Deer antlers safe for perches?

Hey, y'all!

I haven't seen this mentioned yet...

We have a camphouse in northeast Mississippi where my boys & my husband enjoy hunting deer. After they have skinned a deer, they always keep at least the antlers. From this point on, the antlers are kept inside.

I know that while the antlers were still on the deer, there was a slew of different yuckies that could have been on the surface of the antler. But if I were to clean them with grapefruit seed extract to sanitize, then maybe bake them the way some do the pinecones, do you think they would be safe incorporated into a frame or base to use as perches for my Blue Headed Pionus?

Also, can you think of any other reasons why I shouldn't use deer antlers or a better way of sanitizing them? I am positive I am not considering something important!

FYI - these antlers are not still attached to a skull, they are loose and of various sizes.

I think they would be very nice looking, and they have varying thicknesses like tree branches do... I could even wrap parts of the antlers with twine or sissal to add some footholds as portions of the surfaces are smooth.

I am assuming Bolo will chew on the antlers... I wonder if the inner layers are safe?

Any advice would be appreciated!

~Julie

There is actually a website that sells antlers for perches. I have wondered the same thing. I actually have some antlers a friend gave me to make perches with. My green cheek is scared to death of them. Weird. I laid them around so he could get used to them but he won't go near them. Of course he is scared of anything new. He wouldn't go near his jave stand when they were laying on it. So I just gave up on that idea. Maybe his instinct tells him something bad happened. You just wonder what they are thinking sometimes.

If you properly sanitized them (bleach solution, followed by a thorough rinse) they'd be perfectly safe. My only concern would be their weight; you'd want them to be well secured wherever they are.

Thank you both for your replies! Unfortunately, my Pionus is just like dishgal1's GCC - he is scared of the antler I wanted to use!

Oh well, after sanitizing it, I could always use it for a decoration - LOL!

Thanks again!

~Julie

don't give up, just keep it in sight lol nut use to be frightened of everything! now ig its in her cage, she class that as safe, if its out of her cage she would like to inspect it, with me nearby lmao

I wouldn't give up on the antlers. You might very well be able to gradually introduce your bird to them.

Pixel tends to be afraid of a lot of new things. I'll normally sit at a distance from her, playing with the item she's scared of (typically new bird toys) or acting really interested in it. I'll hold it, talk about it, (pretend) to chew on it. Without fail, every time, she'll make her way over to check it out.

lmao half, its like the old saying, there like poverty, gotta be in there!