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Post by maxiesmom on May 19, 2017 16:22:08 GMT -5
Hi, my name is Connie. My quaker, Max, is about 6 years old. I got him in July 2011 and the pet store told me "he" was about 7 months old although they did not know his/her hatch date. We chose to name him/her "Max" because it would work for either sex. Since he is an only fid, and a special needs one at that, I have not had DNA done on him, as I am not likely to get a second bird.
This spring "he" has a new preoccupation--trying to pull paper and other bits of stuff into his Happy Hut. This has me wondering if "he" is trying to build a nest. If so, what should I provide? What would be good nesting box material?
On another note, I have read that the Happy Hut is dangerous for birds and am wondering if I should take it out. I originally started using one because I didn't want him to catch cold in the winter. Well, we have recently moved to Arizona, so that is no longer an issue. Also, he has started pulling the pile out of the one he is currently using--another reason I think that nest building might be his current preoccupation.
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Post by easttex on May 19, 2017 19:40:16 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum! Because Max might be a female, I suggest that you actually not encourage the nesting behavior. A lot of male parrots can do it with no problems, but it can increase the hormonal surges females are having this time of year. In addition to behavior issues, this can lead to egg laying, which is best avoided. I'd remove the happy hut and any other items that are nest-like, at least until summer is over. It's not a bad idea to have the DNA sexing done so you'll know what you're dealing with health-wise.
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Post by julianna on May 23, 2017 13:46:17 GMT -5
My Oscar is a male and he builds his nest most of the year. Right now he is building more because it is spring time. Both male and females will build nests. Oscar uses his just to sleep in... I think he feels more protected.
Good luck and welcome.
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Post by maxiesmom on May 26, 2017 15:31:54 GMT -5
Max likes the Happy Hut and sleeps in it. If he is on his cage and ready for bed (such as when I am not home at his bedtime) he crawls into his Happy Hut and goes to sleep. My main concern is that I have read about a bird who got wound up in a thread of the Happy Hut and strangled. My vet never said anything about removing it and I check it regularly for wear. Has anyone else heard of negative incidents with the Happy Hut?
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Post by biteybird on May 26, 2017 18:56:17 GMT -5
I just got Bonnie a new happy hut for her sleeping cage. She watched me put it in and made that quaker grumble we all know so well. Then she jumped at it and grabbed it with her beak, then shook it around for a couple of minutes. It seems like it passed her test because she crawled into it less than half an hour later - just put herself to bed.
Regarding safety, yes I have heard of the odd incident. One of the forum members had a problem (I can't remember who, though, perhaps Siobhan or Caseysmom?) and mentioned it in one of the threads. Maybe you could do a search by keyword?
Bonnie did eventually begin to chew the edges of her hut, so when they started to fray I threw it out. But I watched her to make sure she wasn't ingesting the cotton. All she did was chew it and drop the bits on the bottom of the cage.
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Post by maxiesmom on May 26, 2017 19:19:38 GMT -5
So you think it is safe to let Max have his Happy Hut back?
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Post by biteybird on May 26, 2017 22:23:02 GMT -5
If it were me, in your situation, I'd follow Easttex's advice and take it out for the time being...just to be on the safe side. Then when 'hormone' season has ended you could try putting it back in. Our situation with Bonnie is a bit different to yours because we're in Australia. Bonnie also has a separate cage for sleeping, so her happy hut is not available to her during daylight hours. Does Max have a separate sleeping cage? The other thing you could consider for him is a sleeping platform - someone on this forum had a post about them. You can get wooden platforms, or ones made from non-toxic, non-ingestable materials and some of them looked really good! I'll have a look at all the posts and if I find the one I'm thinking of I will post again with the link.  |
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Post by maxiesmom on May 27, 2017 13:58:18 GMT -5
Thanks for the information, BiteyBird. Max also has a night cage, but I don't have it set up yet. That is why there was a Happy Hut in his day cage. There is a wooden platform in his day cage. He uses it for eating. I found a video on YouTube showing how to make a sleeping hut from fleece that does not produce threads. I think I will look for kind of fleece and just make huts for Max.
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