Christmas Tree

[Munchy]

I bought a christmas tree tonight forgetting about my little conure. If he is out around and lands on the tree is it toxic? I haven't had a Christmas tree in years, so while we had Disney last year, this was not an issue. It is a Douglas Fir. We are pretty excited to have it, but want Disney to be safe. So will we be able to let him fly around with it here? It seems there should be quite a few people here who have both parrots and Christmas trees.

[Michael]

The wood should be safe but all the toys/lights may be unsafe. Chewing on cords of course is a hazard as well.

[Naurthon]

Right, what Michael said about chewing on wires, but the tree itself is completely safe, wood, bark, and needles. Local wild edibles was a big hobby of mine when I was a kid and I've drunk more pots of Douglas fir needle tea than I can count.

[Munchy]

Oh great! We don't decorate much, a few bulbs and lights tucked safely deep inside. Douglas Fir Needle tea. I actually think I may try some. I'm guessing wash the needles then steep them in hot water?

[Naurthon]

Pretty much. It tastes about like you'd expect: a tree. heheh Probably not going to convert you from your regular Earl Grey (or whatever). I inflicted a lot of strange, wild foods on my family when I was a kid. "Mom! Mom! Look what I found! You can EAT it!!!" Dogfish. Witch's butter. (It's a fungus that looks like a pile of orange snot. Pretty much tastes like that, too.) If it grows in the Pacific Northwest and you can eat it, I've probably tried it.

[Cage Cleaner]

Does that mean I can try to dry out this year's tree and keep it around as a bird tree after the needles have fallen off?

[Munchy]

Naurthon, your mom must have had fun!
Cage Cleaner, That sounds like a good idea. I've have yet to make a toy or perch myself.

[Blythewing]

What about the sap on these trees..has anyone ever had this get on their bird?I'm really excited to make an upside down hanging perch of a used tree for the birds...are there any sure fire ways to make sure the sap dries up?I'm addicted to this site..can anyone offer help or should I start a new forum?

[Naurthon]

Does that mean I can try to dry out this year's tree and keep it around as a bird tree after the needles have fallen off?

I'm going to "picture's worth 1000 words" this one, I think:


If there are NO needles at all, you might be okay, but a dry Christmas tree is just a pile of kindling waiting for a spark, needles or no. If you not only removed ALL the needles and also trimmed off all the smaller twigs so only the perch-size branches remained you'd be safer, but I'd still lean toward a "not recommended" rating, personally.

Just last week I started the first fire of the season in the fireplace of my home. I didn't have any kindling, so I went into my back yard and gathered up a handful of needle-less Douglas fir twigs. They lit right up when I set the match to them.

[Naurthon]

are there any sure fire ways to make sure the sap dries up?

Not really. Growing up, we used a wood stove to heat our home, and most of the wood was Doug fir we cut off our own property. When a tree fell in a Winter storm, Dad would let it lay for a year before cutting it into cord wood, and then it would season for another 6-12 months after that. Even after as long as two years after the tree had died, I often got soft pitch on my hands from the wood. It is actually less of a problem with older Doug firs (like we used for fire wood). The young ones have thinner bark and tend to have a lot of blisters of pitch. When the pitch does dry, it leaves a yellowish, powdery, crystalline kind of substance behind. While it isn't toxic per se, I can't imagine it would be a good thing for a parrot to be chewing on.