Successful Harness Training Questions!!!

Hi every one!

For those who successfully harness trained their parrot, I have some questions for you. Also for those who started harness training their parrot as a baby!

I have been harness training my BF amazon parrot. Can you tell me if what I am doing so far is good/positive or should I stop and try a different way?

I currently have a month old blue front amazon that is not ready to go home yet. It will be at least 2-3 more months until she is ready. I purchased an aviator harness and for a couple of weeks I have been practicing by placing the harness over her head. I give her comments like Good bird thats a Good girl, she doesn't seem to be interested in treats yet.. maybe because she's still very young and doesn't know that its treats? ( you can see her pics in my other threads)

Yesterday was the first time I put fully put the harness over her. She was cooperative, but started to move around because i was taking too long tightening the harness, but eventually I was able to tighten it and she did not freak out . I gave her compliments and gave her a toy to chew. She did nibble the harness for a little bit but stopped. Today I took the harness out she did squawk once and I quickly moved the harness away. I then move the harness closer to her she did not squawk at it this time and then i touched her with the harness. She is an active baby and really likes to climb on my shoulder, but I do not let her. I would take her down every time she gets up there. Anyways I was able to put the harness over her head and then put the rest of the harness over her body. She does move around a bit when I try to tighten it again but she does not freak out when the harness is on her. Also she did not nibble on the harness at all today.

How do I get her to stand still ? She is currently still at the pet store and I have been putting her on my lap when I put on the harness but she tries to climb on my arms and up to my shoulder she doesn't stay still. How do I get her to stay still? Should I try placing her on the chair instead of my lap?

Thank You!

Personally I think it sounds like you're doing amazing!
My 'tiel and IRN are both trained to the aviator. My tiel required hardly any work, but I took a little more time with Henry. I hang it on his cage when it's not in use so he sees it and fiddles with it often. To get him to stand still when it goes on, I stick him on his cage top perch, which is a small rope perch. He moves a little side to side but he's getting better with it. He's not over the moon when it goes on, but he actively looks as to where we're going and cheers up the minute we leave the house, so I make sure I always intend to actually go somewhere when he's in it, we don't just 'practise' as such. On the odd occasion he might have a wee preen at it, but that's normal bird behaviour anyways

itchyfeet said:

Personally I think it sounds like you're doing amazing!
My 'tiel and IRN are both trained to the aviator. My tiel required hardly any work, but I took a little more time with Henry. I hang it on his cage when it's not in use so he sees it and fiddles with it often. To get him to stand still when it goes on, I stick him on his cage top perch, which is a small rope perch. He moves a little side to side but he's getting better with it. He's not over the moon when it goes on, but he actively looks as to where we're going and cheers up the minute we leave the house, so I make sure I always intend to actually go somewhere when he's in it, we don't just 'practise' as such. On the odd occasion he might have a wee preen at it, but that's normal bird behaviour anyways

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Do you think I should see if I can take her out for a walk around the block outside the pet store? Would that be a good idea? I kind of want her to look forward to something when she wears her harness so she doesn't get too sassy when i try to train her haha. Also I would have to ask the pet store owner if I can take her out for a walk..... They are nice people but might not allow me to =/

Ahh I see, I missed the bit where she wasn't home yet, sorry!
Have you paid a deposit?
Even just a wee walk outside would be lovely, not necessarily around the block...

Yup ! I'm nearly done paying her off . I walked around the store today with her she seemed to like it since she was staying still on my arm �� instead of flying on my head

If the store allows you to take her around the block, that would be AWESOME!! And KUDOS to you for training her with the harness at this age - you'll be forever grateful that you did. Yes, they can become somewhat fidgety while you either put the harness on or take it off (Sam is more fidgety when taking it off), but it'll get easier as Bella gets more used to it.

Now, there may also come a time where she appears to be throwing a hissy fit when you present her with the harness. Please don't let that deter you. Amazons are pretty strong-willed birds, but they don't hold grudges for very long.

