Einstein's Sweet 16 Birdhouse

This is my back porch.  It's small.  4 1/2 feet wide by 28 feet long. It gets morning sun and afternoon shade.  The humans hardly ever use it because it's just too small. The view of the back fence is not much to look at either.

Long...........

and Narrow! 

Not Much of a View

One day Marcia mentioned to Jeff that she would love a screened in porch for ME!  Someplace to hang out, get fresh air, and some sunshine.  It would also be nice not have to worry about mosquitoes.  Jeff said, "Well, let's screen our back porch in!   WOW!!!!! What a perfect Sweet 16 Hatchday present!!!

HAPPY HATCHDAY TO ME!!!!!!!!!

After a few months, Marcia finally found someone to build my "Bird House"!  The men with lots of tools came and there was a lot of banging, hammering, and loud sawing going on in the backyard.  I was not allowed to supervise this project.  It was too dangerous, so I watched from inside.

If they only knew how badly I wanted to help!

The building continued for a couple of days...

Wall is going up!

Needs Paint!

Inside View.  Big enough for me!

Ready for Screens and the Door!

After a few days I began to worry.  Don't you think I need some furniture to go in this new house?  Something to perch on? Come on!  I mean REALLY!  You expect me to stand on a concrete floor!

One day a BIG TRUCK arrived and delivered 2 BIG Boxes!  Just LOOK at what was in those boxes!!!!!  OH! MY GOSH!!!!!!

Java Tree

It's called a Java Tree Perch!  It's really BIG!  It's about 5  feet tall and 3 1/2 feet wide. It has a lot of nice horizontal branches that are just the right size for my feet to get a good grip.  

Marcia ordered this from The Platinum Parrot.  Lisa is the owner and she went to the distributor's warehouse and "handpicked" this perch just for me!!!!!  The toy you see hanging on it was a Hatchday gift from her!  Thank you so much Lisa!  I am a very Happy Birdie!!!!! 

There are not a lot of toys on it right now.  But there will be, I have plenty of time to decorate it the way I want!

The screens arrived and got installed.  They are made of a heavy duty screen material called PetScreen. It is very strong and will keep insects and animals out, but will allow the wonderful UV rays to come through.  I won't be in my Bird House all of the time, just during nice weather and to get fresh air and sunshine, but I need to be safe.  

Screened windows 37" wide by 55" tall

UH! OH!

Do construction projects always go perfectly smoothly?  Every thing was going along great.... THEN it happened!

We have a problem with the door!  

Do you know the difference between a right-handed door and a left-handed door?  Marcia didn't!  She explained to the salesperson what she wanted and which way she wanted the door to open.  The salesperson said we needed a righthand door. That's what she ordered.  WRONG!!!!!  We got the door, (which, by the way, was a special order) and it didn't open the way we wanted.  The door was put back in the box and taken back to the store.  The people at the store where very nice and allowed Marcia to return the door and order a new one.  The only problem is that we have to wait 2 weeks for the correct left-handed door to be made and delivered.  

In the meantime, there is this lovely piece of plywood attached to the opening.  

 The Temporary Plywood "Door"

Update:  Today my door was installed!  All done!

Door installed! Looks pretty good!

Watch the Video!

by Einstein Parrot

Road Trip - Memorial Day 2011

♫ ♪ ♫ On the Road Again!  ♫ ♪ ♫  

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

Back to my favorite destination, Marble Falls, Texas! Right in the heart of Texas!  ( Click here to read about a previous Road Trip I took to this area.)

This time... I got to stay in the La Quinta Hotel!

We arrived and got used to the accommodations!  Very Nice Room!  Love the art work and soft beds, but actually I prefer my perch and the "Art" I make on the floor when I eat!  I slept in my travel cage, but Jeff had to put it on the desk. It was more sturdy than the bed and I slept very well!

Nice TV too!  Can we take this one home?

This is the kitchen!  Small, but adequate.  Microwave, sink, and refrigerator!  That's all Marcia needs!  See my Sprout container?  I brought it so I could have fresh sprouts with my meals!

Here I am by the window on my perch.  There was a lovely view of Lake Marble Falls.  Also, a nice balcony, but I didn't have a chance to go out there.  We were too busy because...

we were in Marble Falls for a very special Birthday Party! My Cousin "P"'s 2nd Birthday Party! The Party was about to begin! So we better go!  Weeeeeeeeee!   Party! Party! Party!

