Wood branches as perches?

[LadyTwilyte]

Would wood branches be ok to put in a bird cage? I can smooth the edges down but I thought they'd be good way to wear down their claws but would like some opinios first

[babyb&g]

what kind of wood is it?

[babyb&g]

The safe woods are: apple tree, arbutus, ash, aspen, beech, birch, cottenwood, crab-apple, dogwood, elm, fir, hawthorn, larch, magnolia, manzanita, mulberry, pear, pine, poplar, redwood and willow.

unsafe: apricot, cherry, peach, prune, plum and nectarine.

This information is from one of my macaw books..

[The Outlaw]

And no oak. Toxic to birds.

[LadyTwilyte]

Yikes, I almost used oak thanks a lot

[ladyscroller]

I read somewhere that apple branches are toxic at certain times of the year but it did not specify when has anyone else ever read this?? If so what time of the year cant they be used?
Linda

[Monica]

I've never heard that the apple branches were toxic, and if they are, they've never affected my birds as I usually let two of my birds out on our apple tree when the weather is warm, but not too hot (which is just about any time throughout the year, even in winter).

[ladyscroller]

Here is a site that says apple can be toxic. I'd really like to know for sure because I have an apple tree in the front yard that really needs a trim. Glad I was able to find it again I thought it was in my parrotlet handbook but it wasnt so I did a little surfing and found it again, here is the site.
http://www.mdvaden.com/bird_page.shtml
Linda

[Monica]

It's more likely a myth, or they are talking about pesticides or fertilizer. If you use pesticides on your plants, or fertilizer, this can make them toxic for ingestion. You want to be sure that you haven't used either on the plants within the past year (or two years which would be even better).

[The Outlaw]

I've used my apple tree limbs for 5 years with no problems. My tree has never been sprayed.