parakeet tree

Question
My two parakeets, Sal and Modig, had their wings clipped when I bought
them from the pet store, but it's been almost a year since so they can fly now.
The male, Modig, will come out occasionally and fly around, but because he
didn't' come out much before he is still very tentative. Sal does not like to
come out at all, although she is much friendlier towards humans. I think that
one of the things keeping them from flying more is not having places to
perch, so I want to build them a tree. We have a lemon tree in our backyard
which I think will work well for branches, but I'm not really sure how to go
about it. Could you give me some advice as to how to build it or send me
some pictures of examples? (I saw that you had given a few pictures of yours
in one of your answers but the links didn't work for me.) Also, I have a large
mirror in my room, which is where they live, and I'm always worried they will
fly into it when I let them out. Is this really a problem? I don't think I can take
them into any other room because we also have three cats, but the mirror
would be kind of hard to cover. Oh! One more question. Is it better to feed
your birds seeds or pellets? Right now I feed them seeds and fresh fruits/
vegetables daily and also have a small bowl for pellets, but is one better than
the other? And how often should I be giving them millet spray? Thanks, Katie

Answer
Dear Katie,
thank youu for your question.
Lemon is listed as toxic for birds here:
http://www.mdvaden.com/bird_page.shtml
I know that hazel, beech, birch oak, willow, poplar, apple and pear are safe for birds, the website has a much longer list. To make a bird tree, you need a bucket or another big container. It can be filled with sand or plaster to make a heavy foot for the tree. Before filling it, put in one or two sturdy branches as a base for the tree, you can then add smaller branches between them. For tying the branches, I use rope made from cotton or hemp.
Here you can find pictures of parakeet trees:
http://www.wellispielplatz.de/spiel/baum/baum.htm
When you click on the links on the left side, you'll find more pictures of playgrounds and toys for parakeets.

Parakeets learn to avoid mirrors fast. At first, I recommend putting a cloth in fromt of it or sticking post its to it so that the birds can learn that there is an obstacle there. You can then gradually remove whatever you use to cover the mirror.

Millet spray can be given once a week, but it really depends on how much your birds move. It's fatty and birds that just sit around every day will get fat from it (and then sit around even more). Birds that fly, climb and play a lot can have more millet spray.

I don't really like pellets because they are so boring for the birds. It's much more entertaining for them to search around in the food bowl for the seeds they like best and to peel the seeds ect. Good pellets are as nutritious as seeds, but imagine getting some sort of food cube to eat every day - it may contain everything you need, but real food is just nicer.
I hope I was of some help to you
Jennifer