Are these woods safe for perches?

[steph]

Hello, 

I am new here I have been reading on which woods are safe for budgies. A lovely friend of mine has given me two cuttings from their garden (they never spray them and is away from any main roads)

One is off an apple tree which I know is safe.

What about contorted Hazel? It produces nuts and is a twisted version and is a bit rough (have taken a close up) - Would work amazingly if its safe.


Also how would I prep them - Do I give them a good scrub then pop in the oven?


I have uploaded some pictures

[Hezz]

Is contorted hazel the same as corkscrew hazel? If so, then yes it is safe. I'm not sure of the dimensions of what you have there, but they need to be around a centimeter in thickness. More or less is okay but not for everyday perching - their feet need to go about two-thirds of the way around the perch. Variety is more important than anything else. And roughness is fine, as well.

To get them budgie-ready, they need to dry out, knock off all the growth nodes and give a scrub with some mild dishwashing detergent, rinse in a mild vinegar solution, and dry in the sun. If you have no sun, then the oven will suffice, but don't overcook them.

Are they for a cage or aviary? If an aviary, then the thin bits will give the birds some lovely foot exercise, as long as they have some thicker perches to rest their feet at other times.

[steph]

Thank you for your reply

I was planning of only using the thicker ends for the perch (I have several natural thick ones that I brought from the shop but wanted to add something more fun) The finer bits left over i was planning on bundling together to make a toy.

Yes im sure they said it was the corkscrew kind and theres a straight version too.

Its for a large cage.

I have got some white distilled vinegar but it says malted on it - not sure if this would still be ok? Im planning on getting some f10 soon.

[Hezz]

F10 will work well. As for the vinegar, it should be fine, as well; malted refers to the process of making the vinegar; it is distilled to give the clear vinegar that I assume your bottle has.