Here's Sunrise, the toy testing pro, trying it out...


Hope ya have fun with the project...the Hoopball is the most played on toy around here...they would live on that thang' if I would let um'.

Seeya.........................James, kids and fids

FANTASTIC!

And, that picture of your bird with one wing wrapped around the other ought to be published some place! If those aren't happy birds, I'm not sure what is!

Thanks for posting!~

I always meant to ask you this...can you cut the hoops down to make the whole thing smaller, or wouldn't it bend around as well?

Using James' fabulous instructions, my boyfriend and I made a hoopball for Ollie this summer. It was not difficult to make, but wrapping the rope does make your hands hurt! That part is definitely a 2-person job- one to move ahead and wrap the rope, and one to tighten the rope (Make sure you get it wound really tight!).

We found the hula hoops at Walmart, and they had 2 sizes. We used the smaller size, and as you can see the gym is still plenty big- perfect for Ollie's size. The rope we also found at Walmart in the boating section. I believe I've also seen it at Home Depot.

Ollie's first time on her hoopball


A few weeks later in my apartment, and more decorated with toys


There was only one thing I felt the hoopball needed to be the ultimate gym. A poop catcher. I was using a plastic washing machine pan lined with newspaper on the floor to catch the poop. Since this gym hangs in my bedroom right at the foot of my bed, you can see why the pan on the floor was a problem! I went to Home Depot and found a circular water heater drain pan that was the perfect size. I drilled a hole and inserted a hook into the bottom center of the bottom T connector. This hook holds the chain that is attached to the center of the pan with an eye screw.



To balance the tray I attached 4 more eye screws around the edge of the pan, and used some cotton rope I found at Home Depot to tie around the hoopball.

Here is a picture from a few days ago of Ollie on her hoopball. She spends probably 3 hours a day just on that gym- she absolutely loves it! I definitely recommend making one for your fids!

Susan,
I would assume that would work fine. Try finding the smaller sized hula hoops, then you wouldn't have to cut so much off. Another option is to use flexible PVC that you could cut to any size.

Thanks Mary!!! The picture of Sunrise and TAz is one of my all time favorites.

Camille is right...you *can* cut them down smaller and use them to make a smaller hoop. Just start out with the *smaller* hoops like the ones we used to make these hoopballs. The smaller hoops are 28 inches across in diameter. The regular sized ones that *we used when we were kids* back *cough cough* years ago are too large.
Didn't want to say how many years ago it was when we were kids Susan.
After all, we're both still kids at heart, right?

Thanks Camille for adding on your instructions for the catcher!!!
As I've told you before, you did one heck of a job making the hoopball for Ollie. It certainly makes all the effort of putting up the instructions on making one worthwhile when I see someone else's bird on one that they have made.

Wow those are awesome... I might have to make one for the new TAG.