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A Question for Vendors about Perches

TikkiTembo

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I am struggling with perches in Chipper's cage. The perches I buy at the pet stores all have the washer near the perch, then one on the outside of the cage, and a little spinny doo dad to tighten it onto the cage. I'm not sure if it's because of the bar spacing or bar size, but I'm struggling to find perches that will stay firm and not wobble and get loose. The only place I can put perches is on the nest box door area, since the bars are a bit different there, and they still loosen over time.
What is the issue here, and do you sell perches that would avoid the issues I'm having?
 

Shezbug

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Does Chipper play with the wing nuts while out of the cage?
Burt does and often loosens his perches by undoing the wing nut a bit.
The other thing I noticed with some of the larger perches is that they can be too heavy for the bars with Burt on them so I put bigger washers to cover more bars if I want to use an extra long perch and then there’s less bounce to the perch.
I check the wing nuts if Burt has been anywhere near them and I tighten them frequently.
 

painesgrey

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Cages with larger bar spacing usually need a larger washer than the ones that come with a lot of perches. Otherwise, sometimes the perch will shift left or right and the washer will slip off of one of the bars and then you have a mess.

I stocked up on a lot of SS hardware at a exotic pet expo some years ago, and have a little cache I can pull from if I need to make a switch.
 

Mockinbirdiva

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Like @Shezbug said maybe you could add or change out the washer for a larger stainless steel washer to cover the bars for a more secure connection. I purchased the safety pumice perches from @Love My Zons that fit vertical bars for my smaller birds ( will in time get the large version for the zons). She does have an extra large one available. Send her a pm and ask the diameter of the part that covers the bars or give her the width of the space between bars to see what size would work for Chipper. I like these perches since they are smooth on top and have the pumice on the side for the toenails. She has Too also and can tell you what she uses for her bird.
 

Love My Zons

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Are you using any large rope perches or boings?

Large washers will stay put. What size is the bar spacing?
 

Mizzely

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I would get some 2" washers to try! Most at the pet store come with 1" or 1.5" in my experience. The more bars it can be spread across, the less it should shift!
 

Shezbug

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Burt just deliberately busted another weld on his cage.... I’m gonna put a big pine board across the whole section like a side as a temporary fix so he can’t pop the remaining two welds there that are the only thing holding that section in now.
Lucky for me I have some massive washers both square and round.... time to consider putting him in one if his other cages!

Oh these birds, cages and accessories do keep us on our toes as well as help keep our brains ticking:lol:
 

Shezbug

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Burt just deliberately busted another weld on his cage.... I’m gonna put a big pine board across the whole section like a side as a temporary fix so he can’t pop the remaining two welds there that are the only thing holding that section in now.
Lucky for me I have some massive washers both square and round.... time to consider putting him in one if his other cages!

Oh these birds, cages and accessories do keep us on our toes as well as help keep our brains ticking:lol:
Oops..... was meant to say that the pine board would be like a side mounted toy for the temporary fix.
 

Davi

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Thanks, guys! You're probably right that I need bigger washers!
Late to this party, but I agree. The bigger the washer, the less shifting you'll have to deal with (unless there's another issue, like perhaps the bolt screw threads not being so sharp anymore). Hope you get it figured out!
 

TikkiTembo

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Are you using any large rope perches or boings?

Large washers will stay put. What size is the bar spacing?
Also, I don't have any rope perches because he chews them to shreds! I let him shred his boing rope on his playstand, but I don't want him to have it unsupervised!
 

Love My Zons

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Also, I don't have any rope perches because he chews them to shreds! I let him shred his boing rope on his playstand, but I don't want him to have it unsupervised!
I agree! Do not leave him alone if he's that destructive with those perches.

My bar spacing is 1" so the large washers. Small ones don't work here.
 

OK Mike

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Blu is bad about loosening the wing nuts through the bars on his perches. I've gone in his room several times after hearing a loud crash in the cage and there's a perch on the grate at the bottom of his cage. I've added a lock washer between the wing nut and the flat washer and it seems to be working. I also tighten the wing nuts with a pair of pliers after I get them hand tight. It amazes me how strong a 4 pound bird can be with his beak.

Split Lock Washer:
41tj+5NpHGL._SX466_.jpg
 
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