Tamara Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 so we got our baby today Thank you everyone for the congrats!! LOL I dont want to get ahead of myself but i was wondering when we should try to put the harness on her? Im pretty sure her breeder never used them, so.....LOL What do you guys think? Thanks again!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie blue Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Ive just had a look on the net at the harness. Would this not be dangerous to the bird as it could not control the direction of flight? Or is it used to train the bird not to fly ? Either way i dont really rate the idea, but thats me. If you spend enough time with your bird it will calm and will not try to fly away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I would let your new baby settle in some and then introduce the harness but it is more likely she will accept it if it is introduced at a young age. Paulie, the harness is used to take your bird out to fly and is attached to a flight line so your bird is always connected to you and cannot fly away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie blue Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I still think it would be dangerous for the bird as it could not control its direction of flight. I would be interested to see footage of a bird flying with a harness on. Have you got one Judy ? I cant help but feel it is not right to put a harness on a bird. A bird is not a kite and i feel it is one thing to clip a birds wings so it cannot fly but to control and limit its flight is like a poking a monkey to dance... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Harness flying is a very mature and proven way to give our birds safe freedom outdoors and the ability to really stretch those wings while flying on harnesses with extension lines. Here are some videos. http://www.geocities.com/shanlung9/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morana Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Well I suppose you wouldn't start with long distances so the risk should be minimum. Maybe from one person to other a meter away and then work on your distance. When outside one should be very carefull about trees and other places she could get tangled.. You would always know how long is the leash so it would never restrict her in the middle of her flight (so it is not like a kite). IMO it is a process. You must be very prepared and patient. Your bird should never get tangled. So when process of learning is well established you can let her fly really nice distances so she gets beneficial exercise and playtime with you. Also it is very close to the real thing. Of course it is not the same as the free flight but if your bird get spooked she wont fly away and get lost.And of course the bird should be very comfortable with the harness in the first place.. Well, these are just my thoughts.. I don't have experience with that but birds are meant to fly. If harness is not natural to you, I can tell you, sitting in the cage or home all its life, with or without clipped wings is not much of a natural life either.. Right? You can see how it looks like. There is a link on a Think mash 7 in Bird food section. There are lot of pictures of a bird flying in harness. She looks pretty happy too. Go check it out. Most important thing: never ever force anything (I don't mean explicitly you), especially harness on the bird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanlung Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 (edited) Harness for flighted parrots - To Nick and folks Harry Potter // Rustaq // You start by reading this first. Tinkerbell Legacy - - Rant 03 (a flighted parrot mentality) & Understanding the mind of your grey Everything else is of superfluos and much lesser importance. Warmest regards Shanlung 山龍 http://www.geocities.com/shanlung9 Edited January 25, 2011 by shanlung Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambert58 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 LOL, Shanlung I was clicked on this post with the intent to direct any and all questions about harness flying to you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbpittman Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Shanlung has some of the most prolific and insightful postings about harness flighted greys. They are well worth the time spent reading them and the freedom's they give you and your flighted grey. I have a cockatoo that lives up to the name 'velcro' bird and he refuses to leave my side, but I wouldn't consider walking out the door with him unless he was on a harness. Never once has he tried to fly, even when encouraged, but he loves to jump around in the grass and the harness allows him to do this in full safety. Robin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie blue Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Very interesting footage, I seen one one clip on you tube with no harness on, beautiful to watch a bird like an African grey free in flight and come back. The harness does look a lot safer than i expected. Maybe ive been sheltered a little to long here in Africa. Good luck Tamara, let us know the results... Morana, i fully agree with you that it is natural for a bird to fly and that sitting at home in a small cage is not much of a life and i have seen it so many times here African greys locked in cages no bigger than small cage you put a canary, it breaks my heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanlung Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 This was from another thread here on free flight. But I think what I wrote there should be in this thread as well especially as talk of free flights occur here as well. Be safe with your bird. 88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 shanlung: Chile // Riamfada free flights at the edge of Rub Al Khali If you have gone on into that URL above, then you would have read my dire warnings