Happy Hut vs nestbox

[Hypnotoad72]

Hello. Do you use a happy hut or nestbox for the conure to sleep in at night?

I've read about the happy hut, but am concerned Rusty would pick at the fiber, eat it, and die. Or get his leg caught in it.

Are there major concerns for nestboxes?

Which do you use?

Thx!

[Monica]

I know of some people who have used nestboxes for their MALE conures or quakers without issues. I know that my cherry head would enjoy a box of her own (unsure of sex) but I don't really have anything for her.

On the other hand, my mitred conure has a macaw sized happy hut.... and he gets more aggressive when he has it, so I don't allow him to use it.

It probably just depends on how your birds react to having something like that, as well as the sex of your bird... I know someone who used to own 3 GCC's. All three females. The oldest female used the happy hut to lay a clutch of eggs, and all three would sit inside the happy hut incubating the nonfertile eggs.

So even if a nestbox could cause nesting behaviors, so can a happy hut, because it's a small enclosed space.

[xafsmom]

Kiva uses a happy hut, because he can't sleep perched and prefers to be up high, versus on the bottom of his cage. Xaf hates being confined so he won't use anything that can block his sight from the rest of the house. Djinn would very much like a nestbox, but it makes her snippy (she's 5 years old and is a parent raised bird meant for breeding before I got her), so she shunned the happy hut and prefers a chewed out cardboard package tube with peep holes so she can glare at Xaf though the cage bars. ...I totally understand that, I glare at Xaf often myself. ;) The tube has the added advantage of being able to roll when her body's half in and half out of it. What fun!

The GCC's are too young to ask, they're in pin feathers! /laugh

[DarwinTheSun]

I voted neither, because I don't like the "happy hut" name brand. I think the very best thing you can get is a homemade one that uses bird friendly materials. Then you don't have to be a worry wart about them ingesting bits...

[Markus]

Yeah.. also depends what type of conure. My 2 suns both pile into 1 happy hut. The nandays I had didnt want anything to do with either.

[phoenixie]

DarwinTheSun, have you done a "happy hut" yourself? If you have, I'd like to ask from what materials you did it. I'm going to take a Pyrrhura and I have problems deciding wether I shoul get a happy hut or a nest box for it, but I'm worried if the bird would start eating the happy hut or start nesting in the box (if the bird would be female)... But as Monica said, the bird could still start nesting in the happy hut, too...

[xafsmom]

Originally Posted by DarwinTheSun

I voted neither, because I don't like the "happy hut" name brand. I think the very best thing you can get is a homemade one that uses bird friendly materials. Then you don't have to be a worry wart about them ingesting bits...

I'm totally the same! I don't like the original official 'happy hut' product. I tend to call them happy huts though, much like facial tissue is all kleenex to me. The one I have, I can't even remember the brand name, but it's a different fabric, lined with a thick border of what looks like poly rope (but isn't) so they can't pick at it so much, and the sides are stiffer, like they stuck thin cardboard into it so it keeps its shape. I will try and scrounge for the brand again. I like it a lot more than the flimsy, furry Happy Hut.

[DarwinTheSun]

Darwin chews and bites his hut, but he has never "eaten it", but it doesn't have any holes in it either (I do still check it regularly even though it is made with safe materials). The one he has now is one year old, and it is starting to look worn...but not holey yet. So, I keep a spare for when it eventually dies, for the amount of time that he spends in there, it is totally worth it. It is also regularly washed and dried (maybe once a week or so) and has held up pretty well given that too.

I bought mine (love it and keep an extra one on hand, just in case) from a parrot store in Portland. She buys them from a local woman who sews them for her store. It is made with fleece, and no stuffing. Her website is BiZee Bird - Bird Toys, Parrot Toys, Bird Swivel Swings, Toy Making Parts, and while she doesn't list the beds I know she will ship them if you call or email. I get the medium size for Darwin, and I think it cost $7. I could certainly take pics of her work if you want to see it close up.

I also know several people who buy from this lady (Clyde's Cubbies) and really like her beds as well. They are a bit more pricey than the ones I get and I haven't ever used them myself...