Dear Parrots magazine,
I have read a lot in this magazine about natural perches and have to admit, have not changed the dowel ones I have always had. But reading the article about feet (Parrots May 20) has somehow made me realise I should do more for my Orange-wing Amazon. I live on my own but have two excellent neighbours who always lend a hand. With their help, we managed to get some branches from another neighbour’s pear tree and got them fixed in with my Toby.
But what happened worried me as he would not go near these new perches. I phoned another parrot friend who told me to just let him settle, as new items can make them wary. Well, he stood on one of his food dishes for most of the day, but then took some tentative steps onto one of the new perches. The next day he was stripping off the bark and having a whale of a time. I’m so glad I did this.
Jane Ellis, by email