Natural Perches

[OutlawedSpirit]

So I was helping a friend do some yard work, and she has a crabapple tree in her yard. Everything I've found has said crabapple is safe to use for perches, so I asked her if I could cut a branch from it. She said she didn't care, so I got a branch that is big enough at the base to use for Aria, and the other end can go to bacon or the budgies.

I stripped all the bark and stuff off of it, so that is good to go. However, I wanted to leave the branch for Aria pretty long, so how can I ensure it is safe for her to have if I can't fit it in the oven to bake?

Also, I have seen some sites say that birds like natural branches with the bark and leaves on so they can peel the bark and chew up the leaves, but then others say that all bark and leaves should be removed before giving to your birds. I am just curious as to your experiences, and if there are branches that can be given "whole" for them to destroy. I really think Aria would enjoy tearing apart a branch, but I don't want to give her anything that could harm her.

 

[chris-md]

What I did with my apple branch I put on parkers playstand (replaced a dowel) was soak it in the tub for an hour with maybe 1/4 bottle of bleach, drained the tub, replaced the water and let it soak for another 2 hours to get the bleach off. Hot water. Gave the branch a good mechanical scrubbing when done.

I left the bark on though. it provides a natural, built in shredding toy. You can see in the photo below he enjoys it. It's now maybe 2 months old, so he's slow on the shredding but still loves to do so.

 

[BIRDIGIRL]

I have steam cleaned my apple tree branches for my guys as they dont fit in my oven but I leave the bark on and I have never had a problem but I only use my own apple tree branches and I use no chemicals what so ever on my tree and no weed killer of any kind either in the garden. The leaves are supposed to be rich in vitamins for them too.

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

Okay, maybe next time I'm over at her house, I might have to steal another branch. I wanted to leave the branch "whole" because I thought Aria would have fun with it, but I was worried about it possibly being bad for her. So I'll use the one I've already stripped as a more "permanent" perch, and the next one I get I'll leave the bark on it so she can peel and gnaw on it.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Here's a link of a previous thread which may be useful

http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-toys/60559-broken-branches-yard-okay.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/60221-i-chopped-down-apple-tree.html