wooden things

Right, my friend is going to build me a sort of veranda aviary type thing that can clip over my patio doors so Rox can enjoy the air. I have a plan a cunning plan but need to know, for the frame, are there woods I should avoid. Is pine ok and if treated for the weather is there something safe or do I leave it au naturale?

leave all wood untreated ... you'll have to rebuild it again, but that's OK, you can't rebuild your baby!

Yup, unteated. Thats the trouble we are having with our aviary at the moment, With the weather here is not great to be untreated, but better that than something happening to the fids. Trouble is your weather is a lot worse than ours, right down South here.

thanx folks..

Here's an artiicle I got from another parrot forum about safe and toxic woods: Roxanne

HereThe lists below indicate wood to use for perches, or avoid using. This is a perch wood list that assumes the perches are stripped clean of fruit and leaves, and dried. Most information refers to wood in it's natural state with bark still attached. Be sensible - I am not a toxicologist. Likewise we know that all experts don't always agree on everything. I utillized ability to gather and compile information. I'm not a math professor either, but if I write 12 x 12 = 144, what expert will dispute it? I gathered facts from toxicologists, avian vets and reliable resources - then boosted that with my arborist and pesticide background.

The unsafe list is comprised of plants considered dangerous or POTENTIALLY dangerous to birds. Any pesticide residue renders all safe wood as dangerous wood instead. Never use wood with pesticide residue, even if bark was removed. Pesticides can penetrate into wood through bark. Pesticides include herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, dormant spray and miticides.


Beware of chemical RESIDUE on stems. Chemical residue that may be overlooked includes moss control products that splash off roofs, anti-desiccant sprays on new plant material or holiday season foliage, deck treatment over-spray and dried mist from painting buildings or fences. A poor perch selection area is by the side of a highway or railroad since many right-of-ways are treated with herbicides.

This lists below are substantial, but not a complete list of most trees available. Aslo, wood or stems that we see wild birds on should not all be considered safe for pet birds. And, wood that is toxic to just a few birds may well be considered toxic for all birds. Remember the phrase “All for One, and One for All”.

Some difference of opinion was found: Apple for example. Some sources like Gillian Willis, say apple wood is safe: others say it may be toxic part of the year. I put it in the safe list due to Gillian Willis' expertise and my professional opinion that pesiticide residue is causing confusion.

People may experience associated problems other than wood toxicity, like a new fungal problem associated with wood. And fungi or bacteria can produce chemicals or toxins. One source indicated that Citrus like orange wood may cause allergic reaction, so Citrus is in the unsafe list. Relying on my Oregon Pesticide Consultant background, I feel comfortable using apple wood in our own bird cages. Apple trees are one of the most commonly sprayed trees - insecticides in spring, fungicides in winter - probably why some isolated incidents developed. If you don't spray your apple trees or inject them, apple should be fine.

Elm is on safe wood lists. But in many cities, elm trees are susceptible to dutch elm disease and are sprayed or injected for control; which includes insecticides to kill the insects that spread the problem. Maybe refrain from selecting elm, because there is an abundance of other tree wood that can be pesticide free.

Call your city's urban forestry department to find out if street trees in your area are sprayed or injected with growth regulation chemicals.

No tender plants are listed, but some shrubs and vines capable of producing firm stems or trunks that could be improvised as perches are included.

Stone fruit trees like cherry, apricot or plum, belong to the Prunus genus and contain cyanogenic glycosides which release cyanide if ingested. These are included. Pine in the safe list refers to tree limbs, not lumber. Please read paragraphs below about lumber.

Wood to consider as TOXIC to your birds

ALDER - red alder - see paragraph about alder and Alder Buckthorn
ANDROMEDA
APRICOT

Birch: on the safe list. Genus Betula
AVACADO
AZALEA
BLACK LOCUST
BOX ELDER
BOXWOOD
BUCKTHORN - Cascara / Alder Buckthorn see Alder & Buckthorn below
CANNABIS
CEDAR
CHERRY see sentence below
COMMON SAGE
DATURA
DAPHNE - it's the berries
DIEFFENBACHIA
ELDERBERRY
EUONYMUS
EUPHORBIA
FLAME TREE
FIRETHORN - Pyracantha
FOXGLOVE
GOLDEN CHAIN TREE - Laburnum
GROUND CHERRY
HEMLOCK - Tsuga
HOLLY - Ilex
HONEY LOCUST - Gleditsia
HORSE CHESTNUT - Aesculus
HUCKLEBERRY - Cockatiel Society > leaves bad - evergreen or deciduous
HYDRANGEA
JUNIPER - Juniperus
KENTUCKY COFFEE TREE
KUMQUAT
LAUREL
LEMON
LIME
MOCK ORANGE - fruit, see note in safe list
MONSTERA
MOUNTAIN LAUREL
MYRTLE - broadleaf evergreen, not crape myrtle
NECTARINE
OAK - Quercus - all parts / tannins
ORANGE - several sources lean toward safe
PEACH
PEAR - some sources lean toward safe
PLUM
PRIVET
RAIN TREE
RED MAPLE - see Maple paragraph
REDWOOD
RHODODENDRON
TOMATO
UMBRELLA TREE
WALNUT
WITCH HAZEL - Hamamelis
WISTERIA
YEW

