How to made natural perches safe

[clow1988]

Hello,

So today I sourced some apple tree branches and some willow.

Have cut down to size but how do I make them safe to put in? I've been advised, scrub, soak in bleach and water for 24 hours, then rinse and soak again in clean water then bake in the oven. Feels like it's going to take days!

Is there a faster way? Or a thread that I can read ..

[Hezz]

Most of that is unnecessary. Give the perches a scrub in hot soapy water (dishwashing liquid is good), rinse off with a mild vinegar solution and if possible dry in the sun. That is really all you need to do. In my opinion baking them just makes the wood a little too hard for them to have a good chew on.

[clow1988]

Mar 23, 2023 1:31:25 GMT Hezz said:

Most of that is unnecessary. Give the perches a scrub in hot soapy water (dishwashing liquid is good), rinse off with a mild vinegar solution and if possible dry in the sun. That is really all you need to do. In my opinion baking them just makes the wood a little too hard for them to have a good chew on.

Thanks for the response Hezz! I'm going to give your method a whirl with some bits I haven't started the other process off with

[Budgiefeets]

We just cut em down to size and wash em in warm water and dry em in paper towel.
Our female budgie dosent bite so much in these perches, but she likes to bite in feathers and strings.
So we cant have nice dreamcatchers hanging for long time before they are ruined. Eventualy she bites all the strings and feathers off and then she has a perfect ring to sit and rest in.