The 14 Best Bird Perches To Keep Your Birds Happy

Bird perches are an absolute must-have, no matter what pet birds breed you own. Perching helps promote strong, healthy feet and leg muscles. Plus, it offers your beaked buddy a familiar place for them to rest outside of their cage.

Upgrade from a perch to a bird playground or activity center, and you can provide your pet with some mental stimulation too. These ropes, swings, ladders, and bird toys will keep your pet birds entertained while they get a bit of exercise. They're a great way to alleviate boredom, reduce stress, and encourage healthy activity levels.

To help you shop, we've rounded up the best bird perches on the market today. With everything from portable perches to corner perch for bird cages, we've got something for every feathered friend. Now, let's start shopping.

What Is Bird Perch?

Birds use bird perches as resting places for birds to rest and look for prey. They are perfect for standing and climbing, playing, rubbing, cleaning their beaks, chewing, and entertainment.

What To Look For In The Best Bird Perches?

Size

It's important to find a perch that is the right size for your bird. Different size birds have different recommended perch diameters, so you don't want to choose too big or too small for your bird. However, to give your bird some varieties, it's recommended that you provide some perches that are a little bigger and a little smaller than the recommended size.

Types Of Bird Perches

There is a wide array of perches available on the market with different sizes, shapes, and materials to accommodate the varying sizes and species of pet birds, but which one should you look for or avoid? 

Wood Bird Branches

Wood branches or natural wood make the best perches because they vary in diameter and allow birds to distribute pressure to different areas of their feet. They also help wear bird's nails down more effectively than other types. Be sure to purchase branches from non-toxic trees, especially for birds who love to chew.

Rope Perches

Rope made of hemp or untreated cotton is the best option. Rope bird perches have interesting shapes and textures that will help keep your bird entertained while staying inside its cage. The softer surface braided rope perches are comfortable options for birds, especially for older and ones with arthritic feet.

If you have a bird who loves to chew, pay attention during playtime to ensure the fiber doesn't entangle around the bird's toes or swallow.

Plastic Bird Perches

While plastic bird perches are the most sturdy, cheapest, and easy to clean option, they can be slippered and provide less texture for your bird to grip. Plastic may not be the safest option for birds that like to chew, especially the larger birds.

Sand Perches

You should avoid sand perches as they can irritate your bird's feet and affect their overall health. They can also cause bacterial infections on the feet and can be extremely uncomfortable for your bird.

Ceramic or Cement Perches

You can use ceramic or cement perches with other perches to provide texture. However, concrete perches should never be the only perch material in the cage as they can be abrasive to the bottom of a bird's feet.

Therapeutic Perches

A therapeutic or grooming perch is designed to help trim a bird's nail and beak naturally. Depending on the design, some can also help promote healthier feet and leg muscles.

Shower Perches

Shower perches can be very fun for a bird that likes to spend time with you in the shower. This type of bird's perch offers a non-slip coating and can be attached to your shower wall with heavy-duty suction cups.

Heated Perches

Thermo-perch or heated perch can provide a safe and consistent source of warmth. This option is perfect for exotic birds that aren't fans of the cold.

Wingspan Size

To avoid your pet bird from getting injured, know your bird's wingspan. The perch should be longer than their wingspan so they can move around comfortably without getting injured.

Texture

The best bird perch should offer a different texture. This allows birds to distribute pressure to different areas on the bottom of their feet.

The 14 Best Bird Perches For Your Feathered Friend

A bird perch inspired by nature, this Bird Perch Nature Wood Stand encourages birds to communicate and play with each other. In the wild, birds always stand on tree branches to talk and play with each other, and this item will give you what they are used to in the wild. Crafted from 100% nature prickly ash wood, it is safe for your friend to use as chew toys.

You can't go wrong adding Mogoko 4 pc Bird Perches Parrot Stand Natural Wood Perch to your birdcage. Measuring 7.9 inches in length, the simple perch provides a comfortable place to rest and groom. Its variable diameter helps to reduce foot fatigue while strengthening leg muscles. Plus, it's crafted from natural wood without paint, so it is non-toxic and safe. In addition to promoting bird help, the textured surface is great for catching, chewing, and playing too.

Keep your beaked buddy close by with this T-Shaped Tabletop Bird Stand from Kintor. The simple T-shaped perch provides a comfortable resting place on a desk, counter, or tabletop. Place it nearby while watching TV, cooking dinner, or working from home. The all-natural stand is crafted from textured wood safe for birds to chew and sharpen their beaks and claws. A sturdy square base improves stability and minimizes messes. At 6 inches tall and 8 inches wide, it's just the right size for medium-sized birds.

This Comfort Grip Perch from Kintor Bird Perch Rough-Surfaced Nature Wood Stand was designed for large birds like parrots, macaws, and cockatoos. It's made of natural quartz sands and natural wood inside with food grade color. The sand perch provides excellent foot exercise, and the hard coating on the surface keeps beaks and nails trimmed naturally, safe to chew as well. The large bird perch attaches easily to any birdcage using the mounting hardware included. 