More TOXIC Trees / Woods

TOXIC

ARROWHEAD VINE
AUSTRALIAN FLAMETREE
AUSTRALIAN UMBRELLA TREE
BANEBERRY (ACTAEA)
BEANS: - castor, horse, fava, broad, glory, scarlet runner
SOPHORA - includes Japanese pagoda tree & Mescal
BRACKEN FERN
BURDOCK
CACAO
CAMEL BUSH - Trichodesma
CASTOR BEAN
CHALICE - trumpet vine
CHINA BERRY TREE - Melia / Texas umbrella tree
CHINESE MAGNOLIA - uncertain safety confirmation
CHINESE POPCORN (TALLOW)
CHINESE SNAKE TREE - Laquer plant: sap contact is bad too CORIANDER - Cilantro
DATURA STRAMONIUM - Brugmansia / angel's trumpet
DIEFFENBACHIA
FLAME TREE - Brachychiton / Sterculia
FELT PLANT - Kalancho baharensis
FOXGLOVE
HEATHS
KALMIA: also called Mountain Laurel
JASMINE
LEUCOTHOE
NUTMEG
PITCH PINE
PRARIE OAK - safety uncertain
ROSE
SOLANUM - Jerusalem cherry / pepino
LANTANA - red sage
LUPINE
MANGO - reputable source: fruit okay: not wood or leaves
MEXICAN BREADFRUIT
MISTLETOE
OLEANDER
CANARY BIRD BUSH - Crotalaria
RED SAGE - Lantana
RHUBARB
SAND BOX TREE - sap has been used to poison fish
PENCILTREE
CROWN OF THORNS
MONSTERA
SUMAC - not all sumacs are toxic: see paragraphs
TANSY
TOBACCO
WEEPING FIG - Benjamin Fig - Ficus benjamina - see paragraph
WHITE CEDAR - China



Next - Woods to consider as SAFE for your birds.

AILANTHUS - Tree of Heaven)
APPLE - I believe pesticide residue is the reason for periodic issues
ALDER - white alder - (?) see paragraph about Alder and Buckthorn
ALMOND
ARALIA - Fatsia japonica - AZ Avian Breeders Assn., Zoo landscape list
ASH (Fraxinus)
ASPEN
BAMBOO
BARBERRY
BIRCH - comments below
BEECH

Silk Tree - another SAFE tree wood.
BUTTERFLY BUSH
CAMELLIA
CITRUS - lime, kumquat, grapefruit, orange
COTTONWOOD
CRABAPPLE
CRAPE MYRTLE - not the same as myrtle
DOGWOOD
DOUGLAS FIR - Pseudotsuga
ELM
ESCALLONIA
EUCALYPTUS
FIR - genus Abies
GUAVA
HAWTHORN - genus Crataegus
LARCH
LILAC
MADRONA / MADRONE
MAGNOLIA
MAPLE - see Maple Paragraph
MANZANITA
MOCK ORANGE - Long Island Parrot Society
MOUNTAIN ASH - genus Sorbus
MULBERRY
NANDINA -common name: heavenly bamboo
NORFOLK ISLAND PINE
NUT TREES - exclude chestnut
ORANGE - several sources lean toward safe
OREGON GRAPE - genus Mahonia
PAPAYA
PEAR
PINE - Pinus See Pine below
PHOTINIA
POPLAR - genus Populas
PUSSY WILLOW - genus Salix
RAPHIOLEPSIS
RUBBER PLANT - Ficus elastica - see paragraph below
RAPHIOLEPSIS
RUSSIAN OLIVE
SILK TREE
SPIRAEA
SPRUCE - genus Picea
STAGHORN SUMAC - Rhus typhina; not Toxicodendron - see Sumac paragraph
STRAWBERRY TREE - Arbutus like Madrone
SWEET GUM - genus Liquidambar
SYCAMORE
VIBURNUM
VINE MAPLE
WEEPING WILLOW
WIEGELA
YUCCA

And more SAFE Trees / Woods

SAFE

ACACIA
BOIS D'ARC - horse apple tree
BOTTLE BRUSH
CORK - not wood from cork oak, but cork

Sweet gum; LIquidambar on the safe list. It's a maple-like leaf, but not a maple; or Acer, also on the safe list.
CORN PLANTS
DATE
DRACAENA
FIG
GINKGO
GRAPE PALM
GRAPE VINES
GUAVA
HACKBERRY
HIBISCUS
HICKORY
IRONWOOD - apparently toxic leaves
JADE PLANT
KALANCHOE
MESQUITE - remove sharp parts
MIMOSA
MULBERRY - fruitless
PALM
PAPAYA
PECAN
RIBBONWOOD
SASSAFRAS
THURLOW
TREE FERN
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Oh, in addition to my last post-- it has Hibiscus listed as safe--I wouldn't trust it, because Rose of Sharon bushes are a kind of hibiscus, and they are VERY toxic! Roxanne

Here is a web site with more info on safe woods:
http://www.mdvaden.com/bird_page.shtml
--Roxanne

Hi Roxanne not getting hit on that web site above.
its all so confusing.
So what branches can she have the bark to strip..cause thats the fun bit .
And that list assumes they are cleaned and stripped