makeing my own perch..question

[amazonluvr]

I am in the middle of makeing my own perch for my Amazon. I went to the lake and picked up some drift-wood. I think it is oak wood but not sure...I was told not to use oak wood for home made perches. If this is oak wood can I use it? If not why? Thank you

[kp_in_scott]

There are many sites that list safe woods for parrots. Please do a search and get a listing. Also, take care when just picking up a branch from somewhere. It could have come in contact with something that could be dangerous for you amazon. I live in a rural area. Sweet gum trees grow in abundance on my property and they have never been sprayed with any pesticides. I use these for the wood perches. I still wipe them down with a weak bleach water then rinse well with plain water. If the branch is small enough you can put it in the oven at 200 degrees for 30 minutes or so and that would kill any bugs that might be on it. Hope this is helpful.

[Yellow]

Some branches might be poisonous to your birds so you must choose carefully. Also usually dead branches contain fungus so it is best to cut one off a tree.(only if you want to but even live trees sometimes contain fungus and gum as well)

Im not too sure about why not to use oak wood though. Anyone know why?