A wooden bird house is a great backyard asset for homeowners and the feather-coated visitors that look forward to a constant source of food and shelter.
Why should I get a wooden bird house?
Birds love to live in a wooden bird house because it’s a safe, warm haven for them and their families. An advantage to having a wooden bird house is that it fits nicely into the bird’s natural habitat. Metal and stainless steel are stark contracts to natural beauty, but the wooden bird house fits in perfectly and can easily be disguised if hung or constructed in a tree or bush.
What kind of wooden bird house should I get?
The wooden bird house you purchase should depend on the type of bird that you plan on attracting to your backyard. Robins like to see what’s around them and prefer to live in platform bird houses. These bird houses are opened on three of the four sides. They have a roof, which is usually slanted to allow for drainage. These houses also have small drainage holes at the bottom.
Other birds prefer to live in a wooden bird house that is completely enclosed. This makes them feel safe and secure. It also helps insulate the birds against the elements. Like the platform house, these houses also have slanted roofs and holes in the bottom to increase the flow of drainage.
Things to watch for
Every material that is used for building a bird house, bird feeder or bird cage has some kind of draw back and the same is true for a wooden bird house. While you have to worry about toxic paint peeling off of metal cages, you also have to worry about toxic wood releasing cyanide with a wooden bird house.
Many types of wood are toxic to birds. It’s not the wood itself, but the excretions that are released from the wood. So, a bird can hang out on a piece of wood, but may get itself in some serious trouble if it ingests the woods’ secretions. Fortunately, most pet stores are aware of the woods that shouldn’t be used in manufacturing a bird house and will not sell a wooden bird house that’s made out of toxic wood.
However, if you decide to buy a wooden bird house from somewhere other than a pet store, make sure you know what material it’s made out of. A decorative wooden bird house can be and often is made of toxic material because it’s designed for decorative, not practical purposes.
