Hello!

 

I come from Latvia. I've read that natural perches are better for budgies' feet. We don't have any choice of them in stores so I am thinking of getting some twigs from a very clean forest. Although, I realise no forest is truely clean nowadays... Ours is virtually virgin, but there live birds, of course. The branches need some desinfection, I believe.

 

Also the type of the wood is important. We have mainly pine forests. There is some fur and juniper as well as birch, oak (which is poisonous for budgies), ash , linden, maple, willow, and some other trees. Pine is the best for me: found everywhere, easy to recognise, soft to shape. I've heard apple tree is safe, although some people say it's not. I am quite confused. Has anyone any experience? I'll be grateful for any piece of advice.

As long as you know for a fact that they don't use any pesticides it would be okay.

 

Apple I have heard the same is really not the safest for them because of the natural cinide it has in the seeds.

 

Here is a site I used when I made my natural perches. I only have a rope perch, calcium perch, and one small dowel perch. Everything else is natural from our maple tree. http://www.mdvaden.com/bird_page.shtml

 

I simply set mine in the cage I didn't use any hardware at all, I believe Shawna suggested that to me to do. So I didn't have to fuss with any metal or wondering if it would be safe.

 

 

so make sure before you cut you know how long you want the branches

 

oh and mine love the twigs so make sure you leave that in the tree branch. They love to snap it off and they ripped off any loose bark

l noticed on the list it said lilac where consider to be safe , is that true because l always thought that lilac was poisonous ?

I have a jungle of sassafrass in my back yard. My birds love it and it smells really good too. I just break off a branch with some leaves and twigs and stick it in the cage however I can get it in. I look for branches that are curvy and have lots of interesting shapes. The birds chew them and rip off the bark and have a good time. I cut pieces to the right length and make perch swings of them too.

 

If you have a lot of pine trees, you can use pine cones to hide food and for toys. The only thing I would worry about with fresh pine is the sap. I grew up in the pines and constantly had to deal with the pain of my mother and sister trying to get pine sap out of my hair! I can just imagine what it would be like trying to get it off a little budgie's feathers. Old dried out pine should work better I would think.

Shell

l noticed on the list it said lilac where consider to be safe , is that true because l always thought that lilac was poisonous ?

 

I never heard it to be toxic, but if you don't feel comfortable with it don't use it.

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I never heard it to be toxic, but if you don't feel comfortable with it don't use it.

Lilac should not be altogether toxic, but it doesn't sound like safe stuff. We have it here in abundance. I thought it contains some bitter oils...

 

I have a jungle of sassafrass in my back yard.

If you have a lot of pine trees, you can use pine cones to hide food and for toys.

I am ignorant indeed but what is that sassafrass, and where does it grow? As to the pine, yes, I found some old dried and clean pine twigs which i intend to use in the cage. Sap is bad, and could be probably poisonous. Thank you for the cone idea! I haven't thought about it! I collect cones and have some huge from the Botanical garden, from Hungary and Russia. I am not sure if all of them can be safely used though...I have some strange Hungarian pine cones, Siberian cedar, different fur-tree cones. Our pine cones are quite small and can be found everywhere. How do you wash them? If you do... aren't the birds afraid of them? My budgies ignore even fresh twigs and grass. maybe they chew on them when I am away though...

 

 

As long as you know for a fact that they don't use any pesticides it would be okay.

 

I only have a rope perch, calcium perch, and one small dowel perch.

Thank you so much for the advice and the reference! A rope perch is a good idea. But what is a calcium perch? Maybe it is a piece of chalk? Dowel also sounds mysterious... They shouldn't spray our forests, so I think threre are no pesticides. I will also just set some branches in the cage!

Edited December 2, 200618 yr by Silver

Lilac flowers are not toxic to humans at least as I used to eat them when I was little!

Sassafrass grows wild from the north to the south in the midwest US. I am not sure about the Western states, but people use the leaves for the main seasoning in File gumbo, and the roots and bark for tea. So I figured it couldn't be too bad for birds. I see wild birds in it all the time. I would send a picture but we are leafless and covered in snow at the moment! :

Love,

Shell

Dowel is just the round perches you get in the regular cages.

Calcium perches are okay - , I just have 1 in my cage for them to chew on and rub their beak on. Once it wears down to the metal replace it ASAP.

Lilac flowers are not toxic to humans at least as I used to eat them when I was little! :offtopic:

Oh yes, lilac flowers are not poisonous and can be eaten (eating an even-petal one brings good luck ). However, I heard people say that lilac branches are of no use as fodder for animals, well, it is not important! There's still a long way to go before we can get fresh lilac branches with leaves and flowers!

 

Thank you for the info about the sassafrass. If it grows in the north of the US it might be common in Europe as well. The name is just the same. Can it be so that budgies themselves choose what to gnaw on if we offer them different twigs? Do you think they might instinctively ignore those which are toxic to them?

 

Love, Kathie

Just wanted to add that apple branches (and most fruit tree brances) are safe as long as they haven't been treated with pesticides and are disinfected. The toxicity we hear about refers to the seeds in the actual fruit. (Apple IS safe for budgies to eat but the seeds/core are not).

 

The sap from pine would be a very bad story with a budgie. Also, wanted to add that you should replace calcium perches well *before* they wear down to the metal. By the time you realize the metal is exposed, the bird could have been ingesting it for a long time. If you can get a calcium perch that has stainless steal or nickel plated metal in the middle, that's best.

 

Budgies love natural branches and these are by far the best perches we can give them. Just be as cautious as possible and clean everything thoroughly. :offtopic:

Dowel is just the round perches you get in the regular cages.

Calcium perches are okay - , I just have 1 in my cage for them to chew on and rub their beak on. Once it wears down to the metal replace it ASAP.

Thank you for the information!

I haven't seen such calcium perches in our pet stores yet.

 

I have taken those dowel ones out and introduced pine branches. The cage itself looks more comfortable and interesting because of the shapes. The birds like them a lot, I can tell that. The blue - Pirate - chirps and cooes from morning till night, and the lutino - Princess seem to be very content with her new set of furniture! :offtopic:

Edited December 2, 200618 yr by Silver

wonderful