Bottlebrush Playgyms and Stands

In order to appreciate Bottlebrush, you need to understand the other types of wood that are available to parrot owners. Currently, Manzanita is the most popular wood for parrot play gyms. It is a beautiful and extremely hard wood that grows abundantly in the desert of Nevada. This makes it great for parrot owners, but, unfortunately, it is not so wonderful for our birds. It is extremely slippery and most birds have trouble holding on to it. In order to correct this problem, some manufacturers have tried sand blasting the Manzanita, which gives it a clean look and a slightly rougher texture. Admittedly, this does allow your parrot to grip the wood more easily. However, it is still not ideal, and it ignores a larger problem: the hardness of the wood. Manzanita is a very, very tough wood. It is marketed as a wood that will stand up to large beaks and lots of wear and tear.

This sounds great at first, but your parrot’s natural instinct is to chew. When your bird tries to chew on Manzanita, he will quickly become frustrated. The wood is so hard that he will not be able to break it, and may even injure his beak during the process. When this frustration builds it can easily turn into behavioral issues.

Bottlebrush is a decorative landscaping tree that is commonly used in shopping centers, professional office complexes, and apartment communities. It is not native to Florida, and was originally imported from Australia. It is also not available commercially, so we personally harvest, inspect, and clean the Bottlebrush branches. Why do we go to all this trouble? Because Bottlebrush is the ideal wood for all birds and parrots. Unlike most wood, Bottlebrush perches and Bottlebrush play gyms have two layers. The outer bark is soft, chewy, and easy to stand on. Your parrot’s feet were designed to naturally mesh with the bark of trees and allow him to move about effortlessly. Bottlebrush perches and Bottlebrush play gyms retain their natural bark which is exactly what birds crave! Parrots need to chew, and the bark of Bottlebrush perches is absolutely perfect for that. Underneath all that lovely soft bark is the hard inner layer. This layer is tough enough to allow your bird to gnaw on it, but will not damage or injure his beak. All birds need to be able to gnaw on a tough (but not too hard!) wood in order to keep their beaks conditioned and shaped. Gnawing is probably the most overlooked part of your parrot’s play time. Many bird owners do not realize that their bird wants to groom its own beak but has no way to do so!Bottlebrush play gyms and Bottlebrush perches are the solution to this problem. When other woods are too hard or too soft, Bottlebrush falls right in the middle making it perfect for both chewing and gnawing.