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I don't have any birds with arthritic feet, but two of my birds, Lady and Penny, have deformed feet. Because of this, I have metal landings in their cage so they can keep their balance better, sturdy rope perches, and lots of natural branches. I feel that the natural branches provide more grip than the standard dowels. They each have a smallish cement perch in their cages because these are highly grip-able as well (I keep them down lower in the cage).
I've noticed that Lady and Penny seem to favor perches with larger diameters, especially rope ones. When they sit on these, their feet are only slightly curved; it's almost like they are standing on a solid surface. I think the muscles in their feet get tired of gripping onto smaller perches--maybe that's why they prefer the thicker ones.
When setting up their cages, I try to keep the toys hanging above the perches and not dangling against the sides of the cage. That way they can easily climb on the bars of the cage and not bump into toys.
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