A recent article in about.birds.comstated that cement perches were bad for birds.

To say cement perchesare not safe for your birds is not entirely accurate. Cement perches have their place. We're not a big fan of cement perches, we prefer Sandyperch brand abrasive perches because of their Manzanita core. The problem with cement perches is that most people use them improperly.

Many bird owners have told us they use abrasive perches up high in the cage and the cement perch eventually becomes a sleeping perch. If the bird spends a lot of time on a cement perch or worse yet sleeps on the perch, yes foot problems will probably manifest themselves in that application.

We suggest placing an abrasive perch- yes even cement - on the INSIDE of the cage door. when you open the door, the bird is excited because they are about to get out of the cage. Typically they will do a little dance until you come and get them. While they're doing this little dance, they are trimming their nails. If you have  a wood dowel and/or Manzanita perchand a rope perch for sleeping, up high in the cage, your bird will not spend a lot of time on the cement perch. Just make sure the diameter of the perch is large enough to the birds toes don't touch each other and the nails come in contact with the abrasive surface.