Joined
·
20,169 Posts
Many people, me included, often question which woods are good for making toy parts and perches. I've been using this list off the internet for a while now and it's very reliable as well as well researched.
This is the link FaeryBee often gives people when they ask the same question. I decided to compile it with the footnotes written in so it isn't so confusing.
All credit goes to M.D Vaden and Bird; Birds: Safe, Toxic Trees, Woods. Safe Tree Wood. Parrots. Parrot cages.
UNSAFE WOOD:
ALDER - red alder - not to be confused with Alder Buckthorn (which is unsafe anyways, so if you don't know, leave it)
ANDROMEDA -Pieris, Lily of the Valley shrub
APRICOT
ARROWHEAD VINE
AUSTRALIAN FLAME TREE
AUSTRALIAN UMBRELLA TREE
AVACADO
AZALEA - Related to Rhododendron
BANEBERRY - Actaea
BEANS -castor, horse, fava, broad, glory, scarlet runner
BLACK LOCUST - Robinia
BOX ELDER
BOXWOOD - Buxus
BUCKTHORN - Cascara / Alder Buckthorn - see chapter
BRACKEN FERN
BURDOCK
CACAO
CAMEL BUSH - Trichodesma
CANARY BIRD BUSH - Crotalaria
CANNABIS
CASTOR BEAN
CEDAR - Thuja, Chamaecyparis, Cupressus
CHALICE - trumpet vine
CHERRY
CHINA BERRY TREE - Melia / Texas umbrella tree
CHINESE MAGNOLIA - uncertain for safety
CHINESE POPCORN / TALLOW
CHINESE SNAKE TREE - Laquer plant
COMMON SAGE
CORIANDER - Cilantro
DATURA
DAPHNE - it's the berries
DATURA STRAMONIUM - Brugmansia - angel's trumpet
DIEFFENBACHIA
ELDERBERRY
EUONYMUS - Includes burning bush and more
EUPHORBIA
FELT PLANT - Kalancho baharensis
FLAME TREE
FIRETHORN - Pyracantha
FLAME TREE - Brachychiton / Sterculia
FOXGLOVE - Digitalis (pharmaceutical source)
GOLDEN CHAIN TREE - Laburnum
GROUND CHERRY
CROWN OF THORNS
HEATHS
HEMLOCK - Tsuga
HOLLY - Ilex
HONEY LOCUST - Gleditsia
HORSE CHESTNUT - Aesculus
HUCKLEBERRY - leaves bad: evergreen & deciduous
HYDRANGEA
JASMINE
JUNIPER - Juniperus
KALMIA: also called Mountain Laurel
KENTUCKY COFFEE TREE
LANTANA - red sage
LAUREL - Prunus
LEUCOTHOE
LUPINE
MANGO - (fruit okay: not wood or leaves)
MEXICAN BREADFRUIT
MOCK ORANGE - Philadelphus
MONSTERA - big hunker of a house plant
MOUNTAIN LAUREL - Kalmia latifolia
MYRTLE - broadleaf evergreen, not crape myrtle
NECTARINE
NUTMEG
OAK - Quercus - all parts / tannins
MISTLETOE
OLEANDER
PEACH
PEAR - some sources lean toward safe
PENCILTREE
PITCH PINE
PLUM
PRARIE OAK - safety uncertain
PRIVET
RAIN TREE
RED MAPLE - see Maple paragraph
RED SAGE - Lantana
REDWOOD - Sequiadendron, Metasequoia, Sequoia
RHODODENDRON
RHUBARB
SAND BOX TREE - sap was used to poison fish
SKIMMIA - entire plant: stem, berry, leaves
SOLANUM - Jerusalem cherry or pepino
SOPHORA - includes Japanese pagoda tree
SUMAC - not all sumacs are bad: see paragraphs
TOBACCO
TANSY
TOMATO
UMBRELLA TREE
WALNUT
WEEPING FIG - Ficus benjamina > Ficus elastica safe
WHITE CEDAR - China
WITCH HAZEL - Hamamelis
WISTERIA
YEW - Taxus
SAFE WOOD:
ACACIA - Silk Tree would be in this group
APPLE - ensure no pesticides were ever used
AILANTHUS - Tree of Heaven
ALDER - white alder - not to be confused with Alder Buckthorn
ALMOND
ARALIA - Fatsia japonica
ASH - Fraxinus
ASPEN - Populus
BAMBOO
BARBERRY- Berberis
BIRCH - no bark or leaves
BEECH - ***us
BOIS D'ARC - horse apple tree
BOTTLE BRUSH
BUTTERFLY BUSH
CAMELLIA
CITRUS -
(lime, kumquat, grapefruit, orange, lemon)
CORK -
(not wood from cork oak, but cork)
CORN PLANTS
COTTONWOOD - Populus
CRABAPPLE - Malus
CRAPE MYRTLE -
(not the same as myrtle)
DATE
DOGWOOD - Cornus
DOUGLAS FIR - Pseudotsuga
DRACAENA
ELM - Ulmus
ESCALLONIA
EUCALYPTUS
FIG
FIR - genus Abies
GINKGO
GRAPE VINES
GRAPE PALM
GUAVA
HACKBERRY
