make your own tree

[guybo]

Another good place to find cheaper stuff for your bird is Craig's List. I see manzanita wood perches and such on there regularly. You have to watch the site daily because deals pop up and get bought up quickly but deals are out there.

[remington]

pine and maple are good too. oak as well I heard but just make sure theres no bark or leaves and such. something around an inch thick or so is good for a macaw. Think i work something with a 4 by 4 and some different sized dowel rods. Ill get pics up when i get around to doing it.

I have read that oak is not good for birds

[lotus15]

I think wood is the best bet for a macaw. PVC is actually a very toxic plastic when it is stressed/chewed and seriously off gasses. I would not trust it under the beak of a macaw.

I would definitely not use pine, though-- pine is a soft wood and wouldn't stand up to a macaw for very long. Try to find very thick and hard woods. Sandblasted manzanita and grapevine wood would be great. I would definitely go larger than 1" though. My Cape Parrot can chew through grapewood perches at 1". For a large macaw, I'd get varied diameters that average to be about 2". Other great woods are ribbonwood and dragonwood.

I do think Java Trees are beautiful and again, a very hard wood that would stand up to a macaw, but personally, I do not like how slippery they are.

[captwest]

Oak is fine, i avoid the leaves tho, usually dried is best, my favorites are Hickory,Ash and Pecan.That being said avoid Pecan from an orchard that has been sprayed, the best bet is from someones yard or out of the woods. Many fruit trees are ok but then again many people spray fruit trees and may not want to prune a large a piece as you need. Bamboo (many different species) can be found growing thru out the US , it too needs to be dried and you will need to experiment at what stage of greenish it needs to be cut, some will separate at the joints if cut too green. Wooden dowels and wooden curtain rods can be purchased and cut to length(but i don't like perches of the same dia.) if buying dowels , buy the hardwood ones, they are more money but last longer than the cheaper pine ones.

[remington]

captwest~ on here they have oak as unsafe for parrots
http://www.mdvaden.com/bird_page.shtml

[captwest]

Oh Well, i've been using it for years , don't really have plans to change.

[lotus15]

I have read that it is only the bark, leaves, twigs, etc. that are unsafe in Oak, but if you debark and dry and sand and all that stuff, it is okay? Not sure though.

[remington]

i guess when in doubt no reason to take the risk

[guybo]

I am using oak on one perch right now and no bad effects in any of the birds. But they don't chew on it very much. I have another play gym made of dogwood that all of my birds have chewed on and eaten the bark of and they are all fine there too.

[Chris&Akilah]

I believe it's the tannins found in oak that are toxic. So, if a bird dunked a chunk of oak bark or wood in the water, the water would quickly be stained by tannins and could make the bird ill if it drank any.