How many twigs per night?

[6Dusters]

I have to travel to a pet shop an hour away to buy out their apple stick stock , everytime I am there I clean out their entire supply We have three organic apple trees in the backyard, did anyone have a link on how to safely process the wood? Would save me a bit of money.....that would no doubt go straight back into buying more toys

I cut the wood off the tree. Then cut to size and wash each by hand. I place a pile next to the sink and wash each by hand one at a time. The reason I do this is because last year I threw them in the sink with water and I think they absorbed too much water as I scrubbed each. The end result molded on the edges after baking.

After the wash and clean rinse I lay them on large towels to dry. Then I bake them at a low heat in the oven. I do not boil any of my wood. Never have.
I bake the batches of wood by setting the oven temp low ( 225 degrees F) and the first bake is about an hour. Then I turn it off leaving wood inside oven. Then I turn the oven back on when the oven is cold and bake about 20 minutes and repeat process until bark is crisp and cracks when twisted. If the parts are too large for the "twist" test then use your finger nail or knife and push into a peice. If the bark is hard its done. If you see an indentation then it needs more baking time to dry the bark.

Store in a paper bag in a cool dry place. Not in plastic. Plastic cannot breath the product and if sealed up not cured correctly you will have mold.

 

[Dewdrop]

I typically do 2 per chin, each night.

 

[dragsil]

I cut the wood off the tree. Then cut to size and wash each by hand. I place a pile next to the sink and wash each by hand one at a time. The reason I do this is because last year I threw them in the sink with water and I think they absorbed too much water as I scrubbed each. The end result molded on the edges after baking.

After the wash and clean rinse I lay them on large towels to dry. Then I bake them at a low heat in the oven. I do not boil any of my wood. Never have.
I bake the batches of wood by setting the oven temp low ( 225 degrees F) and the first bake is about an hour. Then I turn it off leaving wood inside oven. Then I turn the oven back on when the oven is cold and bake about 20 minutes and repeat process until bark is crisp and cracks when twisted. If the parts are too large for the "twist" test then use your finger nail or knife and push into a peice. If the bark is hard its done. If you see an indentation then it needs more baking time to dry the bark.

Store in a paper bag in a cool dry place. Not in plastic. Plastic cannot breath the product and if sealed up not cured correctly you will have mold.

Thanks so much for the tips! I know what I´ll be doing after work this week

 

[Tikibirds]

I give her the whole bundle and she chews what she wants. However she only likes willow, which just happen to be the most $$ ones :banghead: The small apple wood ones are cheaper but she does not seem to like them