Mango and his aviator harness

[Billy29]

Mango's harness came in the mail today, so with a little bit of effort I got it on him. He seemed comfortable with it on so I took him outside. Mango seemed very happy to be outside so we took a walk around the neighborhood. Not once did he try and fly away.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

That's great he didn't freak out when wearing it, but you shouldn't have had to use effort to get him on it. Did you watch the DVD first? You want to start off getting them used to only putting on the head strap, then one wing, and then the other. It takes time, and this way the birds are excited and eager to stuff their head into the harness rather than being uncooperative.

That's totally awesome that you got a harness I love Rosie's harness so much, being able to take her out and about has made her life so much fuller. And it's a fantastic and easy and fun way to get them their sun.

 

[Billy29]

He was more trying to chew it while I was putting it on him. Once it was on there were no problems.

We walked to my aunts house and he wouldn't step up for her off my arm. I think he feels comfortable with me.

 

[ShellyBorg]

I understand how fun it is when you get a new piece of equipment. Think about taking the next one slower so you don't cause some friction between you and your guy. Once trust is lost it can take month to regrow.

 

[Billy29]

I don't think he got upset, it was more like he was trying to play with it and that made it difficult. After seeing how happy he was in the sunshine I wish I had gotten one of these for my last two birds.

 

[henpecked]

Congrats Billy, you've just expanded his world by leaps and bounds. mango will be a much happier bird for it. Now you can socialize,socialize,socialize.

 

[torrap]

You are so lucky, and so as Mango.
I can't get this stupid thing on Marley yet.

 

[Billy29]

Mango went with me to my sisters, lets just say the little guy had a great time and I feel we are making strides in training. This little guy is so smart it amazes me. I thought my Sun Conure was smart.

 

[Billy29]

What temperatures can they tolerate? Towards the evening it got cooler so I put him in his carrier inside my sisters house.

 

[MonicaMc]

If Mango appears comfortable and not shivering, he's probably fine. Birds can handle cooler temperatures better than hot temperatures. I've taken birds outside during the cooler parts of the evening and kept them out after dark as well as taking one outside when there was snow on the ground.

As long as they are healthy, they can handle cooler temps for short periods just fine.

 

[henpecked]

Sometimes the temperature/feel of their feet will give you a clue as whether hot or cold. I agree the heat is more of a danger. I rolled my truck in a snow storm into a icy ditch, full of water, with Jake ,on my shoulder. They can take short periods of cold but over heating can kill them quick. Watch out for panting like a dog with wings drooping away from body. We've conditioned them to an inside climate and a little sun and heat is too much for them.

 

[Billy29]

Just a thought, why don't Amazons have a more northerly range if they can tolerate cold temps?

 

[MonicaMc]

Many parrots can handle cold temperatures.... it's just that most come from tropical or desert like conditions. Why migrate to an area that has potentially less food than where they are already living?

The kea actually hails from a mountainous and snowy region and the patagonian conure did cross the Andres Mountain Range apparently. Yellow Eared Conures live within a ravine of the Andes.

 

[Billy29]

That's interesting, I thought my bird would just drop dead if he was exposed to cold temps. I even setup a transfer switch for a generator just to keep him warm in case of a power outage.

 

[Billy29]

By the way I watched the video that came with the harness and started implementing some of the training that was shown in the video.

There should be a parrot basic training video that should come with each parrot purchased.

I might have the easiest going Amazon in the world because I can just pick Mango up with one hand, cover his head, pull his wing out and after I do this he gets a piece of dried pineapple. After two days of doing this he is much more trusting.

 

[getwozzy]

Wow! You're incredibly lucky mango let you put it on him so soon!!! It's fantastic that he's such an easy-going fellow

 

[Billy29]

You have to remember even though he had only been home for a week, I bought him over a month ago and would handle him almost everyday. He was not even close to being this tame when I first met him. I definitely have been putting my time in with him and it's paying off.

 

[getwozzy]

Yes, but introducing something foreign to a bird -especially something that goes ON them- can sometimes take weeks or months for a bird to get used to regardless of how much time you've spent with the bird yourself. In some cases trying to put a harness on without conditioning them to it can make them freak out and possibly result in an injury and/or lose their trust in you.

 

[Calace]

My aviator arrived in the mail today (still waiting for my fid though!) I ordered the petite size as I'll be getting a yellow sided GCC and boy is it SMALL! I was expecting small as others have posted about it on here, but I can now see why it can be a challenge to get them to put their heads through that tiny little loop! Wasn't expecting it to be quite that snug a fit I guess! Oh well, practise and patience!

 

[Billy29]

Make sure you get your bird used to you holding their head. I would gently put my hands over Mangos head and then give him a treat, after a couple of tries he was ok with it.