Birds on the Rock order

For a while now I've heard a lot of good things from people who have bought flagstone perches from Birds on the Rock. I nearly bought some perches back when Avian Avenue had a Sidewalk Sale earlier this year (I believe it was in February) but I didn't because I had other purchases I wanted to make and tried to stay on a budget.

While Birds on the Rock didn't offer a discount on the flagstone perches at the last Sidewalk Sale, they did have a sale on these items during a Black Friday sale.

So I finally took the leap and purchased one perch per bird - I looked at the recommended sizes on the website and followed the advice and took 5 medium ones for the Pois and 1 small one for Piper.

After waiting a bit longer than I thought I would have, I finally received my package (this wait has nothing to do with the vendor - all post service and possibly the Holiday rush and extra load of mail..)

Here are my perches.



My opinion? Right now..I'm disappointed.

My biggest issue - perch #1. The biggest perch of them all. While I love the size and the shape is also rather nice, I do not like the fact that there is only one bolt and that it allows me to attach the perch to the cage by the thinnest end (as in point - the rock itself is pretty evenly thick) of the point of the triangle it's shaped in. While maybe there is other things I don't understand when it comes to drilling rock, I would have been much happier with two bolts on the side of the perch that is closer to perch #3 - or even any where else on the perch but at the thin point. While I did try it in one of the empty cages I have and it seemed solid, I am still reluctant to put it in a cage because I'm a bit concerned that over time, it might slide down. I now need to evaluate who will get this perch because if I do put it in a cage, I'll have to put it low (to clear my conscience) and not have to worry about a bird possibly getting hurt.

My second issue - the sizes. I do regret not going with a size up, specially for the Pois (the small one does seem quite fine for Piper). I understand that these are a natural product and that the only shaping done is done by Mother Nature, but I do find it disconcerting that there is so much size difference between between the perches of one size category. I believe perch #4 is the small one and to me, perch #3 is hardly any larger and perch #1 is almost twice the size...a bit more consistency, at least in my order, would have been nice.

Ultimately, what will really forge my opinion of the product will be what the birds will think and the usage they will make of the perches. If they end up loving them, then great. If not...well I'll put it in lessons learned. I don't know if it's because I came into this with high hopes based on what I've heard, but I don't feel like this has been the best purchase I've made. But again - we'll see how the birds take to them.