I may be nuts.........is it a good idea?

[jimpierce7]

I was just pondering the possibilty of turning my patio into an outdoor play area for the fids. Below is a picture of the opening on my patio (yes the buildings here are pink, actual name is Passion, it was an oops by the painter) I am contemplating on making a rope cover for the opening. 3 sections framed out of PVC. Using sisal rope. It will double as a toy and won't be a permanant fixturs. Only hung up when I take them out to play. The over all area may even be big enough to let them all play at once. Hmmmmm.......and I could make an awesome playstation for out there that won't get in the way indoors!!! Oh my!! the little idea machine is moving now!!!

I used the panoramic stitching feature on my photoshop to put together the pic.........

[Irish]

It looks like you live in an apt. or condo, yes? With stucco walls, or layers and layers of paint, one or the other--plus some rust or peeling paint on the railings. If I'm wrong, correct me....

My concerns would be about the paint, stucco and rust. How old is the paint, and if there are layers and layers of it, could some of the older stuff be lead based? Also, does the patio ever get full sunlight? You wouldn't want your birds to get sun or heat stroke....

I think that if I was going to turn that patio into a play area, I'd try to do it in such a way as to provide protection from the elements (shade from the sun, barriers to wind and rain). I would also make it so that the birds never have access to the walls or rusty/paint-peeling railing. That way your birds aren't exposed to toxins (unless there are a lot of exhaust fumes from that parking lot, in which case I wouldn't use the patio as a play area at all), and you don't get nailed with a big repair fee by your landlord or HOA should you ever decide to move out.

Of course, you probably have already taken that all into account, so it's old news. I can't think of any other ideas, personally, tho'.

Edit: BTW--love the family pix--and the pink walls :-).

[Monica]

I saw, if you can do it safely, without birdies munching on the walls, go for it!

[felisdomesticus]

do you have to follow community guidelines--for appearance and whatnot? I remember when I lived in a condo, there were certain rules about what we could and couldn't do to the building, yard, etc.

[jimpierce7]

see now here is the thing............I am the maintenance manager of this property. So I get some lee way with doing things. This property is too new for the use of lead paints or I wouldn't even concider it. As well as it will only be a fair weather play area for the purpose of getting sunshine and fresh air. It will also not be a permanant fixture. It will be three piece that I can put up and take down at will. It will also be a supervised play area. Thanks for the input and keep it coming!!!

[The Outlaw]

Well, here's my input. My ekkie would have had a field day with stucco. She once chewed through my sheetrock and excavated a 4" x8" hole in about an hour. Birds seem to be drawn to that kind of stuff.

I assume you intend to be out there with them when they are playing, yes? If not, what's to protect them from people? There are a lot of parrot thefts all across the U.S. these days. I'm nervous here in Maryland because there is a lot of construction going on next door and we have lots of illegals working on the houses. I know they can hear my birds and I figure that sooner or later, someone is gonna decide to check them out. Coming from the tropics, I'm pretty sure they'll know the value of the birds on the street here and how to snag them quickly. That's one of the reasons that I have Joey on duty. No one screws around with that dog.

[jimpierce7]

everything I put out there to play on will not be near the walls. the area around the opening is all wood and won't be easily accessable to the birds. Like I said above, it will be a supervised play area. Mostly due to those who may think taking my fids away from me would be a good idea...............

[jimpierce7]

I have the three frames built and am currently weaving the rope on one of them. I marked it out around the frame every two inches. As I am working with continues rope the space in the end is a little less then 1" square. I will get a couple pictures of it tomorrow. By the look of things it will be a few days before I get any sunshine anyway so no hurry.

[jimpierce7]

this is the general idea anyway. There are two more being made for either side of course. I will be using hooks to hold it up on top and it will hang below the hand rail. I personally can't think of a better use for what used to be my smoking patio.