I was looking how to train parrots to be sociable with people from Birdman666 previous post. I just called the people in the pet store and told them if they want to play with bella or take her out they are welcome to. It has only been just me when I visit Bella and she mostly interacts with me. I would like her to be people friendly so I thought it would be a good idea to let the pet store owners/employee handle her if they want to. Since she is unable to go home yet for another 2 months might as well let her interact with other people so she wont be scared. ^_^ Hope that helps

What do you guys think?

PS. I spoke with the petstore owner, they think it would be better if I take her outside and sit at the bench they have outside the store instead of walking around the block. They said she is still young and my get spooked by the busy streets.

Re: Successful Harness Training Questions!!! *updates vids*

I have a video of Bella walking around in her harness first time in the store! (they wont allow me to take her out) She looks very calm and comfortable wearing the harness and she seems very curious about everything! I hope this is a positive reaction for wearing the harness

[ame="http://youtu.be/wkRsIftSSDI"]Bella in her Harness - YouTube[/ame]

Oh my goodness, she did AMAZING!!!! I loved watching the video! She looks so alert and curious! VERY VERY WELL DONE!!!!!

Sitting outside on the bench is a good idea! As is asking the owners/employees to handle her. You are right, the more interaction and handling Bella receives, the more socialized she'll be.

I've got to say it again: I'm thoroughly impressed! She is a BEAUTY that Bella of yours! :smile015:

JerseyWendy said:

Oh my goodness, she did AMAZING!!!! I loved watching the video! She looks so alert and curious! VERY VERY WELL DONE!!!!!

Sitting outside on the bench is a good idea! As is asking the owners/employees to handle her. You are right, the more interaction and handling Bella receives, the more socialized she'll be.

I've got to say it again: I'm thoroughly impressed! She is a BEAUTY that Bella of yours! :smile015:

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Thank you ! Too bad the owner won't let me sit outside so the best I could do was walk around the store

I don't think there's any harm in taking her for a walk around outside, as long as she's in her harness. It'll allow her to get used to a range of sights and sounds

I know a fair few people who raised their new parrots at home, never taking them out of a single 'parrot' room, and the birds grow up to be quite nervous when presented with new things.

Mekaisto said:

I don't think there's any harm in taking her for a walk around outside, as long as she's in her harness. It'll allow her to get used to a range of sights and sounds

I know a fair few people who raised their new parrots at home, never taking them out of a single 'parrot' room, and the birds grow up to be quite nervous when presented with new things.

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I agree with you! Too bad i cant take her out because the pet store owner still "makes" the decision on what I can and cant do =[

Bella in her harness PART II.
This time she kept flying when she saw the harness but when I placed her down and she saw the harness I asked if I can put it on she allowed me and finally putting the harness was easier. Less of a struggle than last time but still a struggle! I immediately gave her a banana and the finger toy and took her for a walk around the store. You can see in the video that she loved it and was even curious than last time. Oh and she got so BIG!! The owners told me she is eating the pellets herself now and should be ready in a couple weeks! excited!!

[ame="https://youtu.be/e7xsNrCUtz0"]Bella Harness part 2 - YouTube[/ame]

That's amazing! Good work!!
The groundwork you're doing now will pay off in leaps and bounds when you get to take her home.

Just got Kyoto's harness in the mail today! We had a great first training session I was just going to show it to her and give her an almond, and she was immediately like "OOH WHATS THAT A NEW TOY?!?!" and picked it up. I was able to get her to poke her little head through the head hole 3 times without much fuss and lots of praise and almonds of course. This was all in the course of 5 minutes! So proud of Kyo for being so good can't wait to take her outside, and to take her to our studio to fly around in the big space

Kyoto said:

Just got Kyoto's harness in the mail today! We had a great first training session I was just going to show it to her and give her an almond, and she was immediately like "OOH WHATS THAT A NEW TOY?!?!" and picked it up. I was able to get her to poke her little head through the head hole 3 times without much fuss and lots of praise and almonds of course. This was all in the course of 5 minutes! So proud of Kyo for being so good can't wait to take her outside, and to take her to our studio to fly around in the big space

Click to expand...

