Treating wood for birds?
Phil Schwartz
What should I use in order to treat wood that I bought at a lumber yard so
it is both safe for my Amazon to nibble on -and- also easy to clean any
droppings off of?
Should I use a wood sealer (ie. Thompsons, etc...), Shilac (sp?), gloss
paint or other?
Thanks for any info,
E-mail responses preferred because our news server is a few days behind.
Phil
Ian Kerfoot
Do not treat the wood at all. Avoid the green tinted
pressure treated wood, and also laminated plywood.
Pine is a popular type of wood to use, since it is
cheap, easy to chew on, and nonpoisonous. If you do
paint anything, be sure to use a brand that is labelled
to be nontoxic. If you are just giving the wood to the
bird as something to destroy (rather than, e.g., building
a nest box), it will be destroyed long before cleaning
becomes an issue.
Ian Kerfoot
avia...@raleigh.ibm.com
In <4q6g84$f...@savvy2.savvy.com>, ph...@gwar.savvy.com (Phil Schwartz) writes:
>
;>What should I use in order to treat wood that I bought at a lumber yard so
NO!!! D O N O T U S E A Y T H I N G ! ! !
As matter of fact, DO NOT BUY ANY TREATED LUMBER!!
Ted, Ziggy & Flo (CAGs) and Buffett (MA)
Sorry for the shouting, but I thought this one needed to be heard!
Shelly L. Coarson
>==========Phil Schwartz, 6/18/96==wrote:========
>
>
>What should I use in order to treat wood that I bought at a
>lumber yard so
>it is both safe for my Amazon to nibble on -and- also easy to clean any
>droppings off of?
>
>Should I use a wood sealer (ie. Thompsons, etc...), Shilac (sp?), gloss
>paint or other?
>
>Thanks for any info,
>
>E-mail responses preferred because our news server is a few days behind.
>
>Phil
>
No sealants, no treated wood, no chemicals. Remember anything
you offer ends up in their beak and can be ingested. Be it
perches, toys, etc. On the other hand to clean appropriate
wooden perches, my avian vet recommends scrubbing with soap,
water, and bleach if necessary, and sun drying for a couple
days. What would be easier to clean would be the PVC textured
perches I've seen for sale. We make our own, perhaps you could
to. We have perches of different diameters, textures, and
materials; this is the best way to go.
Shelly from Dayton
Owned by Jake (1.5 YO Senegal) "I've got to have your attention,
NOW." & Bimbo (16 YO 'tiel) "A mature bird does not beg they pester."
Liz Day
No, DON'T treat the wood with anything. There is nothing you can put
on wood that is not harmful to the bird (think about yourself chewing
or eating paint, copper preservative, varnish, stain, paste wax - you
get the picture). Even some kinds of woods, just the bare branch off
the tree, can be toxic to chew. What you want is clean bare wood that
has had as little as possible done to it.
The book 'Feeding Your Pet Bird' has a list of safe plants, but all
are houseplants, none are trees. There are trees on the toxic list,
but of course what you want to know is what trees you CAN use.
Does anyone know where the "Safe Wood" list is? (If it exists.)
Liz Day
Indianapolis, Indiana, central USA
LD...@indy.net (use this address - not the 'r' key)
toddw
You should bleach and/or bake the wood
to remove the possibility of parasites if you
use wood from outside. Wood from a pet store SHOULD be safe :-)
John Lester
Could you explain what you do to your wood in more detail. I've been
trying to make some perches with some Manzanita I've collected
locally, but it always seems to split when I leave it outside to dry.
I'm reluctant to bake it. Do you just wash it off with 10% bleach, or
do you soak it longer? Anyone have any ideas on how to keep Manzanita
from splitting?
Monica Sudds
jwle...@ucdavis.edu (John Lester) wrote:
>Could you explain what you do to your wood in more detail. I've been
>trying to make some perches with some Manzanita I've collected
>locally, but it always seems to split when I leave it outside to dry.
>I'm reluctant to bake it. Do you just wash it off with 10% bleach, or
>do you soak it longer? Anyone have any ideas on how to keep Manzanita
>from splitting?
Hi John,
Some manzanita can be quite toxic. Be sure you are using the type that
is safe. I'm not an expert in this, but if you call David Boyko at
Tucson Cactus & Manzanita Co. I'm sure you can get your questions
answered. I know he has been very helpful to persons in the past. The
number is 602-795-3755. I live in Iowa so don't have to worry about
cactus and manzanita in my back yard (darn).
Monica
===============================================================================
Monica Sudds CAS, Pres. Beakers Parrot Society, Iowa State Coordinator for AFA
Beakers Exotics bea...@probe.net http://www.probe.net/~beakers/
3217 Italy Avenue 712) 642-4578 24 hr. fax (712) 642-3710
Missouri Valley, IA 51555 (comments, questions and polite critisism welcome!)
===============================================================================
Troy Bull
Monica Sudds wrote:
>
> jwle...@ucdavis.edu (John Lester) wrote:
>
> >Could you explain what you do to your wood in more detail. I've been
> >trying to make some perches with some Manzanita I've collected
> >locally, but it always seems to split when I leave it outside to dry.
> >I'm reluctant to bake it. Do you just wash it off with 10% bleach, or
> >do you soak it longer? Anyone have any ideas on how to keep Manzanita
> >from splitting?
>
> Hi John,
> Some manzanita can be quite toxic. Be sure you are using the type that
> is safe. I'm not an expert in this, but if you call David Boyko at
> Tucson Cactus & Manzanita Co. I'm sure you can get your questions
> answered. I know he has been very helpful to persons in the past. The
> number is 602-795-3755. I live in Iowa so don't have to worry about
> cactus and manzanita in my back yard (darn).
>
I make sure that I bake all wood before my birds get at it, usually for 20 to 40 minutes at 350
degrees
--
\/ Troy Bull
^ o Simpson College / Information Systems |
\/// Indianola, IA
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