Alternative to Happy Huts???

[crookedbird]

I have learned that Happy Huts are dangerous to birds that chew on the fabric. One of my birds recently began chewing on the hut in his cage, so I threw out both of my birds' huts. But they really loved those things! They enjoyed having a little tunnel to run through and they liked laying upside-down inside of them. Are there any good safe alternatives that would be similar to a Happy Hut?

 

[Tangie]

Seagrass mats would! It is sea grass, virtually, woven into an appearance of a mat. It's very flexible, so just a LARGE one up, tie a bit of 'paper' or leather string to keep the form, clip it into the cage, and you should be good!

A smaller sea-grass mat can be used as well, but there would be no top to it, unless you use two. But then, your conure may like it if the tunnel is really tiny.

 

[Sfsal]

Where can I buy a seagrass mat?


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[SilverSage]

I would suggest making them from cardboard.

I don't like to use the mats inside the cages because of the risk of tangled toes, etc. I only use mags for supervised play


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[Lacewing]

If you look on Etsy there are alternatives shown. One is a tube, sort of like a tunnel that birds can go into. Its safe and comfy they say.

 

[Flboy]

Take a look at these jolly balls. The one shown is for dogs, but the inner ball pulls right out. Some chain, and you are all set. These are available already made up for parrots, but at over twice the price!

https://www.chewy.com/jolly-pets-te...gclid=CIyw6967q9MCFZO2wAodBXsGeg&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[wrench13]

How about a length of good old PVC pipe? You local hardware store will have up to 4" diameter in stock. A 4 to 6" long section would be a good hut. Sand paper the edges to round them off a bit. Drill holes and bolt it where ever your birds used to have a hut.

 

[EllenD]

I like Wrench's idea of using a length of PVC piping; I use PVC piping, fittings, etc. for soooo many things related to not only my parrots, but also my bearded dragon and my 2 house ducks. I have built at least 20+ PVC parrot stands (both tabletop and floor stands), parrot play stands (basically a parrot stand with toys hanging from it), and my favorite, parrot play gyms, of which I have 2 in my house that I built, one upstairs and one downstairs, both of which are massive, have tons of toys hanging from them, have tons of ropes, plastic chains, metal chains, etc. connecting different levels of the gym, and have multiple built-in ladders made right out of smaller sized PVC piping. I also finally made a large swing completely consisting of PVC piping, eyelets, and s-hooks, and integrated it into their upstairs play gym. Yes it would have been much easier to buy a plastic or wooden parrot swing and hang it from the play gym, but the giant swing made out of 3 pieces of PVC pipe and connected by s-hooks, right in the middle of the massive play gym, just looks so much better. And it was cheaper to make than it would have been to buy one. I'll stop bragging about my PVC pipe building skills, I was just so proud of myself when I finally finished their largest play gym I had to brag a bit, and Wrench gave me an intro, lol. I have to say I was especially proud of myself after I looked online at places like Etsy, Amazon, and eBay and saw what people are charging for PVC stands and gyms they are making themselves...My god, if I had purchased the large play gym I made online, it would have cost me around $300-$400, and that doesn't include any of the toys, ropes, or chains! I'm in the wrong business...

I do have a few very large diameter pieces of PVC piping that my smaller birds love to crawl into, hide in, play in, etc. The nice thing about PVC piping is that it's very cheap, it comes in a ton of different sizes, there's a million different couplers, fittings, caps, it's endless the things you can build out of it. And it comes in different colors too, not just white! If you look online you can find PVC piping in all sizes and with all the fittings, couplers, etc. and it comes in white, black, blue, red, green, yellow, orange, pretty much every color you could want.

If you're a parent that has a kid (or just an adult that is into it) that wants a hamster/mouse/rat/gerbil and wants to get it a Habitrail and tons of different tubes, stations, platforms, etc., which are very, very expensive, I wouldn't ever buy any of that stuff again. You can get any diameter of piping you'll need and you can easily create a Habitrail that takes up an entire room, that is designed and built by you and your child, and that costs a fraction of what those things cost at a pet shop or even online...Yes they make clear and transparent colored PVC piping! Google search!

Okay, I'm done promoting PVC piping for pets! I got no kick-backs from Lowes or Home Depot for writing this post!

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

 

[EllenD]

I'll give another alternative to the "Happy Huts" that keeps the same idea of a soft, snuggly, private place for birds to sleep, realizing that a PVC pipe is great for a hide but not necessarily a sleeping place.

My Green Cheek, Bowie, loved his "Happy Hut", he slept in it every night and took naps in it often. My Quaker had one as well that he slept in every night, my cockatiel was the only one that refused to sleep in a Happy Hut. The moment I read about someone coming home or going downstairs in the morning to find their bird dead with it's leg stuck in a loose thread from it's Happy Hut, their poor bird had been hanging by it's leg all night, that was enough for me to immediately take both of their Huts out of their cages and throw them out. Bowie wasn't happy at all but he was alive.

