Question about Happy Hut

[ksuyen]

First of all, Mango is healthy now! *dance happy dance* Although he is still on his meds (the antibiotic still has 3 days left), he is very much active. He loves to dance around in his cage and every morning he will be standing in front of his cage door, begging for me to let him out, which once out, asking me for more cuddling. I often said no, it's training time, not cuddling Needless to say, our bond is getting stronger. I think I am quite lucky to get a quiet conure. He very seldom uses his high pitch calling, only when I am out of sight outside the cage. Otherwise, even during the day, he don't make much noises. (I use "he" because I am still waiting for his DNA test)

Anyway, the vet who treated Mango told me that I should not put happy hut or any fabric/thread-like toys inside his cage. It's been known to kill bird if they get caught. What do you guys think?

 

[Birdman666]

This has been covered a million times... do a search and you'll find your answers.

And it depends on the bird. Py, my sun conure, had one for years, and it was his favorite thing in the world, and I wouldn't dream of taking it away from him... but he also didn't chew it.

My other two, thought it was a chew toy. And for them it was hazardous.

ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL...

Know your bird.

 

[greytness]

Both my duskies have one as does my pineapple GCC. None of them chew theirs. They use them every night to sleep in and they love them!

I regular inspect their HH's for anything hazardous. They never chew them, so I consider them safe for my guys.

I'd just say to use your judgment.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I just have to echo what Birdman666 said. It really depends on the bird. Some are bigger chewers than others. It boils down to what your bird does with his/her cuddle hut. If chewing on it occurs, then that's where the hazard is. IF you decide to go that route just make sure to inspect it daily (preferably morning and night) for signs of chewing. There are also people on this forum who have found alternatives that work well for their birds. Less hazardous huts etc.

Skittles is more likely to regurgitate in his hut than anything else which I have addressed.

Also, keep an eye on your birds claws. The sharper/longer the claws the greater the risk for them getting caught in fabric.

 

[rosembers]

I would not use one! I would trust what your vet says. I have personally had a bad experience with our GCC ingesting some fibers from a snuggle hut and the vet said get rid of it. I felt horrible to take it away, but she has adjusted and I have found a wonderful alternative. We never ever saw ours chewing hers and it had no signs of being chewed. There's so much fluffy fiber on those that birds can chew a little bit that isn't noticeable but it's enough to harm them. Or they could decide one day when you're away that all of a sudden they want to chew (I've heard of birds that didn't chew them for years, then all of a sudden one day they did and it killed them). After our GCC got sick, I researched online about snuggle/happy huts and I was FLOORED how many terrible stories there were of birds being killed. Even birds that don't chew them, they can still get their toes caught.

In addition, the fluffy huts resemble a nest which can encourage hormonal behavior (aggression) and also the potential to become egg-bound which can be fatal.

We use Critter's Choice Small Animal Chube (available on Amazon). It's safe to chew, natural, and not fluffy to resemble a nest. Our GCC now loves her chube and sleeps in it and also enjoys nibbling the edges which is totally safe! Best of luck to you and your dear Mango!

 

[peachesANDslugger]

I would not use one! I would trust what your vet says. I have personally had a bad experience with our GCC ingesting some fibers from a snuggle hut and the vet said get rid of it. I felt horrible to take it away, but she has adjusted and I have found a wonderful alternative. We never ever saw ours chewing hers and it had no signs of being chewed. There's so much fluffy fiber on those that birds can chew a little bit that isn't noticeable but it's enough to harm them. Or they could decide one day when you're away that all of a sudden they want to chew (I've heard of birds that didn't chew them for years, then all of a sudden one day they did and it killed them). After our GCC got sick, I researched online about snuggle/happy huts and I was FLOORED how many terrible stories there were of birds being killed. Even birds that don't chew them, they can still get their toes caught.

In addition, the fluffy huts resemble a nest which can encourage hormonal behavior (aggression) and also the potential to become egg-bound which can be fatal.

We use Critter's Choice Small Animal Chube (available on Amazon). It's safe to chew, natural, and not fluffy to resemble a nest. Our GCC now loves her chube and sleeps in it and also enjoys nibbling the edges which is totally safe! Best of luck to you and your dear Mango!

