European Weeping Willow

[0570]

Hello everyone! I've got a quick question that I haven't been able to find a definitive answer to;

Are the vines of the European Weeping Willow safe for Green Cheek Conures? Whatever articles I've come across claim the branches are safe, but recommend to remove the bark. However I'm not interested in using thick branches but in the vines hanging off of the branches (which are usually too far off the ground without using a very tall ladder).


This is what the Weeping Willows around our area look like

 

[ChristaNL]

never the mind ...I could not find any scietific proof of what I wrote and there are enough fairytales floating about already

 

[EllenD]

Off the top of my head I'm don't know about any toxicities of the European Weeping Willow to birds...However, typically if a tree is safe for birds, then the bark is also fine for them...In fact, I always leave the bark on the branches that I make perches/stands out of because my guys love to spend the entire day ripping the bark off of the branches...And it's not unusual for articles to say to "remove the bark" from any and all tree branches, so that's probably what the situation is here...

Do you see wild birds living on/in this tree outside on a regular basis? I don't believe it's a toxic wood/bark, HOWEVER no matter what part of the tree that you use, whether it be the branches or the "Vines" as you've mentioned, you absolutely MUST bake them all in your oven at 250 degrees F for about 30-45 minutes to kill-off all bacteria, fungi, mold, parasites, etc., both inside and outside of the wood. So no matter what natural/wild tree branches/vines that you give to your birds, you have to bake them first.