Perch Placement & Your Grey's Fav Snack

[hocke230]

hello,

 

Today will be the first day I take my grey home, and if you could please help me with perch placement I would greatly appreciate it. I currently have 4 perches and want to make sure I place them correctly.

1 - Long perch that goes accross the bottom of the cage think It should go inbetween both food bowls (left side & right side(1 bowl)) - Was thinking about two perches on the higher section of the house - Concrete Perch & Rope perch and the 4th down underneath the playpen.

 

Want to see what your grey's fav snack is - mine loves peanuts.

 

Thanks

[Talon]

How old is your grey. Placing your perches depends on his age and ability. Also, PLEASE read the threads on Peanuts, as it should not, in my opinion, be fed. Peanuts can contain a fungi that can easily result in Asper. which can be fatal. Please read the thread below:

 

 

 

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/bird-food/23193-peanuts-in-the-shell.html#23196<br><br>Post edited by: Talon, at: 2008/06/10 22:11

[Acappella]

I give Dorian the occasional peanut, but roasted, for people, and not in the shell. I shell them so I can see that the inside of the shell looks normal. I always pick out peanuts in the shell that come in his food mix. Some of them already look dodgy on the outside, I'm not letting my baby get to them. Ditto for almonds. The ones in the food mix don't look great to me. As for perches, I defer to other forum members. I'm getting him prepared for a change in perch position and material, as the one he spends most of his time on is a wood dowel and I know that's not good for his feet. Change comes very slowly in this house!

 

Dorian's favourite treat is half a walnut, which I open to look at it before he gets it. I'm trying to interest him in Nutriberries because I want a treat I use only during training, but so for he's not interested! Ditto for pine nuts, but I keep trying.

 

btw Congrats on the addition to your family. Enjoy.

[hocke230]

Any reason the site is so slow?

[siobha9]

In what way?

[judygram]

Hocke230 why don't you introduce yourself in the welcome room and tell us a little about you and this new to you grey.

[hocke230]

The site takes a while for me to navigate from screen to screen- not really sure why.

 

She is 3 years old - and mostly staying at the top section of the cage, not willing to venture around much which is totally understandable. Hopefully the picture will attach this time and I can get some good ideas on where to relocate the perches, I'm hoping she uses the whole cage and not juse the upper portion.

 

Regarding the Peanut debate- I've read it a few times and she's been snacking on organic non-salted peanuts now for three years - so hard to get her off of them - her normal diet is Harrisons - adult formula. So far she's chowed down on some corn/bannana/blueberries & almonds.

[Talon]

It's not slow for me. Perhaps it's your computer, or internet provider.. Try cleaning out your cookies, and temporary files.

[Dave007]

The perches should be slightly pointed upward, downward. They should be positioned in odd places. The perches shouldn't be symetrical. go outside and look at the branches on a tree. Everything is irregular. Branches go in all directions. Branches are different thicknesses. Nothing in that tree is symetrical. Parrots are wild animals and that's what you should closely copy. If you have dowel type perches that came with the cage, replace them with uneven types of branches. If you do decide to do that, info can be given to you on how to do that.

[Nychsa]

We have a Java tree perches which are shaped irregularly as Dave describes. But I also have one perch in each cage that has a rough surface so it helps keep their nails trim. Interestingly, but Jiggy, my conure, and Bella my CAG prefer to use that perch when they turn in for the night!

 

As for treats - I'd have to say chicken legs. Bella goes nuts for chicken legs. If you heat them up, she can smell it and she starts doing her tutitah dance on her playtop perch, she goes through her peak-a-boo's, barks, coughs and finally she can't stand it and she flies over to me and starts nibbling on my toes until I'm ready to serve her a chicken bone!

 

We have a whole eco circle going with those chicken bones. I get to eat most of the meat, then Bella gets the bone (of course with meat on it - she loves chicken). She chews off the cartalidge, and drops it on the floor. She then pulls the marrow out of the bone with that pointy little beak of hers. She grinds the rest of the bone down to meal which she drops on the floor. That mess is then cleaned up by the dogs :laugh: One happy chicken eating family!

[bettyboop]

Dave , I would like to know what you suggest on providing uneven types of branches and placing them in odd places. Thank you in advance.

Sammy is using one dowel perch , one booda perch , and one rough finish for toe nails . He doesnt do well when I change things in his cage , I have a Grapevine branch which is weird shaped and all different sized branches , would this work or not ?He is all over his cage and plays on the bottom a lot .