We just lost our Peaches a pineapple green cheek 8 months old, November 7, 2015, because I had a happy hut in their cage, we had a bonded pair. I inspected their hut daily and never seen any fibers that looked like they were picking at it and I never seen fibers lying in the bottom of their cage either. We had an autopsy done with biopsy's done and it was the fibers from the happy hut, they found in her crop, gizzard and intestine, such a tiny amount that the xray and barium test they had done on her never picked it up. We spent $2000 trying to save her life, but lost the battle. My Slugger not only lost his friend but also has to get used to sleeping without his hut. I wouldn't recommend a hut, because there's no way of knowing for sure if they will chew the fibers, untill their sick. Queston is, is the hut worth the risk? I loved my Peaches and if I could go back, I would've never got that hut. I took all fabric hut, rope perches out of my Slugger's cages.

 

[chris-md]

Would seem to be an individual bird thing. My red throated conure Aphrodite (rip) loved her happy hut and there were never any issues, other than she loved perching on top of it as well as sleeping in it, so poop on top was a constant issue.

 

[peachesANDslugger]

Would seem to be an individual bird thing. My red throated conure Aphrodite (rip) loved her happy hut and there were never any issues, other than she loved perching on top of it as well as sleeping in it, so poop on top was a constant issue.

My birds loved to perch on top of theirs too. Yes your right, it's an individual bird thing, but you just don't know if they will chew it or not. I'm home 90% of the time with them and the only time were not together is bedtime, which I'm thinking that was when she chewed it, but there were no signs of chewing, till after we lost her.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Here you go: http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/58174-sleeping-huts-tents-female-gccs-etc.html

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Well, when I woke Skittles up this morning, he had chewed a big hole on the inside of his cuddle hut. Needless to say, I won't be replacing it. He rarely does that and is more than likely to regurgitate in it than anything else. In the nearly five years I've had him this is only the second time he's chewed on one. I replaced the last one. But after that whole pillow case incident with him, I just don't want to 'go there' again.

I HATE to deprive him of this, but now it's not just the destruction that I have to worry about - I came across an article that said these cuddle huts can also create 'hormonal aggressiveness'.

I want Skittles to have a little place to sleep, he loves to 'hide' during the day. Especially down my shirts (with his tail sticking out) but when he does that, he's with me so I can see him clearly and monitor him.

I want to find something that he isn't tempted to chew on. Something too hard etc.

I'm thinking of making him one. Just not sure where to start. Any ideas?

How safe are those "play tunnels"? I saw them in another thread on this forum and it almost seems like they'd be easy to just make. But what materials would be safe?

 

[Allee]

A little out there but this is the alternative for one of my Quakers.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

That's awesome! If I wasn't convinced Skittles would destroy that in a week, I'd get one for him. But anything wood, fabric or paper does NOT survive the wrath of the wing-ed wonderbiterchewer.

The kind of happy huts I get for him are at Petco and cost about $15 but they have no 'strands', so it's extremely unlikely he can get his feet tangled. But now that I know about the hormonal issue I wonder because Skittles can get VERY territorial but I've always linked that to his species. Sunnies ARE territorial.

I know my vet said it was okay - but I keep going back and forth on it.

I just want something nearly or 100% safe that HE will LOVE.

 

[Mimsy01]

As everyone has said, it's an individual bird thing. Foo has 2 that are switched out and she has had them for like 4 years and there isn't so much as a loose thread in either of them. She actually only goes near them when it's bedtime, and then she c limbs in to sleep. She only removes feathers off it or a seed hull that fell on to it, and has never pooped on it, she's very careful about her hut.

I would never leave a new bird around one by itself though, till I was certain it wasn't going to destroy it.

And even as good as Foo is, it is something you want to check daily for loose strings or signs of chewing. Any wear and tear and it should be removed and replaced. Any chewing and I'd remove and not replace personally. I'd find something safer like what Allie suggested.

 

[Anansi]

A little out there but this is the alternative for one of my Quakers.

Just felt like bragging a little bit on my friend's behalf, here. (Since she's FAR too humble to do so, herself.) This beautiful, amazingly professional looking creation was designed and crafted, soup to nuts, by our rather artistically inclined Allee! Started out as a bunch of sticks, branches and such that she carved and lashed together from scratch until the vision in her head found its way into Harry's cage! (If you look closely enough, the level of detail involved is just staggering!)

Most impressive, my friend.

 

[Tropical]

A little out there but this is the alternative for one of my Quakers.

Oh wow! That looks amazing and incredibly creative ... I almost want to live in that! Looking at it makes me feel like I'm on an island paradise and I love the detailing... the tiki lamps, tree with green leaves, pink flowers and that bridge... etc... too cute. It looks so tropical and I love tropical things. What is inside that house... paper towel on the flooring? I would love something like but but worried it might look too much like a nest? I know my tiel would go crazy for that and think it's a nest.... he thinks empty zip lock boxes are nests lol.

