How to properly disinfect a wild branch to make a perch?

[Uolym]

Hi everyone!

I decided to try to make my own perches from hazelnut branches collected last summer. All pieces came from my uncle's land, a large forested area far away from any city, road of hiking trail.

For those of you who create your own perches from wild branches, how do you proceed to disinfect them? If it can help, mine are designed for finches and canaries, no hooked bills.

Thank you!

[paul-inAZ]

soap, water and a brush is all I do.

Bacteria need moisture to stay alive so if the wood has been drying all winter it should be fine.
Some go further. If concerned you could add hydrogen peroxide.

[Paul's Amazing Birds]

I never worried to much about sterilizing natural branches. I use a lot of manzanita and artificial ficus in my walk in. You might want to think about how you're going to clean them later because everything gets dirty in time. I use a pressure washer first followed by a mild solution of Hexol from a garden sprayer. Silk ficus trees are taken outside about every 3 months for a good wash and a spray with Hexol. Tried a product called "Poop-off" once. It smells great for a day or so but way to expensive for my application.

Paul

[Sheather]

I cut branches from the garden and place them in the cages with the leaves still on.
The birds enjoy chewing them.

[Sally]

I use branches straight from the garden, no disinfecting, no problems.

[Paul's Amazing Birds]

Mine like eucalyptus branches, pepper trees and the top 4' of the Christmas tree.
Anything green gets devoured in about a week.

[Flight Feathers]

I cut branches from the garden and place them in the cages with the leaves still on.
The birds enjoy chewing them.

Same here. The leaves never last long!

[Fernando]

I don't disinfect at all. When a perch gets dirty, it is replaced by a new one thicker or thinner or other place, never the same.
Now I use eucalyptus, pine, solanum.

[Dave]

It is almost impossible to fully disinfect wood. It has jillions of pores, and furthermore the organic nature of wood deactivates disinfectant.

IF I were to try and disinfect wood, I'd soak it for a few days in very salty water. Butchers used to rub their wood cutting blocks down with salt, after cutting meat, to kill germs.

Usually, as others have said, I just cut a branch and put it in the aviary.

[Uolym]

Thank you all for your answers! I sometimes wish I would live elsewhere from my Canadian winterland where I could go to my garden all year to pick up branches.

Disinfect might not have been the word I have in mind, I was more thinking of sterilise to avoid transmitting wild bugs, bacteria and parasites to my birds. From what I am reading, I might worry too much. No one had bad experience of bringing diseases or such from non-sterilised wild branches brought straight from outdoor to the aviary?

[Gracie85]

Just pick your branches carefully, avoid any that look like they might have tiny mildew spots on them, or bugs crawling. If the tips have tiny tiny webs on them, best to avoid or else do a thorough clean and disinfect. If the wood feels soft or spongy, it may be rotting inside the bark. Healthy wood feels hard and solid.

I tend to collect branches and then let them age and dry in the house or garage for a while, then just use them straight.

If I've cut or collected something fresh, and don't necessarily trust it, I wash with water, sometimes douse with hydrogen peroxide as that kills stuff but doesn't leave a residue, or sometimes bake in the oven. You put the branches in at very low oven temp, no more than 250 degrees, and "slow roast" for an hour, then let them cool in place. Be sure to put them on a tray, as sap can bubble out and make a mess in the oven. Some woods smell SO GOOD when roasting. I have found that oven-drying the wood makes it much harder and stronger, which is good if using it with hookbills, it tends to last much longer as it is so much harder to destroy, but really isn't necessary for finches.

[Fernando]

Oh please! What should be harmful? You can't sterilize a branch of wood! Bugs, spiders and so on won't last long, and wood-mould fungi won't 'attack' a bird nor bacteria nor ... nothing. Air is full of bacteria and spores and virus - and most important: we need them! Even if birds don't have a intestine-flora, each surface - each: hairs, skin, feathers ... - has their distinct micro-'flora' of organisms. Birds make no exception. And it is a good advice to keep this interrelations intact, for a imbalance may indeed be a source of infections.

You should watch the water and specially the water you use to sprout seeds/rest water on the sprouts as well as the water in the bathing dishes.

[Flight Feathers]

I don't disinfect at all. When a perch gets dirty, it is replaced by a new one thicker or thinner or other place, never the same.
Now I use eucalyptus, pine, solanum.

I use pitisporum!

[Babs _Owner]

Uolym

I soak mine in a very light bleach solution for 8 hours in the bathtub. I put them in a sunny spot to dry. I wait 24 hours. Then I use them.

I'm more concerned about killing any mites that thrive on branches. This is why I use this method.

[lovezebs]

Uolym

I just wash them with soap and water, then dry them well.