by Wolf » Thu Aug 25, 2016 6:18 am
While, I must say that the majority of the tannic acid would be carried in the layer that lies just beneath the outer bark and that layer is generally removed during toe debarking process, there is nothing done to remove the tannic acids from any of the wood at any stage of its journey from being a live tree through the curing process or until it is sold for use. To my way of thinking, it then becomes a question of are the tannic acids destroyed by the drying process? I doubt it, as the temperatures used are not high enough. The process of kiln drying, as I understand it uses an increase in temperature to dry the wood, alternated with periods of cooling, during which the wood again draws in atmospheric humidity until the desired moisture content is achieved. Does this remove any of the tannic acids? Probably. But I do not know how much and that leads me to my final questions. How much tannic acid is toxic to our birds? I don't know. I also don't know if these compounds build up in a birds system and therefore, I am unwilling to take the chance with my birds.