Snuggle Hut Scratching

[Chikoo]

My bird loves to sleep in her snuggle hut every night. But she also loves to scratch away at the felt lining on the bottom of it! There are red tufts all over the place! Sometimes during the day she crawls in there and scratches away too. Is this okay and normal parrot behavior?

 

[c3honey84]

I would be careful letting your female eclectus sleep in a hut. I keep my female far away from things like that because it makes them think of nesting and makes them hormonal. If she is scratching at the bottom, she may be exhibiting nesting behavior. That is, unless she is too young for that.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I also don't let my female galah cockatoo have one.

 

[Chikoo]

She is 5 years old.

 

[c3honey84]

5 years old is just about the age that female eclectus mature. So you want to keep anything away from her that may make her think of nesting, otherwise you may find yourself with either a hormonal bird or an egg or both.

 

[Chikoo]

5 years old is just about the age that female eclectus mature. So you want to keep anything away from her that may make her think of nesting, otherwise you may find yourself with either a hormonal bird or an egg or both.

What are the signs of a hormonal bird? Is her current age the reason why her behavior varies from day to day? She is always quite friendly, but on some days, she never wants to step up, and on others, she can't get enough of being handled and cuddled.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I really appreciate what I read here: http://www.macawdreams.com/Expanding.html, which basically says that it is good for the bird to rest his/her feet at night, and that even in the wild, birds don't really stand constantly and have been observed breast down. I like to give my bird the opportunity to rest her feet and not have to perch all night long. Maybe I should cut the sides off the hut, and just leave the bottom, so its an exposed "bed", and she can still sleep on it if she wants, but it won't encourage nesting.