Advice please Willow and Apple branches

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

Cgilchrist

Adult Guinea Pig
Joined
Mar 13, 2009
Messages
1,285
Reaction score
3
Points
460
Location
Staplehurst, Kent
I have an apple tree and a willow tree (not a weeping one the one with the squiggly branches people put in vases!) the willow tree hasn't had leaves for a year or so but has a little new growth. Basically i was wanting to chop of the little twigs and make me own toys for the piggles. firstly is this the safe willow wood for the piggies? and how do you do it, i was thinking you need to soak them in water so they are bendy then make the shapes up. do you need to let them dry so they are not green? or can they have them 'fresh'? also has anyone tried thin strips of newspaper weaved together (like they do with grass in the amazon) to make a stronger length of 'twine' i was thinking of making a ball/box out of cardboard, filling it with treats then using the newspaper twiny thing to 'sew'/ hold it together. ?/ finally have i gone totally mad! mallethead
 
I know willow is safe to use, my piggies love chewing on that. I have no idea about apple trees.

I'm not sure if you need to soak them to make them bendy or not. I would google it and see. But I like your idea it sounds great! Hope it goes well!
 
well my work colleague suggested paper mache for and adhesive as it's just flour and water what do you think?
 
I don't know whether that would be a problem to them if they ate it. I know in sticks they sell to make huts (the bend type) they use a wire, don't know whether that would work.

Or maybe a thick string. Not sure. I'm probably no help at all!
 
i would not give them paper mache, but i do regularly give my piggies apple twigs which are either adored or dismissed, apple twigs are the only fruit tree twigs that do not require seasoning

have no idea on the willow sorry :)
 
Cgilchrist said:
I have an apple tree and a willow tree (not a weeping one the one with the squiggly branches people put in vases!) the willow tree hasn't had leaves for a year or so but has a little new growth. Basically i was wanting to chop of the little twigs and make me own toys for the piggles. firstly is this the safe willow wood for the piggies? and how do you do it, i was thinking you need to soak them in water so they are bendy then make the shapes up. do you need to let them dry so they are not green? or can they have them 'fresh'? also has anyone tried thin strips of newspaper weaved together (like they do with grass in the amazon) to make a stronger length of 'twine' i was thinking of making a ball/box out of cardboard, filling it with treats then using the newspaper twiny thing to 'sew'/ hold it together. ?/ finally have i gone totally mad! mallethead
Click to expand...

Yes, totally.
I love the idea of the newspapers. I may try it. I made a house out of willow sticks. I had to soak them overnight in the bath. I found it very difficult to weave the sticks. The house looked a bit naff but the animals loved it: they ate it! Now they are just as happy to eat the sticks without me spending hours building things first! I got my sticks from a friend. They were brown.

Happy weaving.
 
I just thought if I could make the whole thing edible that would be wicked! worry if string is a choking hazard and wire can be quite fiddly to use. i could maybe make the 'twine' out of long hay strands too getting very excited :<>
 
well i figured most materials that aren't too strong on their own you can normally plait them to make a stronger length :))
 
Cgilchrist said:
I just thought if I could make the whole thing edible that would be wicked! worry if string is a choking hazard and wire can be quite fiddly to use. i could maybe make the 'twine' out of long hay strands too getting very excited :<>
Click to expand...

I found it very exciting too. I forgot to mention that. I am so used to dampening the excitement when I talk about my GP & rabbit projects so that my friends do not think that I am totally mad inbreeding.
 
Cgilchrist said:
well i figured most materials that aren't too strong on their own you can normally plait them to make a stronger length :))
Click to expand...

The problem with using hay is that they may eat the hay before the willow so if it is under tension it may pop out.
 
Ahh now the hay and willow sounds great! That would definitly work! If only I had a willow tree near me. I only have cherry trees in my garden!

Hope it goes well, would love to see some pictures!
 
caviaporcellus said:
The problem with using hay is that they may eat the hay before the willow so if it is under tension it may pop out.
Click to expand...

HMM Good point. I think I was going to use the hay to bind my cardboard/newspaper efforts but the willow I was going to make thingls like a square tunnel so I don't have to try to hard to weave just to make the structure 'walls' thicker but not weave and put it under tension. i. e weave a different 'panel' for the sides and top then just losely tie them so the sides don't fall away and the roof squishes them! :)) maybe the newspaper will last a bit longer ....... will post piccies if i can get going
 
I can't wait to see it. I wish I had taken pictures but it looked so naff I was embarrassed. I looked like an igloo and so was under tension.
 
I am the worst person in the world at anything arty really i can only draw stick people! and as for my writing my 6 year old nephew has neater writing! I can visualise things but actually translating that onto paper/wood/clay etc is my downfall but i can be a bit mechanical so hopefully they will come out ok well see.!

Won't start til tomorrow night at the earliest clean out day today! still need to know if the willow needs to be dried? applewood is ok I think someone said?
 
Apple is fine. Willow bark contains aspirin, which may not be good for them. I know PAH sell willow twigs, but those are long dried out before the pigs eat them - yours are fresh. You could dry yours, but since you have apple anyway I would just use that.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top