Commonly parrots spend most of their time standing with their feet, so having a good perch is necessary for parrots. Just like human beings who would want to have a comfortable pair of shoes, parrots also need to have comfortable perches for their feet. The perches are also used to rub the parrot’s beak to move some pieces of food.
Things to Consider When Choosing the Ideal Parrot Perch
1. Easy to Clean
For parrots, they want a perch that is easy to clean. Choose something that is comfortable for them, most especially a perch with high-quality material and enough diameter to avoid any foot problems.
2. Swinging or Motionless
Perches can be either motionless or swinging. All the objects that are inside the cage, including the perches, should be the right pick because we all know that all the parrots love to chew, shred, and even tear down something. And because of this, all of the objects inside the cage will often be required to be replaced.
3. Material
The most usual perches are commonly made out of wood like dowels, as well as the natural branches.
Here are some important things to know about choosing the best material or parrot perch:
- When considering buying quality perch, natural perches are better. It’s also a good chew toy for your parrot.
- Commonly the wooden dowels are too smooth, and it is not given a good grip.
- While the perches are usually made from a fiber-like untreated cotton rope or clothesline in which cloth is used. Like a dowel, the cloth perch is made usually by rolling up a long piece of cloth or just simply by padding a perch that’s made of other materials.
- You can also purchase, or you can also make a flat-bottom sideboard. There is an advantage of using plastic, PVC pipe, and acrylic; they are easily cleaned. Preferably, the perches should have an unequal surface so that it is less slippery.
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- Also, make sure that the material that your pet will use are made from non-toxic materials. If you notice that your pet parrots are easily chewing some plastic pieces, then you may stay away from using those kinds of materials. Try to look for another type of perch.
- There are also available cement and mineral perches. These kinds of perches assist parrots in keeping their beaks and toenails from overgrowing. Overgrowing of toenails may cause irritation if the parrot uses them too much, so try to install a different perch that is made from a different material.
- You should avoid using sandpaper on perches because it might irritate the bird’s feet.
Maintenance and Cleaning up
The plastic materials such as rubber tubing, PVC, and acrylic are the common materials that are easy to clean. You can use a disinfectant to clean them. Just rinse well and dry the perches thoroughly before you place them back in the parrot’s cage.
Here are some maintenance and cleaning tips for parrot perch:
1. Don’t Use Harsh Chemicals
Avoid using some scented disinfectants and those cleaners that contain pine oils. You can easily clean the dowels of your parrots with the use of perch scrapers. But if you see that it is deliberately soiled, then you can disinfect the dowels. Rinse and dry after washing.
2. Check Safety Risks
The rope or the clothesline can be also washed or just simply replaced. Observe your pet’s perch closely if there are some loose ends, so that you may avoid safety issues. Your parrot might eat some strings, or its toes get a thread that may be wrapped around its toes.
3. Clean Soiled Area Using Wire Brush
You may use a wire brush to clean the soiled area in the natural branches of your parrots. For cement perches, it may be difficult to clean because of more crannies. You may also clean them just like the steps described earlier or just simply boil them in water.
4. Dry the Perch Thoroughly
To prevent some foot issues, any perch that your pet is using should be completely dry before they are being placed back in your pet’s enclosures.
How to Find Good Sources of Perch
When preparing a natural branch, you should be aware that the natural branch you’ll be choosing should not be from poisonous plants or areas treated with herbicides or insecticides.
Here are some tips when choosing the best perch for your pet parrot:
- The best sources of quality, natural branches are usually nuts or fruit trees, as well as elm, dogwood, magnolia, and ash. You may also try to use some grapevines.
- To prevent the infestation of some insects or even diseases that come from wild birds into your pet’s cage, the branches that you’re going to use should be cleaned. You can use a mild disinfectant, then rinse and dry it under the sun. It is also good if you are going to boil it in water or place in an oven for about 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the perch.
How to Assist Your Parrot to Use the Perch
As a guideline, the parrot’s foot should at least wrapped around for about 2/3 of the bird’s perch. Avoid using a small perch so that your parrot’s front toes may overlap the back toes. Generally, most parrots do their best if the perches have different diameters besides the width. It is mostly seen with the natural branches or any plastic branches.
Here’s how you can assist your parrot when using a new perch for the first time:
- When your pet may use the perches with the same diameter, the parrot will be placing pressure on the same place of its foot all the time. This might be the source of redness, scales and can even possibly have an infection on the bottom foot of the parrot. In addition, having a different size, as well as the materials within your pet’s cage, will prevent such foot problem difficulties.
- A relevant perch size must at least as long as the whole wingspan of the bird. In this way, the parrot can adequately flap its wings without any hesitation of striking some cage bars that might be a cause of an accident. Just as simply think of the discomfort of not being able to stand properly, wherein cramps may result. A parrot cannot spread his wings properly if you choose the incorrect size of perch.
The Positioning of Parrot Perch
The perches or your parrots must be placed in a forepart of food and water dishes in order for the dishes to easily stick out by your pet. To prevent any droppings that might contaminate the water or the food of your pet, always remember to avoid putting the perches over the desired dishes.
The perches must be set so that the parrot’s tail cannot touch the side of the cage when it is sitting on its perch. You may also try to place some perches at a different level, but you should not use too many perches because it may stop the parrot from flying.
Just like buying a new pair of running shoes, you should select a perch that fits your parrot. These perches must assist your parrot’s feet in feeling comfortable. Also, try to engage your pet parrot to exercise its joints as well as its muscles in its usually used feet with the use of the natural branch parrot perch.
Conclusion
Your parrot needs the best perch that can provide superior feet comfort and protection. There are plenty of materials you can use for your parrot’s perch, so choose one that is easy to clean, durable, and comfortable for your parrot.
