Quaker chewing rope perch till no end

ONBirdLady

New member
Dec 23, 2014
10
0
Canada
Parrots
Green Cheek Conure, Quaker Parakeet
Hey y'all, my 10 month old parrot was never a chewer, but he has since seen the glory of chewing. So, he has shredded a large amount of his rope perch. he has like 12487128940128 toys for shredding, but he does not even touch them. Is there anyway to deter him from chewing his perch (since its expensive and replacing it every month would be something id prefer not to do), or should i just admit defeat?
 

EAI

New member
Jul 25, 2014
867
2
Honolulu, Hawaii
Parrots
Budgerigar: Arrow, Esther, Kratos, Cora, Ducky.


Lovebird: Izzy, Gizmo.
(its 3 am right now, so sorry if my wording is off)
Honestly, from my personal opinion, I would get rid of the rope perch entirely. Even if he's just chewing, he can still digest small parts of the rope that will eventually build up. meaning lots of expensive vet bills because if it gets too bad, he'll need to get surgery to remove it...and surgeries can be extremely dangerous when it has to do with smaller parrots.
Theres also a chance he can get caught in the rope. Luckily, none of my birds are really bad chewers so I have had no accidents. I still maintain and check for any loose threads and replace when needed.
If you still want rope perches, (I'd make a stand or) place it on a stand so he can still get some comfort but only under your supervision.
 

4dugnlee

New member
Apr 27, 2014
1,133
3
Ohio
Parrots
Sassy - 13 y.o. Blue Front Amazon, Cisco - 6 y.o. Sun Conure, Peanut - 8 y.o. U2
Fred - 2(?) y.o. Cockatiel, Ginger - 3 or 4(?) y.o. Cockatiel
My Sassy chewed her perch through at the end where it attaches to the plastic connector. Just a note, I kept the plastic connector/ends and used them for a wood perch of the same diameter. Worked great! I did not replace the rope perch as she would just done the same thing, but I do have a couple rope toys that she just plays with but doesn't chew apart. I also had a rope perch on the outside of her cage which she did not chew???
 

Dopey

New member
Apr 18, 2014
1,711
Media
1
6
Maryland
I thought my Too was chewing the rope but turns out she is just using it to rub her beak. It looks worn and chewed but I'm watching her and it's just rubbed. She rubs her beak on her other perches too but I don't see the wear on them.
 

Puck

New member
Mar 8, 2015
802
4
I encourage my Quaker to chew certain things by wedging a nutriberri in whatever I want him to chew. I also had to put several kinds of chewy toys before figuring he likes the piñata style woven ones--those are especially easy to turn into foraging toys. I agree that the rope perch should be removed lest she injest some.
 

getwozzy

New member
Feb 26, 2013
7,218
7
Oregon
Rope perches are not for every bird- if he's chewing it, get rid of it....it will only be a hazard and a money waster if you continue to give him rope perches.

My cockatiel is not allowed to have rope perches because he chews them- everyone else in my flock doesn't chew them, so they have rope perches in their cages.
 

Bandespresso

New member
Dec 22, 2014
389
0
Tucson, AZ
Parrots
Congo African Grey+
Worked closely with many species, birds with behavioral problems, and now birds of prey and other wildlife
Try sisal perches instead! They are cheaper and easier on their systems if accidentally ingested. Or even wrap some sisal twine around a regular wooden perch for an even cheaper solution. Chewing is good and something you want to encourage on the right things before they start chewing on the wrong things (rope, furniture, walls, themselves :()

Personally, I would never EVER purchase any edible toy from a petsmart from all of the horror stories I have heard but there are plenty of edible perches from more reputable sources.
 

SilverSage

New member
Sep 14, 2013
5,937
94
Columbus, GA
Parrots
Eclectus, CAG, BH Pionus, Maximilian’s Pionus, Quakers, Indian Ringnecks, Green Cheeked Conures, Black Capped Conures, Cockatiels, Lovebirds, Budgies, Canaries, Diamond Doves, Zebra Finches, Society F
My rule of thumb is no rope inside the cage. Too much danger of entanglement or even ingestion. I use my rope toys on the play gyms where they are supervised. I would simply replace the perch with a wooden one.
 

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