 

Sammy loves apples and would eat two a day if I would let him , he begs for them and flies to the kitchen and attacks the fruit bowl , so now the fruit is outa site .

Mary

[Dave007]

Betty Boop oop opp e doop.

 

If you have access to dead branches, get some of different lengths and thicknesses. Roughly measure out where you'll like to put them in a cage or if you're making a playstand. Take the dead branches, cut them up and cover and soak them in water until the outer gray bark is soft. At that point, the bark can easily be peeled off. The wood under the bark will be extremely hard. Scrub the branches with some soap and water and let them air dry which shouldn't take long because when a branch gets soaked by rain, the reason it takes a while to dry is because it's the bark that has absorbed the rain, not the wood underneath.

After drying, you simply place the branches in the cage wherever you like. Your bird will thank you over and over. Uneven, knarled, knotted branches are what parrots perch on when in the trees.

Dowel perches aren't good for medium to large parrots because they're too even and too smooth. They don't allow the bird to stretch and contract their feet and claws around different thicknesses of wood. Irregular grasping is important for various muscles to develop in the legs, feet and claws.

Claw/sand perches are fine. I imagine everyone has one.

 

Many companies who now manufacture the more up to date cage for medium to large parrots have eliminated straight wooden dowel perches and replaced them with branch-like perches.

 

If making a playstand, they can be constructed as a very basic stand or if you have a good imagination, the stand can be more complicated. It can be a floor model, a tall stationary model or a small model that can be taken from room to room. It can be in a simple T style or any other style you can think of. Just look at the design of branches in trees. Not pretty but extremely functional.Parrots aren't fussy.

 

All that's needed is some screws and nails, a hammer and screwdriver and if you have one, an electric drill which can make doing the holes in the wood much faster. The branches are screwed or nailed together in different patterns that you can think up.

 

The same types of branches on my stands are also in and on top of my cages. All are dead branches from my back yard. Periodically, those branch perches can be moved in the cage to create a different unsymetrical pattern.

 

 

 

<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/06/12 06:35

[bettyboop]

Hi Dave , great tips and still a few questions. Do the branches have to be dead? Also I have 29 Oak trees in my yard and I always have branches on the ground , so are Oak branches safe?

The only other trees I have are Crepe Myrtles and Japanese Maples.

What type of wood is that , you are showing on the play stands? It looks like the Grapewood that I have purchased . Is Grapewood recomended? It is smooth in places.

Your birds are very pretty and look as though they love the camera especially the third one down , looks like a pose ...

The playstand you made is great , I will get to work on one as soon as I figure out where and what type of branch to use. Thanks for your help .

BTW, Sammy is doing much better , we have figured out why he chooses to bite on me when my Husband comes in . He is protecting me. He is as gentle as a lamb when I am alone with him . So I don't handle when hubby is home .

Thanks for all the great help.

Mary

[danmcq]

Great information and examples Dave, Thanks!!

[Dave007]

Betty

 

Japanese Maples??---You have them? I have 3 Japanese Cherry Maple Laceleaf trees that I planted 3 yrs ago.

 

Crepe Myrtles --I'm totally unfamiliar with them.

 

Maple trees---they're fine as long as the tree has grown to the point to where the branches are now solid hard branches. Baby maple branches tend to stay kinda of soft and pliable until they're adults. Personally, I think laceleaf and 5 finger maples are beautiful so I wouldn't spend my time messing with them.

Oak trees are fine. So are many other trees that have finally reached that age of maturity. Yes, I would tell you to use dead branches. They're very easy to get and if they're not on the ground, they snap off of the trees very easily. I've always used whatever dead branches are around. The secret is to soak them and strip the bark off which is extremely easy. It can be done in the bathroom tub. Then you have very hard branches underneath as I said previously. I've seen similiar patterns in stores and the price is outrageous. I gotta laugh when I see that stuff in pet stores.

Grapewood trees--same thing --as long as the branches are hardened. Branches that partially smooth and partially rough and knarled, bent and have knots in them are great. Parts of trees have smooth branches. Use your imagination. If you have a macaw, I would say to use thicker branches because of the size of their feet.

The box that the stands sit in is also inexpensive. Buy a 2 foot square piece of 1/2 inch of plywood at home depot ( cost is about $2.50), nail four pieces of wood to the edges and you've got all you need. Also, instead of putting something in a box you can simply use legs and attach your design to it. A little amount of branches, a lot of branches--the choice is yours. Birds that need to get used to playstands are more attracted to branch playstands as opposed to straight dowel types. I just went outside and took pics of the branches I'm talking about. Also there's two of my laceleafs in the front of my house. They're only 3 yrs old and about 3 and 4 ft high.

