Progress on the harness front!

[Soyajam]

That's interesting indeed.

I'm having the same trouble training Remi (hence another thread I made about food motivation). Food treats don't seem to make her more or less inclined to do things I ask her. She can do it without if she's interested. But if shes not interested, she's outta there.

I had the same situation where I could get the harness on if she sat still enough, but she'd chew it relentlessly. When she's outside with it on, often she'll be distracted enough to not want to chew. And getting it off was torture.

Good luck with the leash part, here's hoping it's not as big a deal as it seems now!

 

[LordTriggs]

yes I hate to say in the future I would prefer either a clip on harness or one of those flight suits after Rio's brush with the aviator, easy enough to get on but getting it off was horrifying

I saw the flight suits and while they are very cute colors/patterns, they all seemed to have "diapers" attached. Kiwi is already incredulous about having to be harnessed, but diapered as well? I decided to spare his last scrap of dignity as a bird

yes some of the flightsuits seem to be a quantum singularity for dignity, I think I will aim to get both a clip on and the suit and see which one is taken to easier. Naturally I would prefer as secure a set up as I can get. Just with my hands I don't know if I could ever deal with an Aviator, plus I don't think aviator ever thought about conures wearing their harnesses and more cockatiels with the head loop

I may even have to find someone to offer some assistance in training the harness

 

[Anansi]

Congratulations, April and Kiwi! This is a HUGE milestone! Most impressive!

Would you be able to take a video of the process you use to put the harness on when you have some time? We have videos in the Harness Training sticky in the Training sub-forum, but those are exclusively videos of the Aviator harness thus far. Seeing another type would be great for providing more options for our members.

Also, just curious. Is there only one strap over one shoulder, Tarzan style? Or is the other strap just hidden by Kiwi's feathers? And of what material is the clasp made? (Might invest in one for Jolly. Unlike Maya, sticking his head through the loop freaks him completely out. He loses it after about 2 seconds.)

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[Kiwibird]

Congratulations, April and Kiwi! This is a HUGE milestone! Most impressive!

Would you be able to take a video of the process you use to put the harness on when you have some time? We have videos in the Harness Training sticky in the Training sub-forum, but those are exclusively videos of the Aviator harness thus far. Seeing another type would be great for providing more options for our members.

Also, just curious. Is there only one strap over one shoulder, Tarzan style? Or is the other strap just hidden by Kiwi's feathers? And of what material is the clasp made? (Might invest in one for Jolly. Unlike Maya, sticking his head through the loop freaks him completely out. He loses it after about 2 seconds.)

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It is a 2 person task to get the harness on at this point of training and we don't have a 3rd person to film (or a tripod). Hubby holds him still while I put the harness on (same process to take it off). We could probably do it one person, but having 2 people makes it easier for everyone The harness is really confusing laid flat, even more so trying to put it on a squirming bird, so I took some embroidery thread and color-coded which buckle went to which loop (that orange and pink that shows in the photo). The harness buckles around the neck to form a loop, but Kiwi's feathers hide it.

This video though is the one I watched when deciding on a harness that convinced me to go with the feather tether. The bird in the video is a good model for how it goes on and off-

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqL6_fsjrIY"]Putting the Feather Tether on your parrot - YouTube[/ame]

 

[LordTriggs]

that B&G is a very good bird. I do like the feather tether just because it looks a whole lot easier and less fiddly than the aviator. Plus there's no having to squeeze heads through holes, just some strips draped over them and a couple clips. Though I would prefer they used screw in clips rather than spring clasps as if a smart bird wanted they could undo that very quickly

 

[Kiwibird]

Here's something I made up to demonstrate. I used my hand since I have no feathers to hide parts of the harness

One more thing, the harness can go on the bird either way (leash from the belly or leash from the back). Kiwi seems to prefer the harness be put on the direction the leash would clip to the back.

