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Bird Cage Accessories: Choosing a Good Bird Perch for your Parrot

 

Choosing Bird Perches For Your Parrot

How To Buy A BirdSupplies.com

 Bird Perch

  • Choose bird perches with variable diameters  for foot muscle health

  • Textured bird perches offer a better grip

  • Choose bird perches with sturdy attachments including larger washer, so they don't fall from the cage bars

  • Use only pesticide free wood bird perches for a healthy bird

  • Hardwood bird perches last longer than soft wood bird perches

  • Easy to clean bird perches save time

caique.jpgYour parrot will spend most of her life perched on her feet. Imagine how your feet hurt after a long day on hard surfaces.

Providing your parrot with a variety of safe and comfortable bird perches is paramount to good bird foot health. Not only does a properly sized bird perch keep your parrots foot muscles in good condition, offering the correctly sized bird perches can prevent problems such as arthritic feet or bumble foot. There are numerous styles of bird perches to choose from including natural wood bird perches, plastic or acrylic bird perches, rope bird perches, and conditioning bird perches. You can even buy a heated bird perch!  The Thermo Perch Bird Perch.

So, prevent foot abnormalities from developing on your parrots feet by choosing a few safe, properly sized bird perches at BirdSupplies.com

Need help Choosing A Bird Perch? Count on BirdSupplies.com for the safest, vet recommended Bird Perches

Bird Perch diameter is the most important part of choosing bird perches for your parrot. Your birds feet should rest on the top half as shown in the photo below of Smokey, our African Grey Parrot.  A bird perch that allows your parrot to wrap it's feet completely around the bird perch is too small. Bird perches that have a variable diameter, such as natural wood bird perches like Sandy Perch, allow your parrot to choose the most comfortable spot to rest. Offering your parrot several bird perches in slightly different sizes help your parrot exercise her feet and improve foot strength and dexterity. Poorly sized bird perches contribute to medical conditions, such as arthritis and atrophy.

Dowel sticks are often used for bird perches. While this inexpensive bird perch is cheap and readily available, it does not offer your parrot the foot exercise she needs because of its uniform shape keeps each tiny foot muscle in the same position. Always choose variable diameter bird perches that allow individual foot muscles that allow bird foot muscles to stretch. Birds that only use dowel rod bird perches will develop problems with their feet such as loss of grasping strength, arthritis and atrophy. And, we're talking all sized parrots, from parrotlets to macaws.

Your parrots cage should have several styles of bird perches placed at different heights. Make sure the highest bird perch varies in diameter so that your parrot can pick a comfortable spot on it to rest. Natural branch style bird perches work best for the sleeping perch.

A conditioning or nail trimming bird perch is a very smart choice for keeping your parrots claws groomed. We highly recommend the Sandy Perch Bird Perch because it is made from natural hardwood branches and coated with a very durable, moderately textured surface that won't harm your parrots foot pads.  We've tried cheaper Sanded Bird Perch brands, but the truth is, their quality is pretty poor.  The conditioning sand usually chips off very quickly.  

BirdSupplies.com Hint: The BirdSupplies.com parrots love their Sandy Perch Bird Perches for sleeping, and the truth is, so do we!  Why? We haven't had to take our birds to the vet for nail grooming in the 10 years that we've been using them. Our parrots are out on their stands a good portion of each day, too. We've customized our personal bird stands with at least one Sandy Perch Bird Perches on each. We note that our parrots spend a good deal of time on their Sandy Perch.ots yearn for!

 Using at least one hardwood bird perch in the bird cage will reduce the frequency of replacing bird perches. Wood bird perches give your parrot something to chew on and thereby, trim the beak.  The flip side of the coin is that wood bird perches and chewable mineral bird perches may be cheaper as well as more nutritious chewing activities than are bird toys.

Clean and disinfect bird perches when they become soiled. Parrots tend to use their bird perches to scrape food off of their beaks so the bird perch closest to the food dish must be easy to scrub clean and disinfect. Place bird perches so that they do not cross under or over each other to prevent soiling and poop build up. Short bristled Perch Cleaning Brushes are useful bird supplies to use for cleaning bird perches and other soiled items in your bird cage.

Natural Wood branches make the best bird perches. They not only give parrots a choice for foot placement, they provide an affordable source for fun chewing. Our new Java Bird Perch, shown on the left is such a popular bird perch because it has so many twists and turns.  Manzanita bird perches are also popular.

 Some of the safe woods that can be used for bird perches include Apple, Ash, Beech, Birch, Cactus Wood, Cottonwood, Crabapple, Dogwood, Elm, Fir, Mulberry, Manzanita, Pine, Popular, and Willow.

If you cut your own bird perches, please make sure that they have never been sprayed with insecticide or pesticide. Don't poison your parrot. Clean the branches with a 1:10 bleach to water solution. Soak the bird perch in the bleach solution for 10 minutes then, rinse well. Seasoned branches are best but they may harbor insects. It is good to kill insects before placing the branch in your birds cage. Bake small branch style bird perches in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Seal large branches in an air tight plastic bag for 30 days to kill bugs.

Plastic bird perches are easier to clean than wood perches but they usually don't offer the varying textures and diameters that natural wood bird perches do. At BirdSupplies.com, we carefully choose all of our bird perches. Some plastic and acrylic bird perches are slippery, too. Sanding plastic bird perches with a coarse piece of sandpaper will give the perch texture thereby making it easier to grip.

Conditioning bird perches help to keep your bird claws well groomed and smooth. Taming and training and loving on your parrots is so fun when they have smooth claws.BirdSupplies.com conditioning bird perches come in a variety of sizes and colors. We only sell Conditioning BIrd Perches that have a variable diameter. A new bird perch called the Safety Pumice Bird Perch has really got our attention. This conditioning bird perch has pumice on the sides but smooth surfaces where your birds tender pads sit. Made from lightweight, injection molded plastic, this bird perch has sturdy, rust proof attachments for safety. The large attachments for this bird perch improve the bird perches hold to your bird cage. 

Sandy Perch Bird Perch, a a trustworthy bird supplies brand for bird perches, bird stands and bird toys.  The Sandy Perch Bird Perch is made with a natural Manzanita branch core and has inspected sand grains bonded to the bird perch for a foot pad smooth,yet nail trimming to bird perch. To be effective your bird's foot must reach 3/4 of the way around the bird perch. While Conditioning Bird Perches may be little pricey consider that they can save a lot of money in the long run by reducing the number of grooming sessions your parrot will need. Conditioning bird perches may also prevent your clothes from getting holes or snags. Place one conditioning bird perch near a food or water dish to ensure that your bird will use it. We like to attach Sandy Perches to our bird stands since our parrots are out on their play stands for several hours each day. You will still need examine your birds nails, but conditioning perches can reduce the frequency of the need for nail trimmings. Cleaning conditioning perches is easy if you have a dishwasher.

In conclusion, furnish your birds cage with several bird perches that vary in materials, texture and diameter. Your bird will experience optimum foot health with properly sized bird perches.

Safe Bird Perch Choices

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