The party was being held at my Uncle's Lake house on Lake LBJ.  I've been there many times before.  I call him my, "Gunkle Mark!"  Here is a video of me talking about him!

Marcia and Jeff loaded up all my stuff and headed to the Lake House.  It took them about 2 trips each time.  Jeff carried the perch and packed it in the car, Marcia carried the box of stuff I needed.  Then they came back for me in my cage and other stuff they needed.  It was very much like traveling with a baby, only worse!  I think I require more stuff!!! (They did this several times over the course of the weekend!  They got a good work out!  Ha! It's so much fun watching them work on my behalf!)

Here I am at the Lake House all set up on my perch.  The party had started!

There were 28 adults, 11 kids of all ages, and my dog cousin, Harley. Harley is a cute Jack Russell Terrier.  Harley and I had to be kept apart. I liked all the people and they liked me.  Marcia and Jeff kept a close eye on me and made me feel safe around so many people.  I must say, all those people made a lot more noise than me!!!  Whew! Give me some peace and quiet!

My new cousins are so cute!!!  Actually, "P" is my 1st cousin , once removed.  "P" is the daughter of my cousin, "K".  (Aren't you glad you know that!)  This is also the first time I got to meet "P" and her new brother "D"!  Family!  Gotta Love it!!! Both of them are as cute as Buttons!!!!

Birthday Girl!  Ms. "P"

Master "D"

After a while, all the humans went down to the water and I had a chance to catch up on current events and watch some TV.

My favorite place was on the patio, visiting with all my friends and family!  The weather was nice, windy at times, but the nice breeze kept it cool and the mosquitoes away!  I must have gone out onto the patio 4 or 5 times over the weekend! 

Oh! I almost forgot!  There were a few other guests at the party!  Some kind of bird built a mud nest on the front porch of the house!  The eggs must of just hatched!  Here is a picture of the nest full of babies!!!

 That night we pack my stuff up and headed back to the hotel.  Here I am perched on the shower rod waiting for one of my humans to take a shower.

While at the hotel I met a nice dog who was staying in the room next door.  Her name was "Sophie" and she was a Yorkie.  She heard us every night when we can into our room. We could hear her as she would welcome us by saying, "Yap, Yap, yap, yap!"  Then she would be quiet!  Nice doggie!

The next morning, we packed up again for another day at the Lake.  While Marcia and Jeff got things packed, I perched on the shower rod and talked.

It was a fun trip and in case you are wondering... NO! I did not destroy anything in the hotel room and NO! I did not steal a towel!

It was good to be home again!

Wishing all of you safe travels!  Maybe I'll see ya on the road sometime!

My Play Perches

Ever Since I was in the DVD and CD ROM combination set entitled, “Train Your Parrot To Talk”, a lot of you have been asking me about my play perches.  I really like them and if you're crafty you can probably build them yourself.

The pictures are in thumbnail,

so click on them to see the "BIGGER" Picture!

My Kitchen Perch

My human, Jeff made this perch for me when I was a little chick.

It is made from an unfinished bar stool (24" tall) and a plastic plant saucer (22" diameter).  Marcia bought the toy hook from a company that is now out of business and she can't find anyone who makes one like it these days.  It mainly stays in the kitchen but can be rolled into other parts of the house.  The saucer is bolted to the stool, so it can be taken apart.  This is the perch we take to the bird sitter and when we go for a road trip in the car.  

My PVC Perch

This perch purchased at a Bird Mart in May of 1998.  It was built by the man who was selling them.  He had a whole bunch.  Marcia has never seen him at the show again, so I guess he went out of business too. 
 
I hope these pictures and measurements help you build one.  1" PVC pipe and fittings were used.  The measurements indicated are the cut lengths of the PVC pipe before you glue the fittings on.  I don't know what kind of glue was used.  Just be safe and be sure it doesn't "off-gas" and hurt your birdies. The measurements are close, but not exact. For example, I measured the poop tray as 17" x 25" and it's really 18" x 26".  The poop tray is a baking sheet and can be purchased from any restaurant supply. They can also be found on Amazon.com Click Here I suggest starting with the tray and build everything out from there.

 

   

Underside of Bowl

Tray and Tray Frame

Tray frame rests on intersecting supports



 

To make the PVC pipe less slippery, it looks like it has grooves gouged into it.  Most likely done with a Dremel tool.  All of the perches that I use are textured like this and I have no trouble getting around on them.



There are 10 stainless steel screw-eyes for hanging toys.  They are indicated with a red dot in this picture.



Have fun with this project and send me a picture of the perch you build!