Happy Hut question

[Quincy69]

So I went to Pets Mart yesterday and I saw a Happy Hut. But at the top of the packaging is says "Not for Conures". Any specific reason why it isn't for Conures?

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[Flboy]

Too many have died in them! Do a search on here!

Google:
https://www.google.com/search?q=dangers+of+happy+huts&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

 

[Quincy69]

Too many have died in them! Do a search on here!

Google:
https://www.google.com/search?q=dangers+of+happy+huts&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

Wow that's scary! Thanks for the link! I'm glad I didn't buy one.
But now I concerns about the toys I made yesterday. Is the twine / string safe? Are the popsicle sticks I got from the dollar store safe? ..... concerns concerns

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[bingbing]

I was recently given this information as well and being that my conure truly loves his tent and does use it for a bed only, I was truly upset at the thought of taking something he loves so much away. Not only that I wondered where he would sleep without it. I found a number of fleece tent's on Amazon also one that is fleece but has a wicker type of floor. Do a search for fleece parrot tent on amazon and it gave me these results. And under 20 bucks. Both state that the fleece is non thread bearing as well.

 

[Owlet]

what kind of string do you have? can you give us a picture? and popsicle sticks are good!

 

[Quincy69]

what kind of string do you have? can you give us a picture? and popsicle sticks are good!

Here is the string.

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[bingbing]

Here is a link to the hut I just bought for bing bing. It is thread-less design and non thread bearing fleece.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078RCVLWW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Quincy69]

One of the toys I made....large beeds, egg carton, popsicle sticks, plastic propellers from kids party favors, and some construction paper....and I made another one adding some little wooden blocks. I think it was a little wooden kit car for kids.....he destroyed it already!

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[Owlet]

string itself looks fine, I use something similar. but I suggest getting an undyed one in the future because who knows what they use to dye it. I got mine from a craft store. Also check out mysafebirdstore.com they have lots of toy parts and that are really good

 

[LordTriggs]

to be honest I'd stick away from any hut for any bird. Outside of the danger with them those huts double up as good nests for them (and masturbatory aids) and can turn on the hormone switch getting it stuck in the on position which is not a good place to be with a young bird.

to put simply, a bird in a cage sleeps the way a bird in the wild sleeps. On a perch. Birds don't make little bird huts to sleep in nor do they find cozy little holes outside of nesting season, they all just climb up to a safe perch and sleep there, though they may prefer the huts (who wouldn't prefer a soft closed off area) and they may look cute in them it can come back to literally bite you

 

[EllenD]

I just posted this link in another thread discussing the "Happy Hut crisis", and I myself have found an awesome solution that has lasted now in 2 of my bird's sleeping cages for about 2 years each, with no fraying, no strings hanging, nothing at all, they look the same as the day I bought them at Petco, and that's after a bi-weekly washing in my washing machine too...And these are in my Senegal's and my Green Cheek's sleeping cages!!! (My Quaker and my Cockatiel sleep on their swings and never liked a Happy Hut or anything like them)...

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/you-and-me-ferret-hammock

At the Petco store they sell 4 different sizes I believe, listed by the inches, I believe the 2 that I have are either the 12" or the 14", I don't remember which though...They both love them, have slept in them since I bought them 2 years ago at the same time, and they look the same as when I bought them! They are ultra-soft and look/feel like they'd be super comfy, I'm jealous...But as I said in the other thread, the big-deal is that they are still in the same condition after being in their sleeping cages for 2 years! Kane the Senegal has a black and white spotted one, and Bowie the Green Cheek has a maroon and black one...I also have a back-up leopard print one (actually I bought it for my Quaker, but she wanted nothing to do with it and just screamed at it, so it became a "back-up hammock", though it's just been sitting in a drawer for 2 years)...

I'd highly recommend buying one of these at Petco if your bird, especially a conure of some type, had a Happy Hut and lost it...and rightfully-so by the way, we all know how many birds in-general have died as a result of loose strings hanging on these things, NOT JUST CONURES!!!

Why in the hell do they list that the Happy Hut is "Not For Conures"? But it's fine for other parrots to choke to death or hang themselves from the strings on those things?

 

[bingbing]

I bought a fleece tent from amazon and now my bird isn't sleeping in it like he used too he is sleeping behind it and can't be very comfortable I wouldn't think. I feel like I ruined his bed now. I hope he will get acclimated and sleep his old way he slept in the tent on his back.