HAWTHORN - Crataegus
HIBISCUS
HICKORY
IRONWOOD - apparently toxic leaves
JADE PLANT
KALANCHOE
LARCH - Larix - don't confuse it with Dawn Redwood, which is harmful to birds
LILAC - Syringa
MADRONA / MADRONE - Arbutus
MAGNOLIA
MAPLE - Acer - No bark/leaves
MANZANITA - Arctostaphylos
MESQUITE - remove sharp parts
MIMOSA
MOUNTAIN ASH - Sorbus
MULBERRY - Morus - no leaves (they contain ****nic)
NANDINA -common name is heavenly bamboo
NORFOLK ISLAND PINE - Araucaria
NUT TREES - exclude chestnut
ORANGE - several sources lean toward safe
OREGON GRAPE - Mahonia
PALM
PAPAYA
PEAR
PECAN
PINE - Pinus- make sure no sap is present and wood is fully dry
PHOTINIA - no leaves, fruits, foliage, or bark
POPLAR - Populus
* WILLOW - Salix
RAPHIOLEPSIS - Indian Hawthorn
RIBBONWOOD
ROSE - Rosa
RUBBER PLANT - Ficus elastica - Weeping Fig in bad column
RUSSIAN OLIVE
SASSAFRAS
SILK TREE
SPIRAEA
SPRUCE - Picea
STAGHORN SUMAC - Staghorn Sumac
STRAWBERRY TREE - Arbutus like Madrone
SWEET GUM
SYCAMORE
THURLOW
TREE FERN
VIBURNUM
VINE MAPLE - Acer
WEEPING WILLOW - Salix - remove the bark
WIEGELA
YUCCA
**Note: Balsa wood is safe as long as it isn't treated or anything--but it makes terrible perches, it's too fun to chew!
I hope this helps anyone who has doubts about the wood they have.
Remember the rule when unsure of the wood you have: When in doubt, keep it out! Our birds depend on us to be 100% sure what we give them is safe, not 99%.
No pesticides or fertilizers should be used ever--don't pick up branches from a park where you don't know what they spray. If you planted a tree and never used chemicals on it, that's fine.
To sanitize branches, scrub them down with vinegar and bake them in the oven or leave them in the sun to dry. UV rays sterilize, so if possible, sun drying is best.
If anyone hears of any wood not on any of the two lists, let me know and I'll post it here.
Hope this helps! 👋
This is the link FaeryBee often gives people when they ask the same question. I decided to compile it with the footnotes written in so it isn't so confusing.
All credit goes to M.D Vaden and Bird; Birds: Safe, Toxic Trees, Woods. Safe Tree Wood. Parrots. Parrot cages.
UNSAFE WOOD:
ALDER - red alder - not to be confused with Alder Buckthorn (which is unsafe anyways, so if you don't know, leave it)
ANDROMEDA -Pieris, Lily of the Valley shrub
APRICOT
ARROWHEAD VINE
AUSTRALIAN FLAME TREE
AUSTRALIAN UMBRELLA TREE
AVACADO
AZALEA - Related to Rhododendron
BANEBERRY - Actaea
BEANS -castor, horse, fava, broad, glory, scarlet runner
BLACK LOCUST - Robinia
BOX ELDER
BOXWOOD - Buxus
BUCKTHORN - Cascara / Alder Buckthorn - see chapter
BRACKEN FERN
BURDOCK
CACAO
CAMEL BUSH - Trichodesma
CANARY BIRD BUSH - Crotalaria
CANNABIS
CASTOR BEAN
CEDAR - Thuja, Chamaecyparis, Cupressus
CHALICE - trumpet vine
CHERRY
CHINA BERRY TREE - Melia / Texas umbrella tree
CHINESE MAGNOLIA - uncertain for safety
CHINESE POPCORN / TALLOW
CHINESE SNAKE TREE - Laquer plant
COMMON SAGE
CORIANDER - Cilantro
DATURA
DAPHNE - it's the berries
DATURA STRAMONIUM - Brugmansia - angel's trumpet
DIEFFENBACHIA
ELDERBERRY
EUONYMUS - Includes burning bush and more
EUPHORBIA
FELT PLANT - Kalancho baharensis
FLAME TREE
FIRETHORN - Pyracantha
FLAME TREE - Brachychiton / Sterculia
FOXGLOVE - Digitalis (pharmaceutical source)
GOLDEN CHAIN TREE - Laburnum
GROUND CHERRY
CROWN OF THORNS
HEATHS
HEMLOCK - Tsuga
HOLLY - Ilex
HONEY LOCUST - Gleditsia
HORSE CHESTNUT - Aesculus
HUCKLEBERRY - leaves bad: evergreen & deciduous
HYDRANGEA
JASMINE
JUNIPER - Juniperus
KALMIA: also called Mountain Laurel
