will i ever lay down and get off my legs?

[Rambo]

will my grey ever lay down to sleep? he stands all the time and how can i get him to lay in his tent hammick, or how can i make him a nest. looks like those legs and feet would get very tired or arthridic!

[judygram]

Hello, Rambo, and as I told you in the IM, birds are used to sleeping on their feet, and greys especially will lift one foot and rest it for a while and then the other foot. They don't usually use a tent and actually lay down in it, but a few do and enjoy it. Each grey is an individual and as such will do its own thing and most will sleep on their feet.

[eve]

Agree with Judy. I know of a few Greys that will sleep in a tent, but they are in the minority.

 

What's important to keeping your Grey's feet healthy is having lots of different perching options and a chance to change the position of his feet.

 

I prefer real wood branches above everything else myself. I can buy safe wood already equipped with the necesary hardware at my bird store. These branches serve the purpose of giving the bird a good grip (bark), one perch varies in diameter and gives the foot the chance to change positions often and I personally find them alot more effective at keeping nails trim then those concrete ones.

 

Depending on your bird, manzanita might not be the best choice. It is slick and hard. Not much to gnaw at, not much grip. You can scratch it with a saw to make grooves in it if your Grey has trouble gripping it. There is sandblasted manzanita too, which I would assume has more grip to it, but I can't say for sure I have never seen it in person.

 

Rope perches are good too, I personally use a rope perch that is a bit smaller diameter for my Greys cause they love to hang upside down from them and it's easier for them to hang onto the smaller diameter. But this would also depend on your individual bird to what size you'd choose to go with. Keep an eye out for fraying if your bird chews them!

 

Lots of varying perch sizes, shapes, materials is what will help keep your buddies feet happy and healthy, cause it is normal that he's using them most of the time (or all the time is he does not fly).

 

Also if you have a cement/sand perch, you might not want it as the highest perch in you cage or in a place where your Grey seems to hang out most of the time. In some cases, a bird may develop sore spots if he stands around on a cement perch too much.

 

Those are just a few examples, and sorry to go off topic. Not to say that you don't already have a bunch of different perches to keep your boy's footsies healthy. Just thought I'd bring it up, because like you noticed, they are on their feet pretty much all day in our homes and standing on the same type of perch can tire their feet.

 

Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/05 07:28

 

Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/05 07:32<br><br>Post edited by: eve, at: 2007/08/05 07:33

[dblhelix]

Great post eve! Most greys sleep standing up and many will never lay down. In fact their legs are designed specifically for perching and sort of lock into place for stability. What may seem uncomfortable to us is totally natural and comfy to them. A sure sign is if you see your bird on one foot. That almost always means they are content and relaxed. Certainly is important to provide different perching options, different woods, varying thicknesses, textures etc!

[Guest briansmum]

i agree with everything here, their legs are meant for standing on, what dblhelix said about their legs locking into place is very true, possibly part of the reason they dont have knees!

 

if you think about it, in the wild, no one gives them tents, they don't have a choice. off the tent to your grey, it may or may not lie down in it. but don't worry if it doesn't it won't get tired and as long as you offer a variety of perches of different thicknessed and materials it won't get arthritis either.

[Guest jamalbirdbiz]

I am concerned about Marvin. I think he wantz a tent or nezt. He haz ben acting stranger then usual lately.

[she]

Very few birds sleep in a tent and vertually none lie down.I agree with all that has been said hear, the best way to keep birds legs in good condition is a veriety of perches, in width as well as texture.<br><br>Post edited by: she, at: 2009/04/13 20:25

[Luvparrots]

When I first got Ana Grey at 4 months she slept in her tent, probably because she was use to sleeping with 3 siblings. She no longer does that, hasn't for a long while.

[Storm_2007]

what makes you think he wants a tent? is he building a campfire? toasting marshmellows?

[Tycos_mom]

I have a green cheeked conure that sleeps streached out with his feet hanging out the end every night he's 2 1/2 years old now and still sleeps laying down Silly bird:laugh:

[judygram]

My sun conure sleeps in one of those tents and has ever since I added it to her cage, she seems to like it.

[Guest jamalbirdbiz]

Marvin doez lotz of weird thingz with hiz legz. Kung Fu kindz of stuff. I think he wantz to rezt them.

 

Jamal

[Guest jamalbirdbiz]

roasting marshmellowz lol :ohmy: :laugh: :silly: