Harness training my bird.

[Caesar]

Hi guys and gals,
I wanted to know if it is worth while training my Eclectus to get used to a Bird Harness as I would love to have him be able to walk out on the grass without the worry of him getting Scared and flying of. He cant really maintain height as the breeder clipped his wings b4 I got him.
What is the common opinion on this subject?
Cheers

 

[tab_xo]

Definitely worth harness training! Even if a bird is clipped they can still fly and get caught in the wind whilst outside, so the harness is the safest option!

It's easy just to put on, then go for a walk outside or sit on the grass together, and you don't have to worry about him getting away! Although i think you will find when you take him outside he will stick to you like glue haha

 

[Caesar]

Xlent . Will he be stressed the first couple of times with it on?

 

[Kimma]

If you get an Aviator harness, it will come with a DVD that explains how to accustom your bird to it and slowly work up to getting him to wear it.

They do warn that going too quick with it will very likely freak him out and make it really really hard to get him to use it, but they demonstrate the process with a bird that has never worn one before and it looks quite straight forward - they do lots of training sessions of a few minutes over the course of a day and the bird is wearing it by the end. The aim is for the bird to not even notice having it on.

I'm going to harness train my bird for the same reason I walk my dog on a leash - not because I think he'll try to escape, because he's got no desire to run off, but because one silly mistake and he could be on the road in front of a car.

 

[tab_xo]

Just take it super slow, don't rush it

Some birds are very upset at first, others are perfectly fine!


When i got Fargo he was petrified of the harness, and it took 5 months before he would fully wear it!

Just start out hanging it near him so he will see it won't hurt him.. Then just play with it.. Then start rubbing it over and under his wings..

Once he is comfortable being around it, then you can start getting him to put his head through a big loop, then making the loop smaller!


I took the super slow approach with Fargo, so he was happy with being touched by it- Here is a video from when we first started the training:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxF-HyopwRY"]Fargo harness training - YouTube[/ame]



But in February, i just put it on him, i didn't take it slow and make a huge deal out of it like i had been doing the previous 5 months.. You know, putting his head through, waiting 5 seconds..
I just put it on him, so he had no time to think about what was going on, otherwise he would get upset!


Then the first few times he fully wore it, he would pick at the harness if we stood still, just had to keep moving and keep him occupied!

Probably after 5 times of wearing it he was perfect!

So yes, first few times he might be uncomfortable, but just keep his mind on something else and he will be fine!

Now another 10 months later, he puts his harness on perfectly, and doesn't bother with it at all!


So i guess i took it slow in the beginning, made sure he was used to being touched by it.. But in the end i just had to put it on quickly

 

[tab_xo]

The aviator harness is definitely the best one !

and then you can get the flight line to go with it later on..

Although, me, being the unlucky person that i am, just happened to get the flight line which was faulty, and it snapped and Fargo flew up a tree hahaha

Even though they are meant to be the safest ones..