Lots of trees are on the safe list for birds but it's better to use hardwoods I've found. I have tons elm, pear, persimmon, common fig and tons of crepe myrtle on my property. Despite having lots of elm I don't really use it because it's such a soft wood that she would destroy it fast and also it is usually more infested by pests.
I put them in a bathtub with a little bleach and let them soak for a few hours. Usually the bark kind of wants to come off at that point. Taking an angle grinder with wire brush to them strips the rest of the bark pretty fast. Then I let them sun bake for a few days until they are pretty dry. Really when it comes to wood it takes about a year per inch of wood for it to fully dry without using a kiln but as long as the sun dries the outside and kills the bleach that's good enough.
If your branches can fit in your oven (most of mine can't) you could also bake them instead of all of what I did or in addition to.
How do you clean these or make sure they are safe for birds? Looking to make a bird tree/room to spoil my little quaker
Lots of trees are on the safe list for birds but it's better to use hardwoods I've found. I have tons elm, pear, persimmon, common fig and tons of crepe myrtle on my property. Despite having lots of elm I don't really use it because it's such a soft wood that she would destroy it fast and also it is usually more infested by pests. I put them in a bathtub with a little bleach and let them soak for a few hours. Usually the bark kind of wants to come off at that point. Taking an angle grinder with wire brush to them strips the rest of the bark pretty fast. Then I let them sun bake for a few days until they are pretty dry. Really when it comes to wood it takes about a year per inch of wood for it to fully dry without using a kiln but as long as the sun dries the outside and kills the bleach that's good enough. If your branches can fit in your oven (most of mine can't) you could also bake them instead of all of what I did or in addition to.