Total for materials was less than $10 at Home Depot. 1/2" PVC. I sanded it down so it's not as smooth as it was and put it together without using any glue.

I just wanted something for my new baby to have to play and perch on when I am on the computer. I have sisal and some wood pieces dyeing in food coloring downstairs to make some toys.

It was very easy and I think it took about 1/2 hour. The hardest part was the wood trim on the base, but you don't have to do that if you don't want to.

oh so cool, did you cut the peices, or did home depot do it for you??Sooooo very good... What did you make the base out of???
Love it
Carol

Very nice!! Good job, I bet your baby will be happy!

Very good job and now you know we all want explicit instructions. Some of us (ahem) are physically and mentally challenged...ha ha

Wow, that's a great idea! xD Looks like a television tray, pvc pipes and a wee bit of time... as opposed to 50-100 dollars. o-o Hang a few toys off of there, slap some treat dishes to the floor and you have something that goes for big monies at the pet stores. :D

Materials for perches:
10 feet of PVC pipe (HD will only allow you to buy it in these lengths, but 10 feet was around $2.17 or something and I have a lot left over for later)
T-connector (1)
cross (+) connector (1)
end caps (4)

Base materials:
12x24 piece of laminated shelving
6.5 feet of pine trim

For the base, I used a laminated shelf because it is sturdy and wipes down easily. That was about $3.50 and the trim was the most expensive part at 75c a foot.

You need to drill a hole into the base material. Find the center and then take a boring bit (one of these: http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000...CLZZZZZZZ_.jpg and drill just until the point of the bit comes through the bottom. If you don't have a boring bit, you can use a regular drill bit...you just drill a bunch of holes in the same spot until you get the size hole you need. It's not as pretty, but it will work.

Then, decide what height and lengths you want the perches. I just winged it and knew I wanted a longer perch on the bottom ad a smaller on top. PVC is easily cut with a hack saw, but I have a special PVC cutter tool (my husband has every tool known to man Cut your pieces, then sand them down with some rough grit sandpaper (100 grit is good) or skip sanding and just cover them later with vet wrap.

Stick an end cap on one end of each of the perch pieces that aren't going into the connectors. With a small drill bit, drill a hole completely through the end cap if you want to hang something from it. After I drilled the holes, I used very small zip ties to make loops that I will be able to hang stuff from. If you don't have zip ties, you can always just thread a piece of sisal through the holes themselves or use some thin cotton rope.

Assemble the perch, making sure everything is tightly together. Insert into the base, and voila! Cover with your favorite toys.

Now, if you want to do the trim on the bottom you can do it two ways. If you have a miter saw, you can miter the corners. If you don't (most don't) just butt the ends of the trim against each other. Nail in place with small, zinc-free nails, and you are done.

The trim I used is about 1/2 inch taller than the shelf so I have a little lip there to catch whatever falls down when the bird is on the perch.

The instructions are harder to read than the perch is to make, trust me

I just copied and pasted that to my docs....one day when i get the crafty bug, which come in spurts, heh heh, I will try it.

Thanks for you posting.

Thanks for the how to instructions.. I too will have to try this...
C

Thanks for the instructions. For the bottom could you just use a dry eraser (white board) or could there possibly be something in that that could hurt them? Does anyone know. That is what I thought it was at first. Great job!!!!!

Great job! A gal after mine own heart!

Might I make one small suggestion...If you're going to be having more than one bird on there at a time...I might turn the top perch 90 degrees so it sits cross wise to the bottom perch...even if you only have one bird on there at a time...It'll kep the bottom bird from getting pooped on and if there's only one bird at a time it'll keep the bottom perch from getting pooped on!

But Great work... Now go one step further...take a drill and drill holes in the ends just inside the end caps to put Eye bolts through to hang toys off of... You can even get a toy hook to stand up higher for the upper perch for them to have something to do up on top.... Or you can screw metal or plastic seed cups to it too...Just some ideas I thought I'd pass on!

Good Job, Thanks for sharing!

This looks really good; it would be great for me to have my bird in office while I am at the computer (which is alot), and have something for him to eat while he is with me.

Could a dry erase board be used for the base? Easy to wipe off.

Edited: Never mind, I see Crystal already mentioned this. Great minds think alike

I tried to make a similar stand and used a dry erase board as the base. It just wasn't think enough or heavy enough to provide the stability needed to keep the perches from falling over when they had the birds weight on them. I ended up getting a piece of laminated shelving and framed it with some wood pieces that I had. It seems much more stable now.