Toy/perch review - Trixie natural living perch with rope

Lovebirds love to destroy things with their beaks, be it wood or rope. The Trixie natural living perch with rope is made from both these materials and it is nice to see a toy attached to the perch itself. There are two versions, a smaller version that is 20cm (7.87 inches) long and a somewhat larger version of 25cm (9.84 inches) long.

This perch with rope toy attached to it has pro’s and con’s to it though. The cotton rope is dangerous for lovebirds for example.

Giving this product to your lovebird is a matter of if you are willing to do some DIY (replacing the cotton rope).

The rope is made of an unsafe material

Let’s address the biggest elephant in the room, the rope, which is made from cotton. Cotton isn’t safe for lovebirds.

Many of the toys of the German Trixie brand come with cotton. This is strange, since they also have many toys with sisal. Though you will find that smaller toys come with cotton, the Trixie natural living perch with rope is one of these smaller toys.

You can place this product in two ways. Firstly where all the tassels are hanging down and secondly where two of them are on top of the perch. The latter will be dangerous, as your lovebird’s feet might get stuck if these tassels fray.

These tassels are also in a location where lovebirds can easily swallow part of the cotton. For example, my lovebird loves to gnaw near the knots of these tassels and would easily break off parts of the rope.

To solve this, you can remove the cotton rope and replace it with safe rope material.

Con
It is a cotton rope.

Solution
Replace it with a safe rope.

A sturdy, but smooth natural wooden perch

The perch of the Trixie natural living perch with rope is made of willow wood. It is very sturdy and will take effort for your lovebird to gnaw through it.

While the perch will differ per product, this product will be mostly straight natural wood with its bark on it but will still be relatively smooth.

Because it doesn’t bend, twist or twirl, it doesn’t give your bird training for its feet and is very limited in this regard. You could change that a little by hanging it at an angle.

Depending on what version you have, the thickness will differ. For the 20cm long perch the diameter is around 23mm (0.9 inches). The larger perch of 25cm long has a diameter around 25mm (0.98 inches).

This thickness is mostly consistent across the entire perch. This again doesn’t train your lovebird’s feet. So, use different combinations of perches so that your bird can get proper feet exercise.

While the perch is consistent in thickness and rather straight, it is still, as I said, wood. The perch will feel a lot more natural to your lovebird’s feet, compared to a smooth dowel perch.

Pro
Natural safe wood.

Cons
The perch is straight, rather smooth and mostly the same diameter throughout.

Easily attachable to any lovebird cage

The Trixie natural living perch with rope comes with good screw in attachment, two washers and a wingnut that can be screwed on. You place one washer on the inside of the cage and one on the outside.

This system is used for many (natural wood) perches. It is easy to attach the perch to any cage type that can be used for lovebirds. Lovebirds aren’t heavy and the screw attachment used is fine for such smaller birds.

I double checked if the wing nut would fit tightly. Sometimes products are faulty, and the wingnut unscrews when you want to tighten it up. This was not the case for the Trixie natural living perch with rope I bought.

A faulty screw attachment might cause the perch to loosen every time your lovebird sits on it and will eventually fall.

Pro
Good screw attachment to easily hang the perch in a cage.

Price and quality

Based on the quality, the Trixie natural living perch with rope is decently priced. Don’t judge it just for the fact that it uses cotton rope. You can easily replace this rope with a safe material, while still having a good perch.

However, because of the limited foot exercise it gives your lovebird, this shouldn’t be the only natural wooden perch in your lovebird’s cage.

Conclusion

When I saw this product for the first time, I had no knowledge of the dangers of cotton and thought my lovebird would love it. She loves to gnaw on rope. I soon became wiser and wondered if I really should buy this or not.

I considered the pricing, the quality and safety of the wood and how I was to attach this to my lovebird’s cage. Despite the cotton, it was still a nice product. So, I eventually bought it with the intention to remove the cotton rope. I will replace the rope with something else that is safe for my lovebird to gnaw on. The perch and wooden ‘rings’ will be the base of a new perch toy.