Many conures just love them. It is their place of choice for a good night’s sleep and they look cute as can be inside them. Most of the pet stores sell them so of course they must be safe right? ...WRONG!
These tents are actually the complete opposite and they are 100% NOT bird safe. Parrot tents have been responsible for more avian injuries and deaths than any other product type sold.
Many birds that use them become very hormonally aggressive when using the parrot tents. They consider this a nesting area which is not something you want.
They are, without a doubt, the single most dangerous cage accessory on the market today.
The problem is that they are made from fabric, which is also their attraction for a parrot. It’s what makes them comfortable and warm and alluring. Birds love fabric because it’s soft and pliable. Chewing on it makes it fluffy and plump and a parrot will spend hours manipulating fabric to their own specifications.
Some products are sold with fabric strips inside, sometimes marketed as an attached preening toy, that encourages further chewing. As the fabric is broken down, it exposes smaller strands that get tangled around legs, toes AND necks. When a bird gets caught in fabric strands, they tighten as he bird struggles to free itself leaving no room for it to snip it away with the beak. If the strand prevents blood flow for too long, the result is amputation of that body part. I don’t think I have to elaborate about what happens when a bird’s neck becomes tangled.
It can be difficult to see the level of destruction that takes place inside the small openings. Some people opt to continually trim the excess fray from the fabric, but they can’t control what happens when their birds are in their cage unsupervised. Dangerous fraying can occur in a single afternoon.
I know that it will be hard to take away something that your bird loves so much, but don’t make the mistake of assuming that because he has not yet begun chewing on the tent, that it will not do so in the future, especially when they get nesty during a particularly hormone driven breeding season.
It isn’t worth the gamble.
The Parrot Shop offers many SAFE alternative options for these parrot huts - YAY!
Leather Huts - we have developed and designed vegetable tanned leather parrot huts and hammocks. These are made for the serious chewers and will last quite a long time! No need to worry about loose threads here!
Birdie Caves - These are made out of paper birdie caves and are great for birds who are lighter chewers.
Seagrass Tents - These are also a great option for the birds who are lighter chewers. Seagrass is a super safe material that is used quite often in bird toys.
What alternatives have you come up with for your sleeping huts?
Source: https://www.birdtricksstore.com/blogs/birdtricks-blog/the-most-dangerous-parrot-cage-accessory