I found a fantastic replacement last June at Petco, believe it or not, and I tested it out in Bowie's cage for a good 6 months before buying one for both my Quaker and my new, baby Senegal (at the time). They are Petco brand ferret hammocks, I believe they're called something like "Petco Plush Ferret Hammocks". They come in several different sizes, colors, and patterns, and they also have 4 metal clips attached so that you can hang them from their cage tops/sides to make them a hammock.

They have 2 usable sides, one that is plush, extremely soft, warm fake fur (this is the side I use as the inside of their hammocks when I hang them up), and the other side is a waterproof nylon material that you are supposed to be able to lay on the bottom of their cage and it's okay if that size gets wet or pooped on, you can just wipe it down. Bowie has never been one to poop while he sleeps, I never noticed him poop in his Happy Hut, but if you have a bird that does you could use the nylon side as the inside of the hammock to make your life a lot easier.

I bought Bowie (very small, Yellow-sided Green Cheek Conure) a 17" hammock, which was overkill for him but it fits nicely in his cage so I didn't really care how large it was. They also come in I believe a 14" and then also one that is smaller than that, and also one or two that are larger than the 17", so you have lots of size choices. I bought the same 17" hammock for both my Quaker parrot and my Senegal parrot, so all 3 of my birds have the same size hammocks and the 17" works awesomely for all of them. I think all 3 have different patterns on the fur side and different colors of the nylon side, just to differentiate them when I wash them.

I washed Bowie's hammock once every week/every other week starting last June, as I said Bowie never poops in his bed so every other week is often enough. I wash it on a normal wash cycle, hot wash/cold rinse with the normal "Free" detergent I always use, and then dry them in the dryer in a normal drying cycle (I usually wash a load of "pet" stuff like the dog's blankets, dog beds, the bird's hammocks, rags that I use to clean out my bearded dragon's enclosure, etc. once a week). The hammock looks exactly the same as it did the day I bought it, no color fading, no fur coming off, no loose or hanging threads! These Petco brand hammocks are very durable, take a beating and do not come apart at all, and if any of the 3 birds that have one are chewing on them they haven't been able to get a single string loose yet! And that includes my male Senegal parrot who loves to chew apart EVERYTHING!

I am not normally a fan of Petco, in fact the only reason I was there that day to begin with was because I buy my bearded dragon feeder insects there sometimes if my monthly online order is late. But I have to admit that I'm totally impressed with these Petco brand ferret hammocks for my parrots, they have all held-up perfectly, they seem like a very safe alternative to the Happy Huts, and most importantly my birds absolutely love them and sleep in them every night!!!

Here is a photo of my Senegal Parrot's Petco Hammock...I tried to copy a link to them on the Petco website, but it said that they no longer sell them online, they are available in-store only now. So if you want to check them out, just go to your local Petco and go to the Small Animal/Rodent section, and go to the aisle that has all the little hammocks and beds, as well as the food/water dishes, grooming supplies and topical sprays, and vitamin supplements. You'll see the Hammocks hanging on a rack with big Petco brand labels and in clear plastic packaging.

"Dance like nobody's watching..."

 

[ZephyrFly]

I put together this tonight after seeing this thread and getting a good piece of cardboard (and feeling crafty).

This any good? No glue, leather strip to tie it up, 5mm wide gap on the bottom panel to get a grip on.

 

[Lacewing]

The PVC pipe in a tube like shape can be workable and sturdy. Birdie will not chew it!

 

[Teddscau]

The only concern I have with using the ferret hammocks is the fuzziness, as nails could potentially got caught in it, causing an injury if the bird suddenly decides to take off. Samantha broke her nail one day while a was feeding them spray millet while wearing my robe. Her nail got hooked in my robe, so when she flew, she broke her nail and she got a decent amount of blood on both me and my robe. The bleeding stopped on its own and she didn't tear the entire nail off, but it's something to keep in mind.

I don't have anything like a snuggle hut, Jolly ball, or tunnel for my guys, as they're all opportunistic breeders, and there'd be egg binding and brawling like crazy. However, I do have a number of platform perches and a wooden "hammock" for them. Bungees, boings, and atoms made from unbleached cotton rope or sisal can all be excellent places for sleeping, too. All of my birds love the Sisal Activity Sphere by Caitec. I can't imagine any birds getting their toes caught in it, and I doubt any bird would try to swallow any bits of sisal, since it would feel about as pleasant as swallowing steel wool.

You know birdie bagels? Well, they also make tunnels, so that's an option. Just cut some big holes in the sides to keep it bright and thus prevent nesting, and it should work. Feathered Addictions sells the Dahlia (or something like that), and its this nice palm tunnel that you can hang. Although, your birds might be able to chew through the plastic chains. Anyways, Feathered Addictions has quite a few Happy Hut alternatives.

 

[wrench13]

Anything with fuzzies,hair, or even lambs wool is birds can ingest some,or get feets tangled. I've read too many accounts of parrots ingesting fibres, clogging their system, slowly starving themselves. Nope if Salty wants a sleeping hut ,it's pvc for me.