Hi guys.

I have a question, let's safe I have a branch and I don't know what type of tree it came from--meaning that I don't know if it's safe, or toxic. Can I wrap it with vet wrap and use it or will it still be dangerous if it's a toxic branch? This is the vet wrap I'm talking about.

http://m.mysafebirdstore.com/product.cg ... duct=22574

I would have two concerns: sap seeping out and soaking the vet wrap if it's a green branch, and your birds being enticed by the vet wrap and chewing it off and leaving the branch exposed. For my birds, at least, wrapping something up is a sure-fire way to get them to try to destroy it.

If you post a pic of the branch, bark, and leaves we might be able to identify it for you.

I agree. The safest policy is to use a branch that you know is safe.

Can you locate a melaleuca tree? It's an Australian species that's part of the cockatiels' natural habitat and provides part of their natural diet. I hear that it's considered to be an invasive species in Florida, so it's an excellent tree to chop up for cockatiel perches. Ditto for grevillea. Apparently there's a lot of eucalyptus in Florida but it's not considered invasive, and there are also lots of nontoxic non-Australian trees.

Thanks. I called my gardener and he said he will have it on Sunday. My birds are in my storage room now. Some of them aren't eating but I can see some chewed up bird seeds. I separated the flock into two cages. The tame cage and the un-tame cage. I have 4 birds that are tame and 3 that aren't. I find this convenient since I can let the tame birds out for as long as I want. I put them in the cage are now and them so they can get a drink of water and a crack of seeds

Gardeners usually know a lot about plants so he can probably tell you what kind of tree it came from, and you can check out its safety online. You can ask if there's any particular type of tree that he trims frequently, then ask him to save you some branches after you've figured out which ones are bird-safe. All kinds of fruit trees are safe except for cherry, so if he prunes a lot of fruit trees that would be a good source of wood.

I learned the hard way that you need to make the perch while the branch is still fairly fresh. If you wait a long time the wood will dry out and become MUCH harder and it's almost impossible to put screws in it. Florida has a humid climate so branches probably won't dry out for a long time. Here in the desert I turn a branch into a perch on the same day I cut it from the tree.