Check your happy huts for loose threads!

[Chickobee]

We have two lovebirds, Pixie and Cricket, each had a happy hut in their cages, but never will again.

We were recently awakened in the night by lovebird panic screams and rushed to check what was the matter.

We discovered that Pixie had become entangled in threads from the inside seam at the top of her happy hut. She was trapped with thread around her neck, one foot, and one wing. In her panic she bit a deep hole into Dave's thumb as we worked together to cut her loose without hurting her.

We were both shaken and horrified by this experience and are so thankful that it happened when we were at home at night instead of during the day when we are both at work. What would have happened to our little Pixie if we had not been there to rescue her immediately?

We now know that these little birds can do a surprising amount of damage in a short period of time. These happy huts were checked frequently and removed weekly to be swapped with clean ones. The exposed seam at the top on the inside was what was unraveled. This can happen fast!

Our birds love to tear things apart, but we will be way more careful from now on to ensure that the items they have in their cages will actually come apart when they rip them up--not leave dangerous loose threads that could hurt them.

Please check your happy huts!

Chickobee

[butterfly1061]

So glad to hear Pixie is fine. Since this is a new year, this is a good reminder for everyone to check and re-check your lovie's toys, happy huts, perchs, etc...on a daily basis. Accidents happen quickly even when we try to keep our little ones safe. Prevention is the best medicine. :)

[Janie]

So glad you were there when it happened and able to rescue your little lovie immediately.

I check happy huts DAILY.

[Chickobee]

Hi Janie;

I wasn't checking the happy huts every day as I should have been. :( I realize that now. There had never been any visible damage to any of them until the incident when Pixie chewed the seam on hers. I don't remember now what day of the week this happened so it is possible that she had a full week to go at it.

Now that she has learned that she can rip them up (lovebird fun!) we won't take a chance on using one again.

We had purchased several pair of them so we could exchange them to be washed when I do their "big clean" on the weekends. During the week I do quick clean-up of the cages and change their cage liners every two days.

One positive thing out of this experience is that Pixie is not nearly as aggressive about her cage since we removed her happy hut. (We haven't had her DNA sexed but from all I have been reading on this site I am pretty positive she is female. We ordered the kits to do it at home but haven't been able to cut their nails to make them bleed to do it...)

Pixie had gotten so she would beg to come out, pacing by the door and calling to me, but then she would lunge at my hand and try to bite me if I put it inside her cage to have her step up.

Even though she would try to bite my hand she would eagerly step up onto a ladder that I would extend inside by her perch. Then, after she was away from her cage, she would be as nice as ever.

Happily, she is now jumping right onto my hand again when I put it inside to take her out.

She and Cricket are both a bit crabby right now because they are going through their six month molt. They are very funny looking now with their speckled feathers. The new ones are very pretty and bright! I should take some photos of this because they will never ever look this way again.

My little babies are growing up! :happy: :clap

Linda, Pixie & Cricket

[LauraO]

I am glad Pixie is okay. These kinds of experiences are truly terrifying. I have had plenty of scares with huts over the years in my flock.

If you do decide to let Pixie and Cricket sleep in a hut later on, a great tip is to only put the happy hut in at night and take it out in the morning. This allows for daily inspection as well as giving the lovies less time to chew it and cutting down on hen aggression.

[Chickobee]

Thank you Laura. That's a good tip to take them in and out, and also to check every day for loose threads.

We turn down the heat at night so it is a few degrees colder then. I like the idea of them having a cozy place to sleep. They always go to the very highest perch and we had the happy huts right at the top of their cages. They would go right in when we would put them in for the night.

We have both birds out for quite a while every evening and they start looking for a dark place to burrow in after dark. Lately they have started crawling up inside my husband's pant leg when he sits in the recliner--after they get tired of chewing his shoelaces. They have gotten up to his knee! It's really funny! Note: I don't think he'd take a chance on letting them go farther!!! :rofl:

Thanks again.