# Question on perches



## Michy (Jul 29, 2011)

Ok. I found a brick for Simon and Henri and placed it on the bottom of their cage. All they did was poop on it. The brick is still in their cage, however, I decided to just manually trim their nails. Maybe they'll have a change of heart over time? Is it that important?

I have read on here about how pigeons prefer square perches over the round ones. So I replaced them yesterday. Both birds now sit on the floor of their cage. Next to the brick. 

My question: Are round perches harmful? Can I put them back seeing that both birds dislike both the square perches and the brick. I think they're mad at me.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I always put up a shelf in their cage, and they spend most of their time on them. They do like to be up a bit higher, so they like a shelf. Of course that doesn't help to keep their nails down, but I like it better than having them standing on cold bricks all day.


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## honeyrobber (Apr 28, 2011)

I think a parrot perch woould do what you need done. The ones I am speaking of are large around(1 1/4 inch) and vary in size(wavey looking) so the toes do not get used to staying in one position. They are made of a rough material to keep nail length in check. My finches loved one of these as well as they would sharpen their beaks on it as well as just perch on it. I used the smaller one for the finches which is only 3/4 inch at the largest point.

All birds want off the ground to perch for the night. These perches are made to fit on all standard wire cages. I think the larger ones of these would do what you need as well be easy to clean when needed. They come in several colors. I tend to get the grass green colored ones for my birds because most of the colors are neon which I hate. I prefer natural colors with my birds. I want them to be the brightest thing in the cage.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I think the parrot perch to keep the nails down would be great, as long as you also have the flat perch, so he can have choices. He shouldn't have to grab a perch all night to sleep though, as pigeons naturally perch on flat surfaces.


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## honeyrobber (Apr 28, 2011)

The ferals I removed from the barn were sleeping on inch rough sawed oak. It was totally their choice to do so with some areas having wider flatter surface. The perch though needs to be fairly large is it is round. I do believe it would be best to have a box type perch in the cage as well. They do like to be in closed up places. That is the reason I think the ferals I removed were roosting on these narrower boards. They had another board above them nailed onto the rafters making it semi closed. To bad they could get out both sides of where they were roosting or I would of had them all.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Nice for them to have choices.


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## Michy (Jul 29, 2011)

Thank all for your ideas and my apologies for the late reply. I have done a few changes and they seem content.


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## thepigeonkey (Oct 12, 2011)

I remember your story about si and hen. have they paired up? any eggs? I think you should let them breed if they like eachother. Watching young pigeons grow is so much fun.
Luke


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## Michy (Jul 29, 2011)

Funny you should ask that. There has been drastic changes in the household regarding the 2 of them. Simon, I think, has come of age and is now (I think) courting Henri. He has me baffled because he uses different techniques with her compared to the oil lamp. He now puffs out his neck feathers, walks tall and does this head behind the wing display whenever Henri shows any interest in him. 

They were also banished from our daughter's room and moved into our den due to Simon's constant cooing at night(a new obsession). Why is he not sleeping at night anymore?!? I even tried putting a sheet over their cage at night to keep out any light that they might see.


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## thepigeonkey (Oct 12, 2011)

hes just got a full on personality. Some of my pigeons start cooing at night if they hear a noise or there is light on the loft, even moon light makes them coo through the night sometimes. He is beginning to have feelings for henri and probably cant sleep for thinking about her.

after he puts his beak behind his wing does he try to kiss her? when she comes into season she will accept him and put her beak into his mouth and he will feed her a bit of sick. romantic aye


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## Michy (Jul 29, 2011)

Henri still has no romantic feelings for the poor, confused fella. When they're out and about, Simon will pretend to preen behind his wing, then quickly look up at Henri. He'll do this over and over until Henri gets bored and walks away. There hasn't been any "kissing" that I know of...unless that's what they're doing in the middle of the night! 

The cooing seems to be getting worse as the nights go on. I've been up since 3:00 am. Simon has not stopped his "grumbling" since I've been awake. Do they sell pigeon Lunesta? lol


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## thepigeonkey (Oct 12, 2011)

hehehe Its 1am here now. I cant sleep. I made a video of my pigeons today, it was fun, you should give it a go, I would like to see him interacting with her or the lamp. He should stop the cooing at night in time. Its just a phase and the brick idea,... I thought it sounded wack in the first place. you dont need to trim thier nails normally they just wear down over time and almost stop growing too. I have a 12 year old male which has never had his nails clipped and they arnt overly long


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## thepigeonkey (Oct 12, 2011)

Lunesta for pigeons,.... I dont think so LOL


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

thepigeonkey said:


> hehehe Its 1am here now. I cant sleep. I made a video of my pigeons today, it was fun, you should give it a go, I would like to see him interacting with her or the lamp. He should stop the cooing at night in time. Its just a phase* and the brick idea,... I thought it sounded wack in the first place. you dont need to trim thier nails normally they just wear down over time and almost stop growing too. I have a 12 year old male which has never had his nails clipped and they arnt overly long*


*
*


You're wrong about their nails. They do grow too long for them to be comfortable, and sometimes will even make their toes turn if very long. I've had to trim some of my birds nails, as they did grow too long. Feral pigeons walk on rough surfaces that wear them down, but if kept inside, they don't have the opportunity to do that. Some keep a brick because when they roost on something rough like that, the nails will wear down a bit. If you think they will "just wear down over time", without something rough to walk on that wears them down, then either you don't have many birds, or just aren't paying attention. What is it, do you supposed that wears them down?


