Can't stay on perch

It sounds as though the calcium perch is rougher than the ones you are cutting from the trees (what trees are they by the way?) which is why he can perch on it. Does he also have problems walking on a smooth flat surface? Monty has weak feet, he has trouble walking on a smooth flat surface and he used to have problems perching although he is a lot better now. His feet look normal. Try winding some strong string very tightly round the branches to help provide a grip or get one of the cotton rope perches as these are good for birds having gripping problems. The nail trimming perches are also good.

Jane

I tried Poplar branches and oak. He falls off them with 15 seconds. He has a nail trimming perch but it looks like it would make his feet sore. The calcium perch is also supposed to trim the nails but I am not so sure. He can walk on a smooth surface but not good. He can't even perch good on me. When I hold him I hold my thumb over his feet so he can't slip. I am presently searching for a rope perch big enough for him. I am going to order vetwrap and wrap the perches we have and until then he can just use the ones he has. I have padded the bottom of his cage with baby blankets so he won't hurt himself too bad.

His wings were clipped when I got him. He has been mutilated! They cut all but about 5 feathers on each side. He can't even glide down. I had a fit when I saw them. That is actually one reason I went ahead and got him before he was weaned. When I got him, he had never even seen a perch. They had him in a flat bottom glass enclosure with Macows.

His calcium perch is tapered its about 1 - 1 1/2 inches. I have read that his feet should wrap about 2/3 around his perch but they don't on the only one he can stay on.

Thank you guys!!

You haven't said how old Jake is but Im going to assume that he is still quite young.
You said that he was severely clipped before he was fully weaned...correct?
If so, NOT GOOD.

Our birds MUST learn how to fly before they are robbed of their natural ability.
Flight isn't just for the birds enjoyment, it is also critical to the development of muscles, coordination, balance and self-confidence.

Im not saying that everyone should keep a fully flighted bird BUT I am saying that everyone should allow their birds to develop these important things BEFORE you continue with clipping. A great deal of behavioural issues can be corrected by allowing your bird to learn, grow and build their self confidence through flight. That being said...if your bird is clipped and there are no underlying issues...continue to clip away!

Remember: It's never too late to let them fledge...BUT there are saftey precautions to take. Not all birds will become accomplished flyers, even with practice.

Perching and balance.

First of all, it is important to know which issue we are dealing with.
If your bird will allow, let him grip your fingers/hand with his claw. Do his nails dig in? How easy/difficult is it to remove yourself from the grip? Hand him a 1/2" dowell...can he hold it?

If his feet are weak, the bad clipping is probably the culprit. If his GRIP is fine then it is a BALANCE issue and is most definately the result of a bad clip job.

I would take a different approach to correct either issue so let me know what we are dealing with here!

How is he with climbing? That would help to determine whether it is grip or balance. He should be able to grip a half inch dowel. Also, is he able to hold food in his feet? I know what Monty can and can't do and with him it is definitely his feet that are the problem.

Jane

He can climb up the cage but seems unsure of his footing. He grips it pretty good. He mainly uses his beak to pull up and then his feet to hold himself there while getting another grip with his beak. When he is on my hand he rocks back and forth and jerks to catch himself. Does that make any sense??

He doesn't hardly try to grip food with his feet. I have given him all kinds of things to try to get him to use his feet more but he don't seem interested.

He doesn't chew on his cage. There is no rust and has never been. His cage is excellent condition and has never been painted since it left California Cages. He has been like this from day one but I just thought he would get better in time. I may still be rushing him.

Vet drew blood two weeks ago and said all tests are normal.

Thank you all for your help. I am discussing all the ideas with my vet for a personalized opinion. This board is great.

Kinda scaley.

Yes he still uses the calcium perch. His nails look pretty trimmed but I haven't trimmed them. his toes wrap around my finger but sometimes he don't have them situated right. His grip is pretty tight untill he starts to relax then he starts sliding and loosens his grip.