Читать книгу Birds For Dummies - Gina Spadafori - Страница 95

Gravity being what it is, even a creature made for flying spends a lot of time on his feet. And pet birds spend even more time on their feet than their wild relatives do. That makes what’s under those feet — perches — very important. Perches give birds something to stand on, something to chew on, something to rub and groom their beaks on, a vantage point from which to survey their domain, and a secure home base to rest on.

Three factors apply to perch selection: safety, variety, and destructibility. Safety because, well, that’s kind of obvious. Variety because a wide array of shapes, sizes, and materials can go far in keeping your bird’s feet healthy, as well as helping him stay busy, fit, and free of boredom. Destructibility? Perches, in particular, are common and appropriate targets for demolition for birds. For a bird, the need to rip the snot out of something is of paramount importance. It’s only natural!

And now for an illustration of the importance of destructibility: When Brian was in Australia a few years ago, he watched in awe as a flock of about 20 red-tailed black cockatoos (birds that retail for up to $40,000 each in the United States, if you can even find one!) landed in a small stand of pine trees and proceeded to rip the trees apart. Limbs, bark, and pulp rained down, as nature’s pruning service did their work. How does this story relate to your pet bird? By making you remember: Buy cages and dishes that are bird-proof (or as near to indestructible as possible), but make sure everything else is chewable, shredable, and completely destroyable. It’s good for your bird — it’s part of what they’re built to do!

An ideal perch is not too smooth, not too hard, and not too soft. Excessively smooth perches may be hard to maintain balance on — and in a wing-clipped bird, that lack of traction may result in a bad fall. Perches that are too hard are difficult to chew up and have fun with, and perches that are too soft get destroyed too quickly. What we’re saying, in other words, is plan on buying multiple perches throughout your bird’s life.

Here’s what’s out there in the perch world:

 Wood: Plain pine perches come standard with nearly every cage, and there’s nothing wrong with them, except you can do better for your bird. One way is to harvest your own wood for perches (see the sidebar “Perches au naturel”); another is to vary the sizes and shapes of the perches you buy. Some ready-made dowels are available in different diameters along the length of the perch, and these at least add some variation on the boring old theme. If you don’t want to or can’t find tree branches like the one shown in Figure 4-2, a good bird store probably offers a supply of these perch prospects, too.

 Rope: Great foot feel! Rope perches give your bird something decent to hold on to and double as good playthings. The neat thing about rope perches is that you can just throw them in the washing machine or dishwasher when they get dirty. The downside to rope is the possibility of your bird catching a toe in a worn and frayed part of the perch. Also, your bird may chew and swallow strands of the rope, which can cause problems as well. Watch closely and discard the perch when the rope gets stringy.Photograph courtesy of Claudia Hunka, Your Basic Bird (Berkeley, California)FIGURE 4-2: This finch is enjoying his natural perch. Rope perches can be expensive if you buy them ready-made for use with birds. You don’t have to, though. Check out untreated cotton rope at a boating-supply outlet and make your own perches. By exercising your creativity, you can save money, have fun, and do right by your bird! One kind of rope perch rates our complete endorsement: the stiff rope coil. These perches combine the best elements of rope, a swing, and a bungee cord, all of which provide exercise for your bird. Plus, they’re absolutely fantastic for overweight birds!

 Mineral: Most pet parrots should have one mineral perch, also called a concrete, cement, or grooming perch. The rough texture feels good underfoot, and the surface is great for helping to keep nails blunt and beaks clean and well groomed (birds like to wipe their beaks against the rough surface). Make sure the size of perch you select is large enough to allow normal weight-bearing and provide some abrasion of the nail tips at the same time. A concrete perch that’s too small won’t necessarily help blunt nails, unless it meets the tips of those nails. Some birds with particularly strong wills and jaws may decide to chew up, destroy, and eat the concrete, though, and those characters shouldn’t have this particular perch. Keep your eyes open for birds who chew up, fragment, and swallow this material, though. If you see such behavior, get rid of that type of perch!

 Plastics: Two kinds of plastic perches are available — acrylic and PVC. Both are popular because of their sturdiness and relative ease of cleaning. We’re not real keen on either kind, although, of the two, acrylic is a better choice because it’s virtually indestructible. Having a perch to chew up is important to most parrots. If you use plastics, add other chewable perch options to your bird’s environment. PVC too often and too easily ends up in pieces in a bird’s stomach and can cause some medical problems, as well as slippery footing and boredom. Plastic perches may be too slippery to be comfortable (particularly for heavy-bodied, wing-clipped birds), although some manufacturers compensate for this problem by abrading the surface of the perch. You can do the same with a little sandpaper or an abrasion tool if you want to offer a plastic perch.

For tips on how to place perches in the cage, see Chapter 5.