Insight sand perches?

[Merkuri]

Originally Posted by ShadowMice

I've been reading all of the replies to your question about perches for birds' feet. Have you ever considered clipping your bird's nails yourself? That way you don't subject your bird to perches that may unknowingly hurt it's feet.

That was actually my plan. I bought the perches not for their nail-care properties but because of the different diameters. When I saw it was a grooming perch I said, "whoops." Either I will bring the bird somewhere to get them clipped (probably the vet since I don't have much choice for pet stores around here) or I will clip them myself.

[Majj]

My guys also have a variety ..no sand paper perches though ..I use mainly natural branches from our yard all sizes different textures they love chewing and picking off the bark...most fruit trees are fine I use Gum trees /gravillia or bottlebrush...
I wash then thourougly then rinse them with a mild wash of vinagar and water ..let then dry in the sun ...I also have rope perches and swings some flat platforms in the cages too so they can sit and not have to grip all the time as well , my guys sleep in a nesting box so they get plenty of rest from standing and they fly from playtree to cage to hanging swing to us so are fit little guys also ..I have never had their nails trimmed and have no problems at all with their feet ..Sunny the sun conure is 4yrs old and Buddy is just over 1year old...
All the best I think you did well to swap for the natural wood perches....

[Adi]

Thanks Blake, that's what I was thinking. He does enjoy his concrete perch, it comes in handy for cleaning his beak after a bowl of soft food! He doesn't
chew on it and I don't think he could break it no matter how determined he could be!

[Skyebirdsmom]

Originally Posted by Merkuri

Well, I just got back from returning them. I bought some manzanita branches instead. I just don't feel comfortable encouraging my bird to perch on something like that. So now I have a bunch of the perches that came with my cage, a couple of "natural" branch perches, a swing, a rope perch, and a ladder. That oughta be enough perch-variety to keep the little guy happy. You think? :icon_wink

Yeah, LOL, I think :eusa_clap You'll be glad you did return them. Sand is nothing to ignore, it hurts. I've checked out the bottoms of feet after a while on sand AND cement perches...red and sore looking even though the bird didn't seem to complain...but then, animals aren't complainers anyway. You did the right thing.
Linda & HRC~

[peeker]

The reason I've heard about not using the cement perches is that when they are wet they can burn the birds feet. **I don't personally know if this is true or not. I use dowel perches, sandy perches, natural branches, manzanita, bottlebrush, rope perches and flat platforms. I think variety is great! My personal favorites are the bottlebrush (a real neat soft texture with chewable bark) and the sandy perches, although I only use one grooming perch per cage. The sandy perches feel like they would be more comfortable than the cement. They look nicer, they clean up like a dream (no awful stains that won't come out!) they dry quickly, and they are holding up amazingly well!
I don't rely on grooming perches to trim nails, I trim them myself when it's needed. In fact I just did all my babies toesies yesterday!!