Turn bath time or shower into bonding time with this Shower Bird Perch. And you won't be alone because it's a tradition amongst bird owners. The shower-friendly bird stand features a fold shower perch with three suction cups, each rated to hold 7 pounds. So no matter how hard your splashes and plays, it will stay firmly attached—crafted with high quality, furniture-grade PVC that is 100% bird safe and stainless steel. This perch is made explicitly for medium birds such as African Greys, most Amazons, Mini-Macaws, and mini-Cockatoos.

You don't need to spend much to get a great bird perch for your pet bird. This Manzanita Bird Perch from Manzanitashop is budget-friendly with less than $5! While there are plenty of plastic options out there, this all-natural manzanita branch perch price is as competitive while being a safer option. Made with natural manzanita branch from Oregan, and each multi branch perch has different size branches, it is an ideal material for a bird's feet and will help your friend keep their beak and nails trimmed.

If you're looking for something you can take on the go, try this Portable Bird Stand from Polly's Pet Products. The veterinarian-recommended accessory provides a familiar place for your pet to rest outside their bird cage, and it is adjustable between two height settings for added versatility. Plus, its non-slip surface helps trim your bird's nails and beak as they perch. The travel-friendly bird stand is lightweight enough to bring on the go and large enough to accommodate most medium to large-size birds.

Birds love to chew, and chewing is normal behavior, especially for parrots. For this reason, bird owners should consider natural wood materials perch instead, like this Freeland Wood Bird Stand from Tucker Murphy Pet. Crafted from sustainably harvested coffee wood, each one-of-a-kind frame features a unique perch diameter and shape that mimics your bird's natural habitat. The sturdy base is mounted on rolling casters for easy transportation. Two food and water cups and four toy hooks make for a more entertaining space. Tucker Murphy Pet offers stylish wooden stands in various shapes and sizes to suit any space.

Your bird will love the shape, bright colors, and material of this JW Pet Medium Comfy Bird Perch that can be easily attached to a birdcage—made of specially woven, multi-colored cotton that soothes and exercises tender feet. Super easy to clean with hand wash! This rope will create excitement and help relieve cage stress, boredom, and related feather picking.

Manzanita Tree Stand Perch is a bird perch inspired by the wild world and designed for birds to stand on to talk or play with each other. With this wood stand, you can make your pet birds feel like they are in the wild on this perch stand. Made from the natural manzanita branch, it can withstand hard beaks and chews of birds and is naturally shaped to cater, soothe and exercise birds' feet.

The Planet Pleasures Foraging Perch Bird Toy functions as both a perch and a toy for twice the fun! This toy and perch encourage your pet bird to forage, which will help keep him endlessly entertaining. It also promotes agility and preening so that your feathered friend can both look and feel his best. Plus, it's crafted with natural materials, so you can feel good about giving it to your bird for some playtime fun.

The 3740 Small Corner Stand from Bonka Bird Toys is a delightfully fun corner cage perch. This perch has wonderful bird-pleasing colors and an exciting chewable toy hanging. In the corner of the perch, there is a small round wooden dowel with sisal wrapped sturdy wire poking up straight. Hanging from its end is a metal eyelid screw with a chewable small bird toy dangling from a small quick link connector. This small bird toy has a paper rope, chewable wooden pieces, a woven palm rope, a plastic chain, and natural colorful vine balls for your pet to enjoy.

If you are looking for great value, then you must check out Seasonsky 5 PCS Bird Perch Natural Grape Stick Bird Standing Stick Swing Chewing Bird Toys. The package includes 1 PCS bifurcation bird standing stick and 4 PCS no branch bird standing stick. Crafted from real grapevines, this means they vary in shape, size, and thickness. The naturally uneven surface provides a natural habitat for your bird. 

This Polly's Pet Products Roll Or Swing Bird Toy is a fun and safe place for your pet bird to rest and stay. It can be used as a swing or as a swaying bough. With a removable link and chain, you can transform this toy. Crafted from stone, it can help trim your feather friend's beak and nails while promoting healthy feet and strong leg muscle.

FAQs

Why Do Birds Need Perches?

Pet birds need perches as they provide the most natural and comfortable surface for birds to perch on. In the wild, birds will climb and move around tree branches. When you have a pet bird, it's essential to help replicate this natural behavior when possible.

What Wood Is Safe For Bird Perches?

According to the Association of Avian Veterinarians, bird-safe wood includes balsa, poplar, ash, elm, maple, birch, dragonwood, manzanita, java, and ribbonwood.

Make sure all the wood being used is pesticide-free and untreated. If you use wood collected outdoors, it can contain unwanted pests. You can, however, wash and disinfect by heating them in an oven at 200°F for 30 minutes as the wood might contain microscopic fungus and insects that can be harmful to birds.