Perches that vary in diameter, mostly natural branches, are the best perches for
your bird to sit on. This also provides the bird something to chew on. Safe
woods are Apple, Beech, Elm, Birch, Manzanita and Willow. A list of safe an
non safe woods can be viewed by clicking over
here.
If you can not provide
this, several perches of different sizes is also a good exercise for the feet.
Perches that aren't properly sized can cause arthritis.
In case you use branches from trees be aware that they are not sprayed with
insecticides or pesticides.
You can easily clean the branches with a 10% bleach to water solution. Leave
this on for 10 minutes and rinse very well after that. If you want to kill
insects that are inhabiting the woods, you just have to bake your branches in a
350 degree oven. If the branches are too large you can put them in a tight
plastic bag for 30 days. This'll kill the bugs as well.
There are also plastic branches and they are far more easy to clean than wood
perches but they do not always offer the variety of diameters that natural
perches do. Some plastic perches are even slippery and there for should be
avoided.
There are also cement perches that groom your bird's nails. You can place a
cement perch on a higher spot than the other perches when your bird's nails are
extremely sharp: In that way your bird'll choose for the cement perch which
allows him to groom his nails.. Don't provide only cement perches as these
perches may cause arthritis and painful feet!
There are also sandpaper covers on the market, usually for
budgie-sized birds. Avoid them as they are too rough and can cause sore feet due
to this.
Keep your perches clean! cement perches usually can be cleaned in a
dishwasher. It is little effort to take them out and put them there.. As parrots
will often wipe their beaks on a perch, you'll have to clean branches regularly.
Try not to place any other perches or toys under a perch as bird's
feces may land on that lower perch or toy. If you are watching where you place
perches and toys you can save yourself a lot of cleaning!
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