Toys and apple tree wood

[ipoGSD]

Quick question. Theres a guy who we are doing a job for, he has an apple tree that he is going to cut down. said it didnt give him any apples this year so its going. I was like wait.. "did u say apple?" lol

He said why do u want some? I said id love some, we have rabbits and i make rabbit toys and apple wood is great for them as long as it hasnt been treated with anything. He said he it hasnt been treated and he will cut me some manageable pieces.

My question is, can i just start making toys with it or do i have to let it dry out or pop it in the oven? I know i collected willow before but i started molding. Butttt i also had it in a plastic bag so that could be the reason of the mold. Just makes me nervous now.. maybe i could put the wood by my pellet stove for a few days?

Any thoughts/ideas/input?

Thanx

 

[MaggieJ]

The mould on the willow bark was almost certainly because of it being in a plastic bag. I'd let the buns enjoy some fresh branches with the bark on (check a second time that it has not been sprayed) and then just let the rest dry, bark and all, and give it to them at intervals.

I wouldn't be cutting an apple tree down because of one year's lack of production. I'd be looking for causes, such as a shortage of pollinators. Used to be when our old apple tree bloomed in May, it would be alive with bumblebees and other pollinators. I loved sitting near it, enjoying the fragrance and the humming of the bees. Past two years there have been only a handful of bees -- and no apples. But I love that old tree anyway.

 

[akane]

I do leave the wood to sit in the entryway for a couple days before cutting it but that's just because I don't want the leaves. They knock off easy when dry. Otherwise I just store the wood with some amount of air flow. Even a closed box is fine if it's not sitting on something like a damp concrete floor. Similar to hay. Don't seal it up and don't expose it directly to moisture.

With chinchillas they go through tons of wood and I wasn't going to keep ordering boxes from people online. While I can't get apple as much we let the pest mulberries grow that the previous owners were trying to cut down. By the end of the next year we cut off 2' of growth only to have them bigger a couple months into spring. I'll have about 4 boxes of 4' high, 3' long and a couple inches wide lined up between the cages and stairs by winter so I don't have to cut trees again until after they leaf out next year.

 

[ipoGSD]

Awesome!!! Thanks you two for the replies! I hope the guy gives me a lot of apple wood. I also have a big branch on my pear tree that snapped because of the weight of the pears.. ill be like paul bunyan on that limb! Lol pear, apple and pine =happy bunbuns