Stupid me, I only looked on one website to see which woods are safe to birds and it said Oak was OK for them. Now I just looked on a couple more saying Oak is completely toxic! The reason I am so mad is because I spent 2 hours making a Beautiful "OAK!!!" playstand! I can't believe this! I'm just going to take it apart tommorow!!!!

Oh man I am so sorry. I would wait and see what some of the others think. Maybe you can keep it. I'm confused too, as I just read that oak WOOD is ok but not the oak bark or leaves. See here:

http://www.birdsafe.com/woods.htm

Then below that it says:

BAD WOOD:

Oak (except Tan Oak which should be avoided because of the VERY high tannin content) though there is some controversy about Oak it appears that the wood should be safe. the bark leaves and especially the acorns have much higher levels of tannins and should be avoided. While many bird species including many parrots regularly feed on nuts and vegetation that have levels of tannin much higher than oaks, it is unclear how their
bodies deal with the substance and it is therefore probably advisable to avoid high doses.

I used dogwood branch for a porch.Is that ok...

I read that exact website when I thought it was OK for KeeWee. Maybe I will keep it, I'll see what some other people say. If I do keep it, how should I go about stripping the bark off? Do I just take a knife and peal it off? Your comforting words are much appriciated!

This very same thing happened to me. But it took me two whole days to make this WONDERFUL playstand and it was buckeye tree wood. Bad....so I dismantled it. Yes when stripping the bark just whitle it with a knife and bake the wood if possible. If too large for the oven, clean well with ACV and let dry well.

I just went to site mentioned. Read through it several times. I can see why your so confused. It contradicts itself!!!!!

Listed as UNSAFE, is



IMO, this is not a clear source to base your fids life on!!!!!!!!

KEEP GOOGLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Forgot to ask.........

What is ACV???????????

ACV is Apple Cider Vinegar!

Thanks!!!!!

I've had no problems with using oak wood for toys... However the wood was kiln dried not green wood.

I'm assuming that you cut branches from oak tree's in your yard...If that's the case, I would be leary only because of the tannin levels. I don't know who you could contact to ask about it. County extention agents perhaps.

If in doubt, its best to error on the safe side.

How big is your play stand? Can you disassemble it and dry it in the oven on very low heat for several hours. A fairly easy way to get the bark off is to take a sharp knife and make a slit down the length of the piece of wood on and then score it in the same fashion several more times. As the wood dries in the oven the bark should pop off

Can you show us a picture of your playstand?

It's way too big to go in the oven. It was a dead tree, just laying on the ground. Does the would have to be stripped off? Here are the pictures of it...

Since it was outside did you remember to scrub it off with apple cider vinegar to help disinfect it? Remember, other critters have had access to it so you want to make sure that there are any wild bird droppings on it, In a case like this, I would leave the bark intact but scrape it down really well and then with a rag soaked in Apple cider vinegar I would wipe it down really well all over, let it dry and then do it again, let it dry and then let them play on it. Chances are if the bird chews on the wood he's not going to injest any of it anyway. So I don't think theres a lot to worry about.

Is the bark still tight on the wood? It appears to be. If you notice the bird picking at the bark and messing with the bark a lot, you can always strip the bark off so that just bare wood is there.

You might also scout around your yard or neighborhood for other types of branches things like willow etc and make another one Just make sure that you scrub it well.

Well, I started to strip it down, and I'm half way done with it. I washed it with a bleach-water solution, and I'm going to scrub it with ACV afterwards. Do I need to dilute the ACV with water? Like you said, he probably won't even eat it anyways, he NEVER chews on ANYTHING. He has wood perches and toothpicks in his cage and he just will not chew. I guess I'm lucky...

P.S. I am keeping it...