What should perches be made of?

There’s a wide variety of shapes, colors and materials for perches on the market. And that variety is what you want. Have a cage with all the same size perches made of all the same materials is not only boring, but can be hard on your bird’s feet.



Plain, wooden, pine perches are the standard in most cages. There’s nothng wrong with them, but there are better alternatives. If you prefer using these perches, mix it up a little bit. Try using slightly different sizes.

Rope perches are great for feet and fun too. These can be bent to drape in different directions around the cage. My birds are extremely fond of these. You just have to keep an eye on them, when they become stringy it’s time to replace them.

Mineral, concrete, cement perches. These are great to help keep nails blunt. The rough surface of these can make them harder to clean, but they’re worth it.

Manzanita and other natural perches. These are fabulous for a bird’s feet. The variation in sizes are great exercise for feet and the roughness of the wood is perfect. I use to have a 4 foot high playgym we made out of a pear tree that a friend cut down, the birds loved it.

Colorfully dyed perches can be fun and exciting for your birds. Of course, making them interesting can also lead to your bird chewing on them more often. It’s not bad, but can lead to the perches having to be replaced more often. Just something that has to be done.

What kind of perches are in your birds cage? How could you mix things up for them?


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