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## thepigeonkey (Oct 12, 2011)

Ok sorry I dont keep my birds in the house, Mine are all outside,
Each year the ends of their nails get brittle and break off or wear down over time. 
I agree if your birds dont get to run around outside they probably would need cutting, just like a dog that never gets walked.

The brick idea is stupid. no offence

I break up bricks for grit, they love it, but you have to use the correct type of red brick for grit.

I keep about a hundred birds. 

also jay, I pay alot of attention to my birds, probably too much infact.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

thepigeonkey said:


> Ok sorry I dont keep my birds in the house, Mine are all outside,
> Each year the ends of their nails get brittle and break off or wear down over time.
> I agree if your birds dont get to run around outside they probably would need cutting, just like a dog that never gets walked.
> 
> ...



Why do you keep saying that the brick idea is stupid? Your birds are all outside. There are many who do use bricks for them to perch on. Because they spend much time on their perch, it does help to keep their nails down. If you haven't had to try this method, then you really can't just say that it's stupid. Taht's being pretty closed minded, don't you think?


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## thepigeonkey (Oct 12, 2011)

yea but mostly just seeing if i could wind you up hehe. The main problem with a brick is it can host a number of unseen bugs. If you use the brick please make sure you disinfect it weekly


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

thepigeonkey said:


> .....The brick idea is stupid. no offence...


Why is it stupid ? 
just cause you dont agree with it or CANT see the purpose in it ?

Apart from the brick keeping their nails worn, it also doubles as a perch, and most birds will stand/lie/roost on the brick & poop over the edge, keeping the poop in one place & easier to clean, so for someone with indoor birds its pluses all round.
A brick also keeps heat longer than wood so when a bird lies or sits on it, it heats it up and it will settle content for longer. 




thepigeonkey said:


> yea but mostly just seeing if i could wind you up hehe. The main problem with a brick is it can host a number of unseen bugs. If you use the brick please make sure you disinfect it weekly


Very mature & helpful to people 

Its not nessessary to disinfect it.
One would normally make sure it was a decent uncracked brick & that it wasnt covered in earth & dirt before putting it in the cage.
A simple wipe down or scrape to remove any poop from the sides or surface is ample, as should be done with any perch.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Yes, just regular cleaning of the perch is all that is needed. It doesn't harbor any more bugs than any other perch. And I'm thinking that most who keep their birds inside, would have far fewer bugs than those that keep them outside.


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## thepigeonkey (Oct 12, 2011)

Even though all this is very interesting, si and henri dont like the brick so why bother?

quazer - thanks  everyone says im mature, helpful and good looking. I agree LOL


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

thepigeonkey said:


> Even though all this is very interesting, si and henri dont like the brick so why bother?quazer - thanks  everyone says *im mature*, helpful and good looking. I agree LOL


If they are pooping on it, then obviously they are using it.

theres no space in that word


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## thepigeonkey (Oct 12, 2011)

hehe thats kinda funny, and true LMAO


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## thepigeonkey (Oct 12, 2011)

can I ask tho, do the birds sometimes stand on the brick and like scratch the brick? like when they are making a new nest they scratch stools out of the bottom of the nest with thier claws, I watched a young racer scratching its purch like that the other day


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

thepigeonkey said:


> hehe thats kinda funny, and true LMAO


 



thepigeonkey said:


> can I ask tho, do the birds sometimes stand on the brick and like scratch the brick? like when they are making a new nest they scratch stools out of the bottom of the nest with thier claws, I watched a young racer scratching its purch like that the other day


havent seen them doing that, maybe just cleaning a bit of poop off the perch to make it more comfortable to stand on, or maybe even trying to get a bit poop off its feet lol
Actually, thats an interesting thought, You often see pics of birds in lofts & birds have poop stuck to their feet. but ive hardly ever seen ferals living in stone bridges and on buildings in that state except when they are very overcrowded.


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## thepigeonkey (Oct 12, 2011)

I'm very dissapointed when i see big clumps of cr ap on their toes, like golf balls - and bigger!, its not nice, usually a bad loft design or just not cleaning the loft enough. I see it at 'show breeders' places sometimes. they must only clean the pigeons and lofts out just before the show once a year. 

whats funny is I have bricks in some of my lofts but not for their nails, I just use them to make nest boxes smaller if they are too big or if a bird makes a nest on the ground i put some bricks down to protect the nest a bit.

I'm glad I dont have to cut nails on 100 birds each year. thats like 800 nails.


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## NZ Pigeon (Nov 12, 2011)

I wonder if you could try using a bottom less cage of sometype and put it outside on some concrete for a few hours a day in the sun. This would wear down their nails and give them some natural sunlight. Wouldn't need to do it everyday, Just when you can.

If they don't use the brick then it sounds like a waste of space to me too!


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