Aww !! Doesn't it feel great when your baby is being so cooperative ?!? I can't wait to take Bella outside too !

itsjoyceduh said:

Kyoto said:

Just got Kyoto's harness in the mail today! We had a great first training session I was just going to show it to her and give her an almond, and she was immediately like "OOH WHATS THAT A NEW TOY?!?!" and picked it up. I was able to get her to poke her little head through the head hole 3 times without much fuss and lots of praise and almonds of course. This was all in the course of 5 minutes! So proud of Kyo for being so good can't wait to take her outside, and to take her to our studio to fly around in the big space

Click to expand...

Aww !! Doesn't it feel great when your baby is being so cooperative ?!? I can't wait to take Bella outside too !

Click to expand...

It will I'm sure!! While she is pretty easy going on not too skittish, I was worried I may get bit letting it slide over her head, but she was a total angel about it and didn't seem to mind at all! The real challenge for me will be slipping her wings through it. She will let me touch them but not as easily as she lets me around her head. We shall see, as I am in no rush. Trying to let her set the pace

Kyoto said:

itsjoyceduh said:

Kyoto said:

Just got Kyoto's harness in the mail today! We had a great first training session I was just going to show it to her and give her an almond, and she was immediately like "OOH WHATS THAT A NEW TOY?!?!" and picked it up. I was able to get her to poke her little head through the head hole 3 times without much fuss and lots of praise and almonds of course. This was all in the course of 5 minutes! So proud of Kyo for being so good can't wait to take her outside, and to take her to our studio to fly around in the big space

Click to expand...

Aww !! Doesn't it feel great when your baby is being so cooperative ?!? I can't wait to take Bella outside too !

Click to expand...

It will I'm sure!! While she is pretty easy going on not too skittish, I was worried I may get bit letting it slide over her head, but she was a total angel about it and didn't seem to mind at all! The real challenge for me will be slipping her wings through it. She will let me touch them but not as easily as she lets me around her head. We shall see, as I am in no rush. Trying to let her set the pace

Click to expand...

Oh ! For Bella once I put it over her head she flaps her wings and flies away which makes her wings slip right in the loop. So all I had to do was to tighten it haha. I will try to have her sit still but because she's a baby she's very active

itsjoyceduh said:

Oh ! For Bella once I put it over her head she flaps her wings and flies away which makes her wings slip right in the loop. So all I had to do was to tighten it haha. I will try to have her sit still but because she's a baby she's very active

Click to expand...

Well, the second round of training for Kyo didn't go quite as well. She was doing great until she too tried to fly away with the harness around her neck (after letting me put it on and off about 3 times no issue). That was not fun.

But, to make sure she isn't scarred for life I took it away and just had her pick it up and play with it later on. She isn't afraid of it at all, but she is so hyper and has a hard time standing still I'm scared that she will strangle herself when I try to move on to the next step...

This harness business is harder than it seems it would be with a squirmy birdie.

Kyoto said:

itsjoyceduh said:

Oh ! For Bella once I put it over her head she flaps her wings and flies away which makes her wings slip right in the loop. So all I had to do was to tighten it haha. I will try to have her sit still but because she's a baby she's very active

Click to expand...

Well, the second round of training for Kyo didn't go quite as well. She was doing great until she too tried to fly away with the harness around her neck (after letting me put it on and off about 3 times no issue). That was not fun.

But, to make sure she isn't scarred for life I took it away and just had her pick it up and play with it later on. She isn't afraid of it at all, but she is so hyper and has a hard time standing still I'm scared that she will strangle herself when I try to move on to the next step...

This harness business is harder than it seems it would be with a squirmy birdie.

Click to expand...

May I ask what kind of harness did you get ? Bella still freaks out when she sees the harness by after letting her see it and not doing anything with it she calmed down and allows me to put it over her