Suggested perch diameter sizing. It's OK to go a little smaller or
larger. Basically don't get perch a bird too large that a bird's foot can't grab
comfortably and may cause a bird to fall. Conversely too small a diameter may
allow a birds foot to wrap all the way around and cause pain or injury to it's
own foot.
Smaller birds like Finches or Canaries:
3/8 to 1/2 inch
Small birds like Budgies: 1/2 to 5/8 inch
Small Conures and Cockatiels:
3/4 inch
Larger Conures and smaller Amazons:
3/4 to 1 inch
African Greys and most Amazons and some smaller
Macaws: 1 inch
to 1 1/2
inches
Large birds like Cockatoo or medium
Macaws: 2 to 2 1/2 inches
Large Macaws like Hyacinths:
2 1/2 inches or more
Hardwoods - Most cages come with at least one hardwood dowel perch. An
additional hardwood should be introduced such as Dragonwood or
Manzanita
Perches. These
woods offer not only durability but usually have uneven surfaces with knurls and
knots. The varying diameter of these branches cause the birds feet to constantly
adjust, thus providing needed exercise.
Rope can be in the form of a perch you attach to you cage like
Booda perches. It can also be just rope.
You can attach rope with w simple knot (never tie knots in
chain please)It's soft on a birds feet and also gives them
something to tear up with their beaks
Concrete, Sand, Terra-Cotta can help nails and beak trimmed you
feathered friends nails and beak trimmed. Your bird will scrape it's beak much
like rubbing a knife blade against a sharpening stone. The feet should be able
to not completely wrap around the perch so nails are dragged over
the rough surface keep them from getting sharp. Some perches are actually made
of concrete but we prefer
Sandy perches
for their abrasive surface and manzanita core. The natural
wood core gives the perch a more nature feel. They won't necessarily let you skip nail trimming
but can keep points blunt
PVC is found in everything from the dash of your car to vinyl windows
and no wonder. It's resistant to scratches, temperature change and will take
just about any abuse. a perfect material for parrots! It's also pretty easy to
clean because of the non-porous surface. The drawback to the smooth surface of
PVC is that a bird may literally slip off. It's not uncommon to get a new PVC
accessory and see this occur which can be cured by simply rubbing emery or small
grit sand paper along the length of the perch. If your looking for a PVC product
to perch you bird on check our or line of
Ortho-Bird
Mitch Rezman
General Manager
WindyCityParrot.com
The Avian Supply Experts