 

[Kiwibird]

that B&G is a very good bird. I do like the feather tether just because it looks a whole lot easier and less fiddly than the aviator. Plus there's no having to squeeze heads through holes, just some strips draped over them and a couple clips. Though I would prefer they used screw in clips rather than spring clasps as if a smart bird wanted they could undo that very quickly

They might be able get the 2 around the belly off if they really wanted to, but there is no way to reach the one around the neck. The clips would take even a clever bird a minute to get off as they are quite small and very spring loaded. That said, even if they did get one clip undone, you'd have time to grab them before they got the second one undone, so I'd imagine the risk for escape to be minimal. You could also get a different leash with a more secure clip if your bird was the type to disconnect it. Any leash would work on this harness as it clips on and is not permanently attached.

 

[SailBoat]

The greatest understand in this entire Thread: The bird in the video is a good model for how it goes on and off-

Julio will need to mellow a few more years before he would even allow us that much hands-on!

Again, congratulations!

 

[LordTriggs]

you're not wrong kiwi, plus in your situation with Kiwi preferring it on backwards (which I prefer the look of) the clips are less of a worry

will be interesting to test out in the future

 

[CKP]

plus in your situation with Kiwi preferring it on backwards (which I prefer the look of) the clips are less of a worry

Plus you don't have to do the awkward dance of untangling the leash from the little dinosaur fingers...

 

[LordTriggs]

plus in your situation with Kiwi preferring it on backwards (which I prefer the look of) the clips are less of a worry

Plus you don't have to do the awkward dance of untangling the leash from the little dinosaur fingers...

exactly! I also feel they'd be more like to get thrown off balance getting to the end of the leash with it on their belly if they do go for a flutter

 

[dhraiden]

I bought aviators for Mango and Mochi - both hated them and and wouldn't let it anywhere near them. When we managed to wrassle one onto Mango, he immediately started trying to tear it off.

So they're collecting dust tucked away somewhere. <sigh>

It's really heartening to see how well Kiwi's doing with the feather-tether though&#55357;&#56397;!

 

[Anansi]

Thanks so much for the diagram, April! Much better understanding of it, now. Don't those clasps make it a little heavy, though? Or more specifically, do you think such a harness would be good for a flier? Like if one wanted to use the leash to let the bird fly. Does it feel lightweight enough?

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[LordTriggs]

I bought aviators for Mango and Mochi - both hated them and and wouldn't let it anywhere near them. When we managed to wrassle one onto Mango, he immediately started trying to tear it off.

So they're collecting dust tucked away somewhere. <sigh>

It's really heartening to see how well Kiwi's doing with the feather-tether though��!

I think Aviators are too small in the head loop for a conure, at least for Green Cheeks with the recommended sizing as a major design flaw, more being designed for tiels and such with comparatively smaller head to body ration. Don't know if you found it but I saw the one I used actually pressed against the eyes. Not exactly good when you're trying to get a bird used to the thing and not be scared

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Thanks so much for the diagram, April! Much better understanding of it, now. Don't those clasps make it a little heavy, though? Or more specifically, do you think such a harness would be good for a flier? Like if one wanted to use the leash to let the bird fly. Does it feel lightweight enough?

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I agree here with Stephen. NICE diagram. Looks simple enough,even for me

Ohh Ammmyyy....look at what I'm thinking of getting for you...

I know exactly what she is thinking.."not on your life...Pops"





Jim

 

[Kiwibird]

Thanks so much for the diagram, April! Much better understanding of it, now. Don't those clasps make it a little heavy, though? Or more specifically, do you think such a harness would be good for a flier? Like if one wanted to use the leash to let the bird fly. Does it feel lightweight enough?

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I don't think the weight of the buckles would impede the flight of a larger bird at all, especially a strong flier, but they may be a bit of a workout for smaller birds like teils and conures. Your ekkies shouldn't have a problem flying with them though. The really nice thing about this harness is you can use any leash you want, so you could attach a pretty long flight line directly to the harness.