Perch making

[JaydeParrot]

Shops around me don't sell perches for anything bigger than a budgie and the prices on ebay have seemed crazy, so I've always made my perches for my Senegals.

I only just read that people tend to over bake perches before using them which is something I've never done.

The way I do perches is that I find a good sized branch, cut it down to the size that I need with a saw, I take the branch to my shower, shower the branch in hot water for a while and scrubbing by hand to get any unpleasant bugs e.t.c off and then give the branch a quick towel dry.

I then take the branch to my bird cage and put it next to the bird cage to measure how long it needs to be to reach both bar sides, I then saw it to be a little longer (a few inches) than this, otherwise the branch would be likely to not properly hang onto the cage sides and fall off.

After this, I use a knife to slice all the bark off and leave the branch with a soft ridge feel to it. I then cut a line across one end of the perch and make the line about 1 to 2 inches deep, then cut a line on the other end of the perch and get it in the same area as the one on the other side (I've never had much trouble with this).

After that, take the birds out of their cage and put the perch in, push the deep line over one of the cage bars and do the same with the other side of the cage, if all worked out well, the perch should grasp onto a bar on either side of the cage and not fall off. I push down on it to figure if both my bird's weight would make it fall off, if it doesn't then the perch is a success, I check either side to make sure the perch ends are poking out of the cage sides a bit and so have better grip on the cage bars. I then take the perch back out, shower it in hot water again for a few minutes while scrubbing it with my hands, let it dry and then use it as a perch.

I was wondering if not oven baking the stripped perch is dangerous? Also, I have sometimes not stripped the bark and let the birds do that themselves, is that dangerous, considering I haven't oven baked it, I have been letting them do this for over a year now and haven't yet seen any bad effects.

[Wolf]

There is no reason to remove the bark as it provides the bird a better surface to grip, does a better job of dulling the points of their toenails, and beak as it also provides chewing material. While the majority of the time there will be no problems, if you don't bake the perch, the risk of parasites is not just for the bird, it is to prevent any parasites from being transferred from one tree to another. Washing doesn't kill these types of parasites which is the reason for baking for I hour at 400 degrees F.

[Pajarita]

Actually, 15 minutes at 450 does the trick, too. It's used to kill red mites which burrow into the wood and would not die by washing the branch or even submerging it in water.

I agree with Wolf on the bark, it's the part of the branch my parrots enjoy the most!

[Wolf]

Perhaps 15 min. at 450 F. would be adequate as my information came from the local Cooperative Extension Agency's office and I was asking them about it because I do wood carvings and scrollsaw work using woods that I harvest on my 6 acre place, which is mostly wooded. The information was to comply with the interstate transportation of the things that I make to prevent the spread of wood borne diseases and parasites. so that is what I use and why I do.

[marie83]

I tend to soak mine in the bath for an hour in f10, then shower them down, let them dry then bake them for 30-45 mins (depending on the thickness of the branch) at gas mark 6. Now I'm worried I should be using gas mark 8!! lol.