| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 77.1 | It's really Me!! Feathered Obsessions! | SMURF::HORNER | | Tue Dec 27 1988 11:19 | 27 |
| Hi Nancy!
I hate to say this....but I will!! 8^}. I used those universal
perches before too....I put them in the compost pile....sorry Nancy.
The plastic is too wide, and since there is a hole the length of
the perch, the little toes do not wrap properly. It is VERY
uncomfortable for a birds feet to be in a flat position, like sitting
on the floor, but may be better than the new perches.
I pull branches off the trees now! There is a variety of sizes
for the birds to choose etc...we just pick the branch, wash it off,
dry it in the oven for a few minutes and placed in cages and flights!
The all time favorited in my aviary are branches and buds from the
lilac bush and the branches and buds from the black poplar in the
yard.
BTW: Did you know that wet wooded perches can cause arthiritis
in the birds feet? Yes, it does. Be sure to dry perches thoroughly
before placing them in the cages...
Sorry Nancy, I just found this from experience, and you know me,
I just "have to blab" what I learned to try to help someone else!!
8^)
Jean
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| 77.2 | To the dumpster they go. | WITNES::MACONE | Round Up the Usual Suspects | Tue Dec 27 1988 11:54 | 24 |
| Thanks Jean.
The universal Perches look the same size as the other things I have
been buying, but I guess that hole in the bottom could be it.
What really gets to me is that I put the new perches in the cage,
and the spoiled rotten brats wouldn't even try them out. It was
almost as if they were scared of them.
The guy in the pet store had shown them to me many times before
- mainly since I am constantly buying the wrong length - I have
a zillion perches that are about an inch too short sitting in a
drawer somewhere. But I really liked the idea of no longer having
to buy new ones when they got too dirty, and not having H&G chew
thru the wood and having them break in the middle of the night.
I guess it's a trip to the store to buy new perches then.
I just don't have the ambition to go cut branches - I haven't been
able to get myself to make that food yet - and all teh ingredients
are sitting in my kitchen (except for the veggies that went bad
MONTHS AND MONths ago)
-Nancy
|
| 77.3 | My Luck | NYFS01::CHERYL | Cheryl McGinty | Tue Dec 27 1988 12:35 | 12 |
| I have several types of perches in my zebra finch cages. The
"universal" ones, the ones that just clip to the side and the fake
tree branches. They all took a coupla days for them to get used
to. They do prefer the kind that clip to the side of the cage..they
are plastic too. The tree branch took the longest for them to get
used to and the "universal" perches they use once in a while. I
put those sandpaper perch covers on the universals and they started
using them. Up to then, never. I thought it was all those ridges
in the perches.
cheryl
|
| 77.4 | I refuse to give in | WITNES::MACONE | Round Up the Usual Suspects | Tue Dec 27 1988 12:40 | 8 |
| Cheryl,
Where do I get sandpaper perch covers? It seems like it would
definitely be worth a try.
Thanks,
-Nancy
|
| 77.5 | Where to get Sandpaper Covers for Perches | NYFS01::CHERYL | Cheryl McGinty | Tue Dec 27 1988 15:17 | 13 |
| Nancy,
There are a coupla companies that sell the perch covers....They're
marketted to keep the nails short (i think). Anyhow, they are sold
in packs of 10 (each is about 6-8 inches long). They look like
perches, but are split. I can't get them at the regular pet supply
place, only places like Woolworth's and K-mart. About $1.29 for
the pack. Good luck.
Cheryl
PS.. I am in NJ, but if you can't find them anywhere, let me know.
|
| 77.6 | advise caution | FSTVAX::WIMMER | | Tue Dec 27 1988 16:45 | 4 |
| Hate to be a spoil sport, but I read somewhere that that sandpaper
perch covers weren't very good for their feet -- too abrasive or
something. Anyone else run across this?
|
| 77.7 | Avoid? | CSC32::K_WORKMAN | Hand picked by Juan Valdez | Wed Dec 28 1988 10:09 | 16 |
| Hi,
I have a pamphlet from the ASSOCIATION OF AVIAN VETERINARIANS.
The pamphlet is titled BASIC CARE GUIDE FOR PET BIRDS. This
pamphlet talkes about many things such as perches etc... There
is a section called AVOID and under this section they just list
items under bullets for things to avoid. The first item in the
list is Sandpaper-covered perches. It doesn't give any information
as to why you should avoid them however.
I thought there was something in Bird Talk a while back on these
types of perches but I don't remember for sure. You maybe could
call the association mentioned above and find out why they say
to avoid them...
Karen
|
| 77.8 | Yes, AVOID! Would you like to stand on peas? | SMURF::HORNER | | Wed Dec 28 1988 11:53 | 23 |
| Hi Yawl!
