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Be interesting if you are able to finally get Alfie in his harness. I would love to put a harness on Huey but I like my fingers too much. GreycieMae was easy, she was a baby. Biggest problem with her is I need one made from steel cable as all she does is chew on it.

Please do post updates. I'm very curious about your progress! I think the concept of an aviator harness is so cool. Timber can't fly (no he isn't clipped), and with his current status I wouldn't take him out, but there was a time I was very interested as well. Good luck!

I ordered an aviator harness for Alfie and it was delivered today. He will be 16 years old this month and has never been harness trained. He also doesn't particularly like his back and wings being touched. So why the heck did I buy a harness? I'm hoping that if I take it super slow and steady then I might be able to slowly convince him that the harness is a good thing. Then perhaps I'll be able to take him out on walks. I'm willing to put the time and effort in but I also understand that I may never be able to convince him. I started training today. I showed him the packaging and acted excited about it. I took the harness out and rolled it around in my hands telling him what it was and how much fun he could have outside if he wants to wear it some day. I then allowed him to take a closer look. I let him 'touch' the harness with his beak (but not bite it). Every time he touched it gently he got a cedar nut. I did this a few times. Then I backed off. This is how I'm planning on starting- just showing it to him and letting him know how fun it will be. I'm also planning on maybe getting some ribbon or other material which I don't mind being destroyed to work on getting closer to him, and resting it on his back and wings (eventually). I can also make loops with it and try and train him to get his head through it without biting it. (thinking of using a similar coloured material to the harness). Obviously this is thinking ahead a lot. I plan to work to Alfie's 'grey time'. One little step at a time. He may reject it and I may have to eventually give up if he is uncomfortable with the idea. But I think it's worth a try. And actually having some focused training time isn't a bad thing either. I'm planning on posting updates here though they will undoubtedly be few and far between. I don't expect this to be a quick process at all! Wish us luck!

I'll post updates as and when I have them. It's likely to be slow progress and I also value my fingers. 😂 He is doing well with touching the harness to get a treat. This is being done through cage bars at the moment so he can't grab it and run away with it. I've found some landyards which are the same colour and similar thickness to the harness so I think I'll buy a couple of those to use with training so it doesn't matter too much if he puts holes through them. I'm planning on making a big loop and working on getting him to take a treat by putting his beak through the loop and then eventually more of his head- waiting for him to be comfortable before progressing. Then it will be a case of making the loop smaller each time. The back and wings are gong to be a challenge, as he doesn't like them to be touched that often. So this will again be broken down into smaller steps with lots of praise and rewards. Sounds simple when I write it down. I'm sure Ill have setbacks and challenges as I've never done much structured training with Alfie and he typically rules the roost (entirely my fault). So this is going to be an adventure for both of us!