I'll soon be making another stand with those branches in the pics for a buddy of mine cause he has no trees where he lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS--and if you have little birds like my 2 quakers, you'll notice that they take to branch stands too.--notice that the thickness of each branch means nothing to them

 

Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/06/12 17:35

 

Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/06/12 17:52<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2008/06/12 18:01

[bettyboop]

Dave , thank you for sharing the neat pics and the information . I have made a copy of the post and will go searching for branches this Saturday . Most of the branches on my Oak trees are way too large , but I will visit friends and neighbors yards to collect some .

What kind of tree is the one you are using for your friends perches? Looks familiar, but not sure .

I won't cut on my Jap.Maples , they are small like yours . However , I have sooo much shade mine turn a burgandy color instead of red , they are red in the spring .

The playstand info is great .

Thanks again , I will let you know how it goes.

Mary (BETTYBOOP)

[Nychsa]

Great information Dave! Those table top perches look like a great project! Tallahassee has so many wonderful old oak trees with very intersting looking branches. I think I might just do a project and make a table top perch. Karma to you!!!!

[Nychsa]

Ok Dave, I have another question - how on earth do you keep your parrot spaces so spotless?????? I seem to be cleaning all the time and never get ahead! Every time I get the cages finally spotless one of them drops the bomb, flings food, tears up some toy, throws fruit shells around (those are the toughest - those darn blue berry stains are terrible to get out!) And of course I'm forever running around with disinfectant wipes cleaning up the little droppings every where! So what is your secret????

[Dave007]

Well, for one thing, I never feed blueberrys or pomagranites. Both are extremely fluid and they stain everything especially walls. My parrot spaces aren't as clean as you think. My parrots are just as messy as yours. Like you I simply keep up with it.

 

""""""""Every time I get the cages finally spotless one of them drops the bomb, flings food, tears up some toy, throws fruit shells around"""""'

 

Everything your bird does, so do mine except I gotta deal with more than one bird. Those are never ending problems. I just sweep up the stuff on the floor and vacuum when necessary. As far as droppings go--a little trick if you can hold off immediately cleaning them..let the droppings dry out for a little while and they'll be much easier to pick up without all the smearing that comes with fresh soft droppings. I rarely use any disinfectant wipes or sprays to clean up things like that. I find that some paper towels dampened with water do quite well for me.

As far as a table top playstand, when I make the box, I put a coating of clear acyrilic on the floor of the box. Anything that falls in that box can be picked very quickly. Nothing sticks.

 

If you're not using newspaper in the cage tray, try that out. They can be replaced as often as you like. Just use black and white newspaper. It's hard to see unhealthy droppings on colored newspaper. Also, if for some reason or another your bird cuts itself and there's a little blood, the blood is easier to spot on black and white newspaper.

[Nychsa]

Dave - I'll keep the acrylic in mind

 

Re: cleaning up - they do enjoy their blue berries so much and I keep reading how healthy they are I guess I'm just going to be cleaning! The oatmeal is a bear to clean as well. Bella manages to fling that everywhere! Just this evening we were sharing our evening orange - that's become like a regular ritual, and as I was looking at your wonderfully clean spaces she did a couple of good flings and I had orange fiber and juice all over my keyboard :laugh: I had to laugh!

 

The poop I clean up with the wipes off the leather couch. Bella has taken to using that as an extended perch and if I put something down to protect it, she gets rid of it girl friend prefers leather. Lucky me :blink:

[hocke230]

i still cant post photos my iphone photos are greater than 250k? no idea? and for some reason at home the site is much faster than at work.

[Ollyo]

Birds favorite snack....

 

BACON BACON BACON!!!!

 

she will damn near trip over herself running to get a piece, and she will try yo take all of the pieces if I don't stop her.

[hocke230]

Ollyo I tried a small peice of bacon - she wasn't having it - still peanuts peanuts peanuts

[hocke230]

Ollyo I tried a small peice of bacon - she wasn't having it - still peanuts peanuts peanuts

[Tycos_mom]

I love your playstands I just bought myself a new small electric saw and I already had a drill I live int he middle of nowhere so I have a forest around me you have given me some great Ideas I think I'll go cut some maple branches and some lilac branches and mabie even some birch branches off the trees in my yard. and see if I can't build something huge for my birds so that they have can have lots of fun.