EDIT: I just noticed he even has a doorbell... he has a nicer house than me!

 

[Allee]

Awww Doc! You make me blush! Thank you!

This bird has never shown any interest in nesting, if she does, her tiki hut will be removed. She does love a happy hut to sleep in though, I thought we'd try something different during the cold months this year.

Tropical, thank you for the kind words. There's a piece of removable fleece on the wood floor.

 

[Aquila]

Oh man! I really want to make one of those, that's so cool Allee!

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I just found a great video! How to Make A Safe 'Happy Hut' That Won't Become Thread Bare & Kill Your Bird - All

Someone posted it about how to make a homemade cuddle hut that is safe. The thing is, the ones I get for Skittles are exactly like the ones she is making. Fleece, no threads. But what about the hormonal thing? Now that I know what material to look for, it's much easier if I decide to make one.

Especially since I feel guilty as hell since he has nothing to sleep in tonight, other than his cage.

So is fleece the safest fabric? Perhaps I should be buying that for Skittles instead of letting him chew on shirts and towels?

 

[rosembers]

I just found a great video! How to Make A Safe 'Happy Hut' That Won't Become Thread Bare & Kill Your Bird - All

Someone posted it about how to make a homemade cuddle hut that is safe. The thing is, the ones I get for Skittles are exactly like the ones she is making. Fleece, no threads. But what about the hormonal thing? Now that I know what material to look for, it's much easier if I decide to make one.

Especially since I feel guilty as hell since he has nothing to sleep in tonight, other than his cage.

So is fleece the safest fabric? Perhaps I should be buying that for Skittles instead of letting him chew on shirts and towels?

We had an emergency situation with our GCC and her happy hut - who never even showed signs of chewing it - (she had the green fuzzy polyester kind) and our Avian Vet said the safest "hut" is one made of cotton, although she recommended not using one at all due to hormonal issues like you mentioned. But she did say that fleece is a safer material than the typical polyester huts. She said fleece doesn't fray like polyester, so it's less likely to cause their feet to get snagged, but it is still possible for birds to chew and ingest and get crop impaction from fleece.

After what I'm pretty sure was HOURS of research on this topic, I came across Critters Choice Small Animal Chubes. I am now a customer for life! And honestly I felt like the worst person in the world for taking away our GCC's happy hut, but I think that was more for 'me' and what 'I' felt was good parronting... she has now had her Chube for about a year and is happy with it, sleeps in it, runs in it if she gets spooked, and she even nibbles on the edges (which this was made for and it's totally safe). Honestly, it took a few weeks for her to adjust where to sleep. I LOVE it and feel 100% secure that she is safe in it. I have an extra on the shelf for when hers needs to be replaced. As far as hormonal issues, the Chube is not fuzzy and fluffy so it doesn't resemble a nest so much (and I have not noticed any hormonal issues with our GCC). I purchase ours on Amazon. Good luck! I know it's such a difficult decision to make regarding these huts, but I think you're doing great and looking our for Skitty's best interest!!

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I emailed my vet to get their take on it. Given the kind I get for him, I had previously asked the vet if it was okay a number of years ago and she said yes, as long as it's monitored. Then the other day I contacted them again with my concerns about ingestion.

This was their response:

Hi!We cannot guarantee that there will be no problems with fleece ingestion. If he ate a large wad, it could stop him up and require surgical removal. that said, if he has had the huts for years with no issues, this might be a risk that you are willing to take. An alternative "house" might be a small tissue box with tissues for bedding. Are we then encouraging sexual activity? Hard to say.

Happiness with the hut vs. safer boring options... it's a personal choice.


I've given this a lot of thought and I had removed his cuddle hut the night before last and he was nasty to me all day yesterday. I put it back last night and he was fine today.

I do find little 'clumps' of cuddle hut material all over the floor of the cage and so on and I've not once seen him ingest any fabric but rather tosses it all over the floor.

Given how much he enjoys his hut vs the likelihood of their being an issue after all these years I'm inclined to risk it.

Yes, its a risk, but I know with certainty that taking it away upsets him. He chews on my shirts and what not. It's hard to justify taking his cuddle hut away cause he may chew on it and then let him chew my shirts.

To me it's like a parent saying they won't let their kid play in the yard cause they "might" get hit by a car. Well, if you supervise them and monitor the area then it seems to lessen the risk to a safe degree.

I just know that getting him any non-fabric one, he's just as likely - if not more - to chew that and destroy it.

EDIT: Had to re-enter text that didn't go through. You're welcome!