what are the toxic and safe woods to use for birds?

[MayMaroa]

And another q how do i clean/disinfect the branches naturally?

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

Aspen, Hawthorn, Manzanita (sp?) and Dragonwood are all safe. Hawthorn even has edible berries on it! As for cleaning naturally, some vinegar or dish soap does wonders

I believe most toxic woods are fruit woods, like cherry and apple. Not 100% sure about that. Pine isn't toxic, but the sap gets all over the place and on the birds and is a Pain to remove.

 

[MayMaroa]

Thanks for the info, is birch wood safe?

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

Thanks for the info, is birch wood safe?

I believe it is . Even the bark is good, peeling fun!

 

[MayMaroa]

Well that's good bec beside our house are many birchwood trees!!!

 

[BirdyBee]

Aspen, Hawthorn, Manzanita (sp?) and Dragonwood are all safe. Hawthorn even has edible berries on it! As for cleaning naturally, some vinegar or dish soap does wonders

If you use dish soap you need to disinfect it really well afterwards.
Vinegar is ok but kills only 80%+/- of bacteria. Better than nothing though. You can also use your oven and/or leave it in the sun for a few days, bringing it inside during night/raining of course.

I believe most toxic woods are fruit woods, like cherry and apple. Not 100% sure about that. Pine isn't toxic, but the sap gets all over the place and on the birds and is a Pain to remove.

Apple wood is actually safe according to most sites, cherry wood is still debated though.

And another q how do i clean/disinfect the branches naturally?

Here is a link of bird-safe wood

Safe and Toxic Wood Branches and Trees - Budgie World

Here is a list of all toxic and safe wood or branches you can use as perches for your parakeets. Do not forget, you should never use wood from any pla

www.budgieworld.org

As for disinfecting, clean it with some vinegar and/or bake it and/or leave it in the sun. You can also boil the wood to kill certain bacteria.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6uTBIckTWD7DbG2xcB_otP66TGjtkxrB

 

[MayMaroa]

Thanks for all the info!!!

 

[HeatherG]

Birch is safe, pine is safe, oak is safe, fruit trees are safe. Some of the problems encountered with fruit wood was likely caused by pesticide applications to the live trees. If you wash and bake or bleach your tree limbs that will remove most of it.

 

[BirdyBee]

Birch is safe, pine is safe, oak is safe, fruit trees are safe. Some of the problems encountered with fruit wood was likely caused by pesticide applications to the live trees. If you wash and bake or bleach your tree limbs that will remove most of it.

I thought oak is toxic..

 

[HeatherG]

I will look it up but I don’t think it is toxic.

I see some people are saying oak is toxic because it contains tannins. But, the bird is not going to consume the oak. Tea also contains tannins as does wine and grape juice and many other things.

I have used oak perches for my birds and I’m ok with it. I guess you can decide what you like. I would not use something like yew or mistletoe, or an euphorbia species, sumac, hemlock; but I am fine with oak. Birdsafe.com says to remove the bark, presumably because a bird might ingest it. But I think birds/ parrots normally eat lots of plant matter that contains tannins. Imagine drinking water from a puddle filled with decomposing leaves, or water from a crevice in a treetrunk. That would contain tannins. The flavonoid that make tea and wine anti inflammatory (and healthy) in fact could be classified as tannins.

Www. Birdsafe.com/woods.htm is the reference I used to check safe woods. That reference does admit that some people have concerns about use of oak wood in bird accessories.