Use of tent for green cheek conure

Kiwi is 3 1/2 years old. I have a tent for Kiwi. Kiwi really loves the tent. Kiwi will be having a DNA test to see if Kiwi is male or a female in a couple of weeks. If Kiwi is a female, at what age could she lay eggs. I do not have another Conure. I let Kiwi use the tent but I am concerned that Kiwi will lay eggs.

I see you recently joined this forum. So did I. We are practically neighbors as I live and work very close to where you are. Are you taking your bird to Dr. Molnar? He is the best avian vet around. He is in Calabasas.

I would watch the tents. I have read on other threads that some birds ingest the fibers inside the tents and also get their nails caught on it.

Where did you get your bird from?

Laura

Welcome to the forums, thanks for joining!!

If the tent is a "Happy Hut," please consider removing! High on the list of horrific toys because many birds eat the thin strands. They have been responsible for the untimely passing of many companion birds.
http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-toys/38678-list-hazardous-toys-here-please.html

If he really like tents, try making one from sea grass matts, available on line or from any of the parrot retailers, bend it into a tent shape and see if your conure will accept that. Sea grass matts are not toxic and easy to replace.

Hello to you and Kiwi.

BURN ALL HAPPY HUTS!

I hate them in case you couldn't guess

As for laying she is at around the right age to lay,but she just needs to decide it's right for her to do so, comfortable enough, safe enough, ETC ETC. If you change the cage around often then it should keep her mind off eggs. Some birds don't lay for years, it's just their thing.

Re: Hanging bird tent

I remember seeing this yesterday http://www.parrotforums.com/new-members-welcome/70883-use-tent-green-cheek-conure.html If you click user CP at the top you can see all the threads you've made and responded too.

Re: Hanging bird tent

You've had people warn you about happy huts in that post but I'll iterate the entire list of issues I know of with them and why they should NEVER be used.

1. Hormones, huts are very similar to a nest (a warm safe place) which can make a bird hormonal causing issues for bird and owner making both unhappy.

2. Territorial, it can make a bird hostile to anyone even looking at the hut making attack. Not just a bite but actually launching at you with the intent to hurt you

3. Egg laying, in adult females it can cause chronic laying, making a female perpetually lay eggs which can kill them.

4. Hanging, this goes for anything with threads but many an owner has left for work to come home to a bird dead hanging from their hut. They pick at a thread then get trapped in it. Some birds catch their leg and bite it off to free themselves, other not so lucky ones get their neck wrapped around and literally hang to death. Many of these cases start with not a single thread visible, birds can pick a thread pretty quick.

5. Fiber ingestion, a nice fluffy material is excellent for chewing! We all know that birds love chewing and they will do so with a happy hut. Unfortunately they swallow some of the fibers, which can't be digested. They sit in the crop for ages building up until they can't eat causing them to starve to death.

6. trapped inside, not nearly as common as the others but some birds actually make a hole in one layer of the hut and crawl in between the layers, then they get stuck, and panic and unless the human is there 24/7 supervising they expire pretty quick.

Now I'll note that all those are the extreme end of the scale but here's a question? Is it worth the risk? they don't need a hut to sleep, in fact in the wild they only sleep in an enclosed space like that when breeding. The rest of the time they sleep on branches and perches. I'd remove the hut and let your conure sleep naturally on one of his perches

I am convinced not to use the tent. I just removed it from Kiwi's cage.

Thank you very much, Carol

Excellent idea, Carol. There are so many other toys and items that are far safer. As others suggested, using sea grass to make a makeshift tent may be an idea?

Also parrot Trapeze

I had one and I know Salty has one. They're really good toys and completely safe. My conure would often belly flop his and sleep like that after trying to kill it for a few minutes