Sand oak for perches?

[Bananerz]

I have many trees in my yard and figure I should save money and make some perches. Only not entirely sure in the woods. The only trees I can somewhat identify are the sand oak, and there some sort of orange fruit-looking tree and a lemon tree. I read with oak you have to strip the bark and no nuts or leaves, however I didn't find anything specific for sand oak, so I wanted to make sure it's okay to use. I was also wondering if I need to strip down the orange and lemon branches of bark and leaves or if I can leave them on there.

And do they need to be treated in any? Like with vinegar to kill anything bad on them or allowed to completely dry before putting in the cage?
Thanks

 

[henpecked]

Unsure of what is a sand oak? Where do you live Are you talking about scrub oak? I cure branches in the barn rafters for about 2 months and then sterilize them in a 250 degree oven for a couple of hours , depends on diameter. However i dont use oak any more. Most citrus trees are treated with both pesticides and fertilizers , not safe for chewing on.

 

[Bananerz]

I've never used pesticides on my trees, only a vinegar solution.
I live in north west Florida, sand oaks are everywhere, we have a large one in the front yard.

 

[henpecked]

I think you must be talking about live oak. Most list of toxic woods list oak. IMO they're ok, but better to error on the side of caution. Theres a better tree in your area, called dragonwood. I use it for my birds and sell it to both breeders, pet stores, toy makers and pet owners. Theres a good patch on the St Johns River near Deltona,, short drive for you.

 

[Bananerz]

Thanks! I had no idea we had that, I'll get some today.

So I just need to let it hang for a while then bake it?

And yeah, I just looked it up again and it's called sand live oak.

Eta: I just looked up dragonwood, couldn't really find a definitive picture, do you have one so I know what tree to look for?

 

[henpecked]

Having trouble downloading URL from imageshack on my phone. I'll try to get some pictures on here this evening when I get to my laptop