What Scottish trees can i use branches & sticks from for Bird? (Ring Neck Parrot)

[BlueBird95]

Hi folks!

I was wondering if anyone can give me advice on what sticks/branches am I able to use where I stay for my bird? Also, any advice on how to identify them would be great as well as tips to disinfect and clean properly.

I stay in a place surrounded by woodland & forestry (Scotland) however sadly know nothing about tree's and whats safe for my bird. The idea of using some sticks/wood from outside popped into my head after being a walk and seeing signs that someone put up regarding parrots that had escaped that where seen months after they actually escaped. It made me think that maybe there is more tree's than not that are bird safe if they managed to survive that long in the wild here. I also seen there's over 50,000 indian ring necks living wild in the UK and that also got me wondering if the majority of branches and sticks out there would be safe for my IRN parrot...

I can often find some really good looking bits of wood in the forest near me. I just wouldn't want to use any for my bird without knowing for certain they would be safe.

I ofcourse use a variety of perches in his cage that are from pet shops. Sand, calcium, ordinary wood, ect and thats all he really has been used so far. However, I'm considering decorating parts of the house and spaces between furniture (cupboards) with some bigger sticks, branches for when he begins to come out his cage and fly around the place to make it feel a bit more like his natural habbitate.

And lets be honest.. finding perches that would give the look I'm going for and be as big from pet shops is either impossible or insanely expensive for big bits ''javawood'' that most time are hard to modify to the size you need without putting in half a shift.

Can I just ise any wood/sticks/branches that look safe or is there any major no nos? Ofcourse not using anything that looks dead or with fungus ect on them?

I'm wondering if common sense is a major player here and if the majority of tree branches are actually or not? theres either going to be a lot more dangers than not or the same vice versa.

any advice would be appreciated.

thank you!!

 

[widor]

Hi, not sure about Scotland flora but if you have willow that is safe for sure, also apple and pear branches- of course without any presticides used on them.Also haselnut considered safe- these are the mostly used natural branches in Hungary. To be honest I always leave the bark on , it is extra pleasure for them to chew but make sure to check them and if I see any bugs or holes do not use them.

 

[Jexnell]

Not sure what hardwoods would be safe. I know to stay away from evergreens alias softwood. All the trees with needles for leaves. They have a natural version of antifreeze, thats how they stay growing year round unlike hardwoods that drop the leaves and go dormant during winter.