Perches for Short Nails?

[RandomGemini]

So, I am looking into changing my cage set up for George and Grace (my two budgies.)

Grace and George came to me with fairly long nails that had to be trimmed before I could take them home and I just had to take them to the vet recently for a nail trimming because the nails grew REALLY fast over a very short period of time.

George’s nails are staying fairly short now, but Grace’s are getting long again. I have a concrete perch in there for them to use and I do see them grinding their beaks on it, but I was thinking a variety of perches of different types of wood might be the best way to go to encourage those nails to stay short.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a variety of perches that would be good to help keep my budgies’ nails shorter so I don’t have to trim their nails as often?

 

[EllenD]

The concrete-perches are great for their beaks and their toe-nails, as are any of the other types of "Trimming-Perches" as long as they have different diameters throughout their length, because you never want perches that are the same diameter and shape throughout their length, as that is what will cause Bumblefoot pretty quickly...There are several different types of these perches that are specifically made for keeping their toenails and their beaks trim and dulled at the point.

As far as a "wooden" perch that is good for keeping their toenails trimmed, I honestly don't know...Again, any perch you put inside of their cage should be multiple different diameters and shapes throughout it's entire length, just like a natural tree-branch is, to prevent Bumblefoot and other pressure-issues on their feet...For toenail-trimming you just want to find as rough a surface/texture as possible, so with wood I don't know...But again, there are many other types of perches specifically made for keeping toenails trimmed and beaks dull...I would do a Google-search for "Parrot toenail-trimming perches", that way you'll get to see photos of all the different types of perches made specifically for that purpose...And as long as they are not the same diameter/shape throughout their entire length, then they should work just fine...I'd stay away from any perches that are covered with "sandpaper", they do exist and they are very rough on their skin, but other than that there are several different types of concrete and other textured perches out there...

 

[bill_e]

I use Sweet Feet and Beak Safety Pumice Perch

 

[noodles123]

I use Sweet Feet as well.

 

[FlyBirdiesFly]

I also use the Sweet Feet & Beak safety pumice perches. They don’t seem to work very well and I still have to trim my birds’ nails every couple months.

 

[noodles123]

I think that in order for them to work really well, they would have to be your birds main perches--or your bird would have to rub his/her beak on the perch actively (which mine sometimes does...but not enough to make a huge difference). I just know that the sand-type perches aren't safe and that the sweet feet ones are safer. Edit-- Also, I am not trying to be the voice of doom and gloom, but when I "rescued" my bird, her beak and nails grew very quickly due to a liver condition. Have you had blood-work done? If not, you might want to consider doing so. My bird is now healthy, but stabilizing her liver required medication.

 

[chris-md]

Yeah I’ll second what many have said: you can’t really expect the perches to do much. I use cement and wood percha and have to take my boy to the vet. I know many people experiencing the same thing, and My vet has mentioned a few times to me that it’s *mostly* myth that perches will keep nails trimmed enough to avoid having to do it yourself.

My suggestion: get used to doing it yourself or plan for vet trips 3-4x per year.

 

[bill_e]

I agree. they only extend the interval between trimming and mostly help keep the needle points in check. That and the fact that although Nike has these perches in her cage, when she's not sleeping on her rope ring she's out of the cage with us so she doesn't get much pedicure time on the perches.

 

[RandomGemini]

With my parakeets, my avian vet said she would rather I do nail trims myself and avoid bringing them in except in cases of emergency. She said with tiny birds like this, they just don’t handle stress well and it would be less stress for me to just do their nails. But, I can’t see the quick when I do George’s nails. His nails are dark. I can see Grace’s and trim hers. We avoided doing bloodwork last time (I last had their nails done in December) because the avian vet felt they were very stressed and had enough of the visit. The nail trims were just about all George could handle. I am still working on getting George to leave his cage. My budgies are rescued and I believe George and Grace never left their cage in their previous home.

I’m not looking for something that will prevent me from having to do nail trims at all, just something to make the vet visits less frequent so I can reduce stress on my budgies.

I really appreciate all of the good feedback and will look into some different perch designs for their cage!

 

[BAMM17]

I would look into grapewood and firwood perches. In my experience, those types of wood are soft enough to be comfortable but still coarse enough to keep points dull, though most likely you will still need to trim once in a while.

They're fun wood to chew apparently too.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Well, here's the Rickeybird's tale...

We have eliminated nail-trimming, which was always so stressful for me and the Rb. It took a few years, but I eventually established a pattern/rotation that keeps him trimmed. I haven't had to do his nails in 20-plus years. I keep a dowel as the main "highway" down the middle of the cage, but the special cement/trimmer/textured perches are all over.
A few brands... but there are many: Polly's Sand Walk... Pumice Perch... Trimmer Perch...
Be sure to introduce them gradually: they're abrasive to their tender feet at first. I LOVE them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These are smooth on top and abrasive underneath. Very easy to install/clean, oo.
Sweet Feet and Beaks Pedicure Perch xsmall for parrots, Feather Fantasy
May take a while to get the right combinations/locations, but was worth it for me and the Rb.