Good morning, Parrot Chatter. I want to share with you a video clip I just uploaded to youtube - Sybil Erden on Imprinting of Birds - This is the first of several clips that I will be uploading from an interview I conducted with Sybil Erden, director of the Oasis Exotic Bird Sanctuary, last April, in Benson, AZ.

You may also want to view a little montage I cut showing their first large, stainless steel, aviary. Their second aviary, nearing completion as I write, will be for macaws! African Grey Parrots at the Oasis

I loved that video! What an aviary! Those are some lucky greys!

Great video's! The Oasis is doing so much to help, they need alot of help from us.

Sybil is due to be on TheBirdTalks I can't wait.

Randi, do you know what type of wood that is in the grey aviary that is used for the big perches? We are currently researching for our greenhouse type aviary to be constructed once we find land.

The Oasis is sited on a former pecan orchard, so those trees you see are all pecan trees. They cut the tops and used the branches for perches. I recommend apple tree branches for northerners, if you want them free or cheap, because they grow in abundance here. That is primarily what I use, unless I buy the bottlebrush stuff from Wayne.

How do you go about getting such big trunk sized branches? Our aviary is going to be substantially larger than we first planned. Not as big as this but on this design.

http://www.kamoltd.co.jp/kkee/Path/path2.htm

The idea of connecting to orchards is a good one - but I would still be worried about pesticide use. Perhaps Leigh you could contact some organic growers - they trim their trees yearly too. Do you have a botanical garden near you or public parks where they don't spray?

I can't remember right off the name of the member who recently joined, who is an arbourist - but he recommended debarking the wood just in case. I have the link to his safe wood site tho ...
Bird; Birds: Safe, Toxic Trees, Woods. Safe Tree Wood. Poisonous. Parrots. Parrot cages.

Thanks Jac. The issue is, we dont know what state we will end up in yet. Once we decide I will look into organic orchard though. Thats a good suggestion. Thanks for the link!

Also since you plan to move, presumably to a place with a little property to build an aviary, you may want to consider to build your aviary around already existent tress, like they did at The Oasis, or plant trees. I plan to build an aviary over several old apple trees, and to plant some addtional trees after the structure is up. There are some trees in the willow family that grow fast and are very safe, with excellent branching qualities.

Now thats a good idea! I like it!