bird will love chewing and gnawing on Bottlebrush. I actually have a whole page dedicated to Bottlebrush, visit Bottlebrush, your parrot's best friend, besides you.

So, once I found the right perch material, I started perfecting my gyms. 

I use an upper and lower tray, with a pedestal in the middle. Your bird can't climb down. My trays are all handmade by me, I do everything, and sign and date every gym. I'm proud of what I build, and you will be proud to own one of my gyms. 

I currently use 4 basic colors for my gyms, Green, Blue and Slate Black Marble, and Chestnut Burl. This is actual Formica, hand applied to 3/4" Plywood. No Melamine ever. 

Look at the overall appearance of my gyms. Each one is different, and designed to be practical and functional for your bird, and a great piece of parrot furniture for you. 

This is the branch assembly for a Deluxe Gym, designed for an Amazon, African Grey sized parrot. Lets look at some of the design features of my gym branch assemblies. 

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. 

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 truck, 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. 

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 a pic looking down on the Deluxe gym above, and from the 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. 

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.  

A word about mess. My gyms are designed for your bird. I want my gym to be your birds favorite place, and he stays there because he likes it. I try to maximize the amount of usable perch space, again, so your bird will be happy there, and want to stay there. My trays will collect about 90% of the mess, however, a bird on a play gym is going to be messy. There are ways of controlling this mess, but having a bird is messy. 

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. 

Another of my unique, original design items are my Play Gym toys. In the wild, your bird would never nap in the top of a tree. They realize safety is in the tree, not on the tree. These toys arch over the top of my gyms, and make your bird feel like he is standing IN the tree, not ON the tree. To make things even better, this is also a great fun toy, with chunks of Bottlebrush, colored rawhide and colored cotton rope.  Your bird can chew, and gnaw, and even climb on these toys. Your bird will love one of these toys. 

I hope this page has helped.  As you now realize, I've put a tremendous amount of time and effort into developing and perfecting my gyms.  They aren't done, and actually never will be.  Try one, they will change your parrots life.

 Thanks for your time.  To see my Bottlebrush Gyms, visit my Play Gyms page.

Wayne