Flight Suit Help......

Ok so I bought my Cooper a Flight Suit to help with those messes and for something to keep her warm cause of the air cond. while we have this horrible heat wave! So I got it today and got it on her but not without trouble... I was wondering how to go about getting her use to it or how to go about putting it on her so she wont hate it so much... I let her play around with it all today and i have laid it on her like a blanket... So any advice would be greatly appreciated... Thanks!

This is a tough one. I ordered one for my cag Dorothy as well. She hated it upon sight (typical cag) I put it accross from her cage, I laid it on my clothes when she was watching tv with me, I tried to touch her with it. Finally when she seemed to tolerate it (several weeks later) I put it on her. I have very mixed emotion about this because I truly feel that it is very "unatural to put a flight suit on a bird" However I love the idea of controlling the poop a bit so I could take her out with me. She really hated having it put on her, once it was on she didn't seem to mind it much but the putting on was not fun. It was the first and last time I tried. I think that I should have started when she was very, very young. She still is just 11 months but still pretty set in her ways. I did love the fact that I could have her anywhere and not worry about the pooping but I haven't done it again. I think my best advice is to take it very slow and allow your bird to dictate how quickly you take it.

I liked the last post about letting your bird dictate how long it takes to want to put on a suit.

I couldn't find the video, but I saw one that looked like it was good. It was a few ways to train a bird to want to put on a flight suit. The end result was the bird nearly putting it on itself.

The first was a clicker training with food rewards. The first part was getting the bird to accept the mere presence of the suit near it with a food reward if the bird investigated the suit without being frightened.

The next part involved holding up the suit with a treat available if the bird put it's head near the opening of the suit. Click, treat if they got near it.

Next was encouraging the bird to actually place its head inside the neck hole with a treat reward and a click. Never did I see the trainer put the suit on the bird. The bird stepped into the suit for split seconds for a treat.

I don't recall the other ways completely. I believe one was tactile rewards for those cuddly birds who crave petting as much as food. Mostly they involved food rewards and a slow training with tons of positive reinforcement over the course of a month or so that rewarded the bird for taking small steps to finally wearing the suit and thinking it was a good thing.

Never seen or heard of anyone putting a suit directly on a bird with a good result.

Good luck! I can't even get my blue crown to hold his wing up and say "peek a boo!" He got the peek a boo part right, but got ticked off at me when I kept trying to teach him about the wing motion part and now won't say peek a boo anymore hehe. I would say, try not to make your bird mad at you. I am thinking I should have taught it in even smaller steps over a much longer time period. He is so smart that he spoils me. My husband got him to bow and say goodbye in 45 mins in one session with no food rewards at all. The little guy will say it and bow consistently if anyone is leaving the house! I guess birds just have to want to do something. I am guessing the reward was my hubby talking with him that much. My husband is usually very quiet, so this had to be the treat for birdie.

Well you have made a start if he is playing with it. Mine hates it so bad and I started when he was a baby. I use it now to keep him off the TV....he won't go near it. I don't think any of them like it. YOU might want to get a happy hut in case he gets cold. Or if he is out, fold up something fleecy where he sits, he could snuggle up to it. The cold air doesn't seem to bother my Gcc