Flight suit vs Harness

maryyy361 · Jun 9, 2014

My little Meyer is a doll..except when I bring out his little yellow flight suit. He hates it with a passion but I am trying to get him used to it so I can let him roam around more without having to clean up poops. It gets easier every time but I was wondering if a harness is better. Of course it won't catch the poop but I do take him outside sometimes an I figure I could use it then.
Anyone have experience with one or both?

Thanks!
Mary

RavensGryf · Jun 10, 2014

I had to smile at "his little yellow flight suit"

cute.
I would think that it he hates putting the suit on, he'd also hate the harness. I wonder if it's more about seeing the suit, (the color or shape or something about it) or the fact that he doesn't like it on his body? Will he let you put it on him?

The suit catches poop which is a huge plus, but I have heard once of a bird who wouldn't poop while the suit was on, so the owner had to take it off periodically for him to eliminate!

I have to admit... when I first heard of and saw flight suits, I thought oh no how embarrassing! Now, I think they look fine

maryyy361 · Jun 10, 2014

RavensGryf said:
I had to smile at "his little yellow flight suit" cute.
I would think that it he hates putting the suit on, he'd also hate the harness. I wonder if it's more about seeing the suit, (the color or shape or something about it) or the fact that he doesn't like it on his body? Will he let you put it on him?

The suit catches poop which is a huge plus, but I have heard once of a bird who wouldn't poop while the suit was on, so the owner had to take it off periodically for him to eliminate!

I have to admit... when I first heard of and saw flight suits, I thought oh no how embarrassing! Now, I think they look fine

It's adorable, he looks quite handsome in it

He lets me put it on but he fights me a little. Makes him lose his balance a little but after a few minutes it's like he forgets it's even there. The thing I know he hates is the Velcro on the back that holds it on, he chews on it periodically. I was entertaining the idea of a harness because I don't think Velcro is involved and it may not be as tight on him. Of course the suits are meant to be tight, I do have the correct size but maybe I should have gotten a harness first to get him used to 'bird clothes'.

BoomBoom · Jun 11, 2014

My sun conure has an aviator harness which he hates. But between a flight suit and harness, I still think the harness is superior. It is less restrictive.

With regards to using the flight suit as some sort of diaper, I highly advise against it. It is unhygienic for the bird, with stool making constant contact with its cloaca. This will undoubtedly cause health issues down the line. I've also read accounts of more serious long term complications when birds decide to hold in their stool (because they feel uncomfortable letting it go with the material being so close to their rears). Pressure will build up in their rear from the stool not being released, and cause a distended/inverted cloaca. This is extremely painful and harmful for the bird.

A better way to improve poop clean up is to train the parrot to go on a designated spot. This could be a poop perch with paper underneath, a trash bin, toilet , napkin, etc. It is very, very easy to train them. It's the first trick (dare I say one of the handful of tricks) that my parrot learned. Just wait till you know the bird is ready to do their business (every 15 to 25 mins for most medium birds), then take them to the spot. Say 'POOP!' or whatever catch phrase you wish, while the bird is pooping and immediately right after. Reward with lots of verbal praises and scratches. In time, your bird will associate the word/phrase to the act of pooping. Once trained, all you need to do is say your catch phrase while at the designated spot and your bird will go. Additionally, I let me bird know that pooping on me, the carpet, the couch, the computer chair, etc. are NO-NOs. I tell him 'NO' firmly and shake my head / look disappointed. Lastly, avoid food rewards because birds can get obsessive and might intentionally hold / push poop out just to get one. This can also cause problems with their cloaca.

Hope this helps!

maryyy361 · Jun 11, 2014

BoomBoom said:
My sun conure has an aviator harness which he hates. But between a flight suit and harness, I still think the harness is superior. It is less restrictive.

With regards to using the flight suit as some sort of diaper, I highly advise against it. It is unhygienic for the bird, with stool making constant contact with its cloaca. This will undoubtedly cause health issues down the line. I've also read accounts of more serious long term complications when birds decide to hold in their stool (because they feel uncomfortable letting it go with the material being so close to their rears). Pressure will build up in their rear from the stool not being released, and cause a distended/inverted cloaca. This is extremely painful and harmful for the bird.

A better way to improve poop clean up is to train the parrot to go on a designated spot. This could be a poop perch with paper underneath, a trash bin, toilet , napkin, etc. It is very, very easy to train them. It's the first trick (dare I say one of the handful of tricks) that my parrot learned. Just wait till you know the bird is ready to do their business (every 15 to 25 mins for most medium birds), then take them to the spot. Say 'POOP!' or whatever catch phrase you wish, while the bird is pooping and immediately right after. Reward with lots of verbal praises and scratches. In time, your bird will associate the word/phrase to the act of pooping. Once trained, all you need to do is say your catch phrase while at the designated spot and your bird will go. Additionally, I let me bird know that pooping on me, the carpet, the couch, the computer chair, etc. are NO-NOs. I tell him 'NO' firmly and shake my head / look disappointed. Lastly, avoid food rewards because birds can get obsessive and might intentionally hold / push poop out just to get one. This can also cause problems with their cloaca.

Hope this helps!

Awesome advice. I'll look into the harness. As of now, Charlie poops fine while in the suit and I make sure to check his bum for remains and I wash it if necessary or encourage a bath. I am in the process of teaching him to use the garbage can as a toilet, my GCC was trained very well but we had her since she was a year old and Charlie is about 6 and not too excited to do anything but dance haha it's a work in progress.

SilverSage · Jul 3, 2014

My first thought is, why does your bird hate the flight suit? I have both a flight suit and an Aviator harness for Flick, and she does well with them both. The flight suit came with a little cartoon explaining how to put it on, the Aviator came with a 45 minute in depth DVD on how to train the bird to wear it. I have talked to quite a few people, and most whose birds don't like the harness did not take the time to properly train the bird that the harness is a good thing, many did not know they needed to, or had no idea how. I highly recommend the Aviator, and I always urge people to watch the ENTIRE DVD before even taking the harness out of the box. Also, I would suggest this DVD to anyone who wants to put ANYTHING on their parrot, as it has a lot of valuable training advice.

Katyo91 · Jul 9, 2014

maryyy361 said:
RavensGryf said:

I had to smile at "his little yellow flight suit" cute.
I would think that it he hates putting the suit on, he'd also hate the harness. I wonder if it's more about seeing the suit, (the color or shape or something about it) or the fact that he doesn't like it on his body? Will he let you put it on him?

The suit catches poop which is a huge plus, but I have heard once of a bird who wouldn't poop while the suit was on, so the owner had to take it off periodically for him to eliminate!

I have to admit... when I first heard of and saw flight suits, I thought oh no how embarrassing! Now, I think they look fine

Click to expand...

It's adorable, he looks quite handsome in it He lets me put it on but he fights me a little. Makes him lose his balance a little but after a few minutes it's like he forgets it's even there. The thing I know he hates is the Velcro on the back that holds it on, he chews on it periodically. I was entertaining the idea of a harness because I don't think Velcro is involved and it may not be as tight on him. Of course the suits are meant to be tight, I do have the correct size but maybe I should have gotten a harness first to get him used to 'bird clothes'.

Ok i have GOT to see a picture of him in his "little yellow flight suit"!! lol

Flight suit vs Harness

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Training is an Obligation

Aviator Flight Harness

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