Well! Would you like to kneel on little pebbles in your bare knees?
The biggest reason for avoiding sand paper percheds and cage liners
is that it is *SO* hard on the littled feet! And they do not really
keep the nails short either ... mostly because most perches are
too big...but the second *BIG* reason for not using the sand paper
perches is to avoid crop impactions! Yes, birds eat all that sand!
And, it is a proven fact, that ill feeling birds will gorge themselves
on the sand -- which is grit-- and pack their little crops so tight
that they kill themselves!
Caged birds *ONLY* need 4-6 grains of grit 2-3 times per year; if
any at all! There are others still, like Mynahs and other soft
bills. They have no gizzards, therefore no place for the grit to
be stored....and those little grains of sand can be the untimely
demise of a nice mynah!
Jean Hutchins
(who_feels_very_wierd_without_her_own_account! 8^{ )
|
| 77.9 | We will be buying new wood perches | WITNES::MACONE | Round Up the Usual Suspects | Wed Dec 28 1988 14:00 | 12 |
| Well, on my way home last night, I mentioned to my SO that if we
got these sandpaper things that H&G would use their new perches.
Well, Larry almost shot me when I said that, and went off for what
seemed like hours about how cruel I would be if I did that. He talked
all about how it ruins the birds feet, etc. All this stuff that
Jean just talked about, plus all the gruesome details.
Now, I just want to know how Larry knew all this stuff about the
sandpaper, but when I ask him to help out by giving the birds some
food, he just looks at me blankly and says "I don't know how."
|
| 77.10 | stay with wood | SVCRUS::KROLL | | Wed Dec 28 1988 19:32 | 8 |
| I used some of the sand paper covers when I was a kid on some finches
and had nothing but trouble. the poor guys all developed foot
infections and took quite a while to get well.
I make my own purches out of dowels and 1/2 by 1 inch wood. 3 cuts
with the saw does it.
another wood purch buff.
|
| 77.11 | I own a saw | WITNES::MACONE | Round Up the Usual Suspects | Thu Dec 29 1988 08:23 | 6 |
| The dowels sound like a great idea - after all, what are the perches
made out of.
Probably will be alot cheaper too.
-Nancy
|
| 77.12 | Is Manzanita (SP?) Wood a Posibility? | DUNCE::KIRSCHBAUM | And so it Goes... | Thu Dec 29 1988 11:38 | 11 |
|
I saw an ad in the back of Bird Talk for a dealer in California
that sold custom sized Manzanita branches for perches, since this
stuff is virtually industructable, it might not be a bad perchase.
The cage I have from Animal Environments comes with this wood for
perches...
Just a thought...
-dick
|
| 77.13 | SO's and Why 8^} | SMURF::HORNER | | Thu Dec 29 1988 13:19 | 11 |
| Nancy.....
RE: .10 ....
That's why they are called Significant *OTHERS* 8^}
Jean H.
(who_could_give-you-more-grusome-details-iffen-ya-want-em!)
|
| 77.14 | | SMURF::HORNER | | Thu Dec 29 1988 13:21 | 7 |
| RE: .13
Well, next I'll become a brain surgeon!!! I guess my reference
point should have been .9 not .10! Sorry all!!
/j 8^{
|
| 77.15 | Lucky, I guess | NYFS01::CHERYL | Cheryl McGinty | Tue Jan 03 1989 07:50 | 7 |
| Well, I guess I was just lucky. I have always used the s.p. perches
with the parakeets and finches. However, there wasn't very much
sand on the paper. I never once had a problem, but after this pack
is done I won't buy any more.
Cheryl
|
| 77.16 | There's more to a branch than a perch. | MUNCSS::BURKE | | Tue Jan 31 1989 09:57 | 22 |
| We use cut branches for our two Greys (two cages), about an inch
in diameter. Apparently, Apple branches are best for them (bark
nutrients, etc).
However, our male (Basil) gets to work on his branch immediately.
It lasts only a few days, then it's CRASH, and a bewildered grounded
parrot ("what happened ?"). So, we've got a plastic tube which is
now his main perch. I attach a hook or two to a good branch and
fit this inside his cage. The result is that the plastic perch lasts
forever, and he's happy to demolish the branch(es). You would think
that he is bored, but he has company, and they are always allowed
out whenever we are home. With a new branch, his cage looks like
a woodworkers shed after one day.
One more thing about branches which has scored a hit with Basil:
I rig up a long knobbly branch which he can use as a ladder, and
attach it with these screw-in hooks, to the side of his cage. He
demolishes this too, but he also uses it. I'm sure that he gets
valuable nutrients from these branches - dead simple, and I'm
certain it's doing him good.
Jim Burke
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