 

[AkridChaos]

I actually just had an incident involving two huts I bought for both my fid cages. It was kind of like a teepee hut with the bottom open and a perch for them to stand on as their back should snuggle up against the hut fabric. Bought them thinking it was a great sleeping spot. I’ve never bought fabric toys, so I didn’t realize I should have stuck my nose up to them and smelled them before putting them in tbe cages. I got home from work and my poor Lily was wheezing, the other two were fine. She ended up with an abnormal amount of bacteria in her throat due to the chemicals she was breathing in, and needed medicine to get better. Our bond is broken right now as I had to administer via syringe to beak. But if you do get a hut, please be aware to smell the fabric first. There was a definite smell of chemicals on my huts I bought, but I had to stick my nose right up against it to smell it. After a wash cycle, the smell was still there. I had to toss them, because I didn’t want to risk losing a fid. I was really lucky with Lily.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

to be honest I'd stick away from any hut for any bird. Outside of the danger with them those huts double up as good nests for them (and masturbatory aids) and can turn on the hormone switch getting it stuck in the on position which is not a good place to be with a young bird.

to put simply, a bird in a cage sleeps the way a bird in the wild sleeps. On a perch. Birds don't make little bird huts to sleep in nor do they find cozy little holes outside of nesting season, they all just climb up to a safe perch and sleep there, though they may prefer the huts (who wouldn't prefer a soft closed off area) and they may look cute in them it can come back to literally bite you

I have to agree with you there partially- in terms of staying away from them. But I also have to disagree about how they sleep in the wild. I believe that some conures sleep in tree hollows and burrows in the wild, not necessarily always out on a branch and not necessarily only during nesting season.


I wasn't so much worried about Skittles getting his feet caught in his cuddle hut but was more worried about him ingesting the fibers.


What I do is take an empty tissue box (top part with plastic and glue parts removed) and place it upside down on the floor of the cage, then I place plain unscented tissues and/or paper towels on the box and then put another empty tissue box (same parts removed) right side up over the other box and it makes a little 'cave' for him to sleep in. He loves it. He DOES chew them up, but the chewed up pieces end up under the floor grate so he can't get to them.

 

[caiquewalk]

LordTriggs, is absolutely right about the nesting. I bought into the idea early on that a hut made from Seagrass would be fine... oh the havoc it caused when he started to become hormonal. (He is only 8months old too) He has the beak that would half a walnut shell so you can imagine what happened to my hand. I should mention that when he was not biting my hand he would be trying to jump on my hand and get randy if you know what I mean. Lucky I love the little bugger lol

Any way it caused a lot more trouble than it was worth, it’s taken a week with a diet change to settle him back down.

 

[Scott]

So I went to Pets Mart yesterday and I saw a Happy Hut. But at the top of the packaging is says "Not for Conures". Any specific reason why it isn't for Conures?

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Truth in advertising ought suggest the packaging read "Not for any bird."

So-called "Happy Huts" are high on the list of toys responsible for parrot deaths. Birds may surreptitiously nibble on tiny threads in ways not clearly visible to a parront. Even daily inspection may not suffice; hard to distinguish between chewed or displaced threads and bits actually removed and ingested.

 

[bingbing]

I bought my bird a safe tent made of fleece and he no longer sleeps in it but behind it squeezes his body up behind it and crashes out hanging onto the cage. He doesn't seem bothered by this but I am bothered by suddenly taking his bed away from him. He doesn't chew on it and never had. I feel compelled to say that it's possible the birds that do that are bored and do not have enough external entertainment or toy's to play with/ enough time out of the cage. Ultimately I now feel bad for changing something he slept in every-night. I am hoping to find a fleece one that doesn't have a sea-grass bottom so if anyone has a link to a fleece one that is as close to a replica of the happy hut I would appreciate it.

 

[BoomBoom]

I struggled with this too. Had a happy hut eons ago, took it out because of the fear of threads or crop impaction. I replaced it with this bendable log 'cave' meant for hamsters and tied it upside down on the cage roof:



But I took it down some time ago. My sun conure was constantly regurgitating on it and because of it's location and manner of mounting, it was extremely difficult to properly clean (stuff got in between the logs too so that didn't help).

I'm still looking for a threadless, non furry alternative. Found this fleece hut on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D28MYM3/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1RNR2VD801ZLN It does not have the sea grass mat so @Bingbing might find it interesting. My only problem with this is, it looks flimsy with the way those corners are tied and the base with the plastic inside. It does not look like it would survive a weekly trip to the washing machine.

If I find any other suitable alternative (that is easy to clean), I will let you know.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I had the exact same issue with Skittles cuddle hut. He would regurgitate in it and that posed a threat with the chewed up fibers.



I like the idea though of that wooden hammock. I ought to look into one of those for Skittles. I could use plastic zip ties too, cause he can't break them, he's tried over and over again and they are too strong for his beak.

 

[BoomBoom]

You may be able to find it at the bigger pet stores (i know, evil). All that said, cleaning it regularly was hard because it was all the way at the back of Boomer's cage. It was hard to reach in to do thorough cleaning. I'd have to cut the four string loops which kept it in place, then redo the loops multiple times to make sure it's secure (since it's quite heavy and I worried it would fall on Boomer).

The zip ties might work but could be cumbersome to have to redo every time. Let me know if you end up going for it.