What Trees Are Safe??

[Kinny]

Since I'll be raising Eclectus, Kakariki and Princess Parrots soon, I need a playstand/play-tree and I'd like to know what trees are safe for them to chew on.

There is a local Nursery that has trees and bushes and I plan on buying the appropriate tree and (if it's safe?) putting in a pot and allowing it to grow, however 'shaping' it and adding toys to it as I go.

I hope I'm making sense...

 

[Dustbunny]

Umm...are you planning on shaping it until you have it exactly how you want it and THEN allowing the birds on the tree? Because I highly doubt the tree would live more than a few days with parrots on it.

I have one small GCC who loves nothing more than ripping every single leaf off branches I bring her from my trees. Then when she gets bored of that she strips the bark. A large 3-4 foot branch will be stripped bare within a few days...EVERY TIME.

May I suggest an alternative? Buy a small tabletop Christmas tree stand and put some water in it. Cut a large branch of a safe tree, clean it as necessary, and put it in the Christmas tree stand. The water will keep the leaves green longer, giving the birds more time and fun ripping them off. I got one cheap off Amazon that is really sturdy and works great: [ame=http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HJBLRU/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1]Amazon.com - Good Tidings CNCC163 Cinco Tabletop Christmas Tree Stand - Christmas Tree Stands Small[/ame] If the branch is too thin to secure well, just sandwich the branch between 2 pieces of scrap wood and then secure it.

Here are 2 lists of safe woods: Safe and Dangerous Woods
Safe Tree Wood.

 

[Betrisher]

I use bottlebrush mostly (Callistemon citrinus and C. viminalis). They have a great bark that keeps the parrots occupied for a few days before it's all stripped off. Melaleuca can work too, although some people don't like the notion of the insects and stuff that can live among the leaves of the paperbark. My birds LOVE it! As well as that, any kind of stringybark or ironbark is fine. Eucalyptus are generally OK, although I've found my lot are not fond of Lemon Gum (E. citriodora) - must be the strong lemon scent. I've also used Casuarina/Sheoak, but they're not fond of the bark, just the cones. Casuarina makes nice knobbly perches, though and would be a good choice for a playstand, I reckon.

If you bought a young one, it would take you a year or so to get usable timber from it. If you were really keen, you could wire the young, whippy stems and shape them to your purpose as the sapling grew. Casuarinas are a lot quicker growing than any of the other species I've mentioned, so I reckon that'd be your best bet. Unless, of course, you went with exotic species like Apple. You'd have to research that elsewhere. Maybe CSIRO?

 

[Kinny]

Ahh..thank you both I'm moreso after a playstand/perch tree than a tree purely to chew on - toys abd chewable branches/wood would be added in the form of a toy.

Eucalyptus branches are ok? Any ideas on how to safely rid it of germs/bugs ?

 

[Kinny]

I like your idea Dustbunny, but id rather almost entirely natural stuff.

Depending on the tree, i may allow the birds on it whilst it's growing (if its a decent size) the Kakariki aren't destructive chewers so itd be fine for them, but the other 2 I'm not quite sure about.

 

[strudel]

Eucalyptus branches are ok?

When I adopted my galah, her previous "mum" (who is a vet) told me that australian natives are fine for australian native birds, but not for "foreigners" (I'm not sure of the origins of your birds, so maybe double check that they are definitely ok).

My birds love eucalyptus, I have a big tree out back. You won't really be able to keep a living eucalyptus indoors in a pot. You'd be better to make the play stand from a tree limb/branches and plant something outdoors for foliage to bring in (assuming you have the room, they grow BIG).

 

[Kinny]

Ahhh. Yeah only the new Princess Parrots are Australian natives. Kakariki are native to New Zealand and our Eclectus are the Indonesian native type.

Ahhh yeah they are HUGE. What about Fruit trees? We have 2 out the back that we're thinking of uprooting because they are dying.

 

[strudel]

If a tree is dying outdoors, uprooting it to bring indoors will just finish it off. You can bring some outdoor plants indoors for a short while, but most trees won't function as a houseplant, and if the birds do what they do and ringbark it or strip it of leaves, it'll cark it in no time. In theory, sounds like a good idea, in reality, not so much.

EDIT; I gather it isn't that they be australian, just that the bird and the vegetation are local to each other. If they have eucalypts where the birds live in indo or nz then that should still be ok from what I gather

 

[Kinny]

Oh i meant maybe a dying/dead tree would be best to have inside as the perch/playstand.

Ahhh that makes more sense ^^

 

[goalerjones]

Not this one......

 

[Kinny]

Hahaha, I'll try to stay away from it.

Question: Is the Liana plant ok for parrots?

 

[Kinny]

Thinking of getting a Glory Vine... anyone have one of those? Is it good? Any photos?

 

[strudel]

20m x 20m? How big's your backyard?

 

[Kinny]

Oh my that's big.. at the local nursery they have baby ones in pots and said they grow 2-3 metres per year.. Uhhh..decent sized but not THAT big!!! Haha. I'd only grow it until it's a decent sized perch/playstand, then..IT WOULD DIE! MWAHAHAHAHA!!!>=D Seriously.

 

[strudel]

If it's like a normal grapevine, there's a lot of growth, but the growth is mostly soft, it'd take years to grow anything that could be used as a perch and you'd need to train it to something.

 

[Kinny]

Ahhh..... The guy did also mention Chinese Star Jasmine and Potato Creepers.... but are those tough enough and are they toxic?

 

[strudel]

It can be hard to know what exactly people are talking about with plants, because some common names are used for different things in different places. Anyway, if by potato creeper he was talking about what I know as potato vine, it's a type of solanum, I think and that is toxic to people and animals if you eat the leaves. Jasmine stinks and you couldn't keep it indoors. I don't know about its toxicity.

Was he giving you the names of fast growers? They are fast growers, but like the other one, they are vine-type things. They grow fast, but what they are growing is lots of leaves, tendrils, vine-y stuff, soft growth, not hard stuff that he could stand on. Have you considered growing fresh veges for your bird instead and make a playstand out of timber? Mine love endive, that's easy to grow. Maybe make him a sprout lawn and then he could eat it.