KENTUCKY COFFEE TREE
LANTANA - red sage
LAUREL - Prunus
LEUCOTHOE
LUPINE
MANGO - (fruit okay: not wood or leaves)
MEXICAN BREADFRUIT
MOCK ORANGE - Philadelphus
MONSTERA - big hunker of a house plant
MOUNTAIN LAUREL - Kalmia latifolia
MYRTLE - broadleaf evergreen, not crape myrtle
NECTARINE
NUTMEG
OAK - Quercus - all parts / tannins
MISTLETOE
OLEANDER
PEACH
PEAR - some sources lean toward safe
PENCILTREE
PITCH PINE
PLUM
PRARIE OAK - safety uncertain
PRIVET
RAIN TREE
RED MAPLE - see Maple paragraph
RED SAGE - Lantana
REDWOOD - Sequiadendron, Metasequoia, Sequoia
RHODODENDRON
RHUBARB
SAND BOX TREE - sap was used to poison fish
SKIMMIA - entire plant: stem, berry, leaves
SOLANUM - Jerusalem cherry or pepino
SOPHORA - includes Japanese pagoda tree
SUMAC - not all sumacs are bad: see paragraphs
TOBACCO
TANSY
TOMATO
UMBRELLA TREE
WALNUT
WEEPING FIG - Ficus benjamina > Ficus elastica safe
WHITE CEDAR - China
WITCH HAZEL - Hamamelis
WISTERIA
YEW - Taxus
SAFE WOOD:
ACACIA - Silk Tree would be in this group
APPLE - ensure no pesticides were ever used
AILANTHUS - Tree of Heaven
ALDER - white alder - not to be confused with Alder Buckthorn
ALMOND
ARALIA - Fatsia japonica
ASH - Fraxinus
ASPEN - Populus
BAMBOO
BARBERRY- Berberis
BIRCH - no bark or leaves
BEECH - ***us
BOIS D'ARC - horse apple tree
BOTTLE BRUSH
BUTTERFLY BUSH
CAMELLIA
CITRUS -
(lime, kumquat, grapefruit, orange, lemon)
CORK -
(not wood from cork oak, but cork)
CORN PLANTS
COTTONWOOD - Populus
CRABAPPLE - Malus
CRAPE MYRTLE -
(not the same as myrtle)
DATE
DOGWOOD - Cornus
DOUGLAS FIR - Pseudotsuga
DRACAENA
ELM - Ulmus
ESCALLONIA
EUCALYPTUS
FIG
FIR - genus Abies
GINKGO
GRAPE VINES
GRAPE PALM
GUAVA
HACKBERRY
HAWTHORN - Crataegus
HIBISCUS
HICKORY
IRONWOOD - apparently toxic leaves
JADE PLANT
KALANCHOE
LARCH - Larix - don't confuse it with Dawn Redwood, which is harmful to birds
LILAC - Syringa
MADRONA / MADRONE - Arbutus
MAGNOLIA
MAPLE - Acer - No bark/leaves
MANZANITA - Arctostaphylos
MESQUITE - remove sharp parts
MIMOSA
MOUNTAIN ASH - Sorbus
MULBERRY - Morus - no leaves (they contain ****nic)
NANDINA -common name is heavenly bamboo
NORFOLK ISLAND PINE - Araucaria
NUT TREES - exclude chestnut
ORANGE - several sources lean toward safe
OREGON GRAPE - Mahonia
PALM
PAPAYA
PEAR
PECAN
PINE - Pinus- make sure no sap is present and wood is fully dry
PHOTINIA - no leaves, fruits, foliage, or bark
POPLAR - Populus
* WILLOW - Salix
RAPHIOLEPSIS - Indian Hawthorn
RIBBONWOOD
ROSE - Rosa
RUBBER PLANT - Ficus elastica - Weeping Fig in bad column
RUSSIAN OLIVE
SASSAFRAS
SILK TREE
SPIRAEA
SPRUCE - Picea
STAGHORN SUMAC - Staghorn Sumac
STRAWBERRY TREE - Arbutus like Madrone
SWEET GUM
SYCAMORE
THURLOW
TREE FERN
VIBURNUM
VINE MAPLE - Acer
WEEPING WILLOW - Salix - remove the bark
WIEGELA
YUCCA
**Note: Balsa wood is safe as long as it isn't treated or anything--but it makes terrible perches, it's too fun to chew!
I hope this helps anyone who has doubts about the wood they have.
Remember the rule when unsure of the wood you have: When in doubt, keep it out! Our birds depend on us to be 100% sure what we give them is safe, not 99%.
No pesticides or fertilizers should be used ever--don't pick up branches from a park where you don't know what they spray. If you planted a tree and never used chemicals on it, that's fine.
To sanitize branches, scrub them down with vinegar and bake them in the oven or leave them in the sun to dry. UV rays sterilize, so if possible, sun drying is best.
If anyone hears of any wood not on any of the two lists, let me know and I'll post it here.
Hope this helps! 👋
