Making a play stand

[minidonn]

Hello!

I’m moving House soon and planning on making a new play stand for my two cockatiels, from wood.

I have quite a lot of apple tree wood, it’s untreated, completely natural with no pesticides ext.

How would I prepare this wood to be safe for my birds? Should I de-bark it and spray it down or leave the bark on? And should I disinfect the wood and if so what should I use?

Thanks in advance from Me, Tonton and Kupo!

 

[Kiwi's Dad]

I usually disinfect with vinegar and bake to get rid of any bugs. @AussieBird @flyzipper @Pixiebeak @Shezbug might be able to help more than I can.

 

[flyzipper]

The approach would depend on the sizes.

I'm pretty sure @Mizzely bakes smaller sizes in the oven at a specific temperature for a specific time, but I'll leave that to her.

I have an approach I've used for large branches that involves a wire brush, time, and F10, but I'm hesitant to recommend that because I'm not certain of its effectiveness (though I've had no issues). I've investigated having large pieces put into a wood-drying kiln, but haven't found anyone local who's willing.

 

[Mizzely]

My method might be overkill but since I sell them, I want to be sure they are as safe as I can make them for my customers.

I use a wire brush to get up any dirt, lichen, grime, etc, then I wash in a bit of warm soapy water (Blue Dawn). This helps give you a "clean" surface.

I rinse, then soak in 1:250 dilution of F10 Disinfectant for about an hour. This sanitizes, kills mold spores, and drowns any buggies.

Another rinse.

I then bake in the oven at 250F or 2 to 4 hours. Thin wood won't need the full 4 hours; thicker pieces could be longer. This dries out the wood, and kills anything the disinfect may have missed (eggs, for instance).

Peeling bark is so much fun for them, I wouldn't take it off unless you have a concern