Harness Training

[pacoparrot]

Paco always loved to be outside for walks during the summer but until recent events I never worried about him flying away. Now I want to get him an Aviator flight harness. I have used them before on other birds but they were much more willing. Paco is very neurotic and is afraid of many things. Paco normally doesn't allow me to touch him at all. I'm lucky if I can grab his wing. HOWEVER I recently discovered that when he's got a blanket over him he seems to let his guard down a lot. While under the blanket I tried rubbing a hairband(to simuate the harness) around him and putting it over his head. He didn't seem to care very much but I'm going to keep trying it. Does anyone know of a procedure for training a bird like Paco to tolerate the harness for outdoor fun. One of my other worries is if I can get it on him what if he won't let me take it off? I really need this to work out so we can go on our adventures again this spring. I just put an old dog collar over his head using the blanket method and then I messed with his wings pretending to fasten the harness. He accepted it much better than I thought he would. I'm having more confidence that He will make a nice walk buddy. It's great taking parrots for walks because everyone starts a conversation with you and it's a good way to meet new people. Plus I've never seen Paco more content then when he's sitting on a park bench in the sun.