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Trees for my bird room and humidity

21 16:16:15

Question
I have a Green Wing Macaw and I have just placed a deposit on a Blue and Gold Macaw. My GW now has her own bird room and I would like to put a few indoor plants in the room. I know that citrus trees are okay for her room and I have been looking to order some from a couple of nurseries. What are some things I should know before ordering the trees? I read a article that says if chemicals or insecticides are used I should scrub all branches with diluted chlorine bleach and rinse and dry them well. Will they then be safe or should I still worry. I also want to know if dwarf banana trees are safe for my feathered friends as well?   
I am concerned that the room for the bird is to dry in the winter. I give my GW a bath every week but she still seems to be itchy, would installing a humidifier be helpful?

Answer
What a GREAT home you are and smart!  You're already doing so much right that there are very few modifications possible.
 It's true that citrus is safe for all birds, so if you happen to see otherwise on the net, it's likely an exaggeration by laypersons who heard something from someone who heard it from someone else, and so on.  The only fruit tree to avoid is avocado (which isn't nearly as deadly as net exaggerations have made it, but it's not a tree of choice).
   If you have cut branches from any tree that might have had insecticides used, scrub them with 1 part bleach to 10 parts water, rinse well and dry either in the sun or you can 'bake' them in a pre-heated 200 degree oven for 1/2 hour.  
  If you're using whole trees, spray them down every couple days for a week, making sure to really 'wash' the leaves well with this plain water.  If possible, take a scrub brush to the branches and trunk each time you're spraying them down.   
 The reason you don't have to take the bleach and other precautions is because in a real tree your birds aren't as likely to be gnawing on the branches as much as they're apt to be traveling through the branches (climbing).  Cut branches are more likely to be chewed.  
  Either way, the whole tree should be safe after regular sprayings.

 I've found that when the environment is closed up, like for winter, a vaporizer delivers more immediate humidity to the area than a humidifyer, but the humidifyer is a great, regular option.
  It's also not necessary to run the vaporizer every day, or even all day - it's just a nice little 'burst' of humidity that seems to help with their feathers in making for fewer of those little 'fluffy' ones.
  This should also help with your GW, but you need to expect some 'itching' as it's this time of year the smaller feathers begin to molt, with a full on molt due in a couple months.  You might be able to feel some of the new feathers coming in now when you run your hands through around the neck area.  The 'itching' gets rid of old feathers (the fluffs mostly) and helps break open the sheaths of some new ones.

 To tell you the truth, I'm not sure about the banana trees, but would expect that they're fine.  Here's a list of safe and not safe plants:

http://www.plannedparrothood.com/plants.html  

And here's my site - I'd love to have you visit!

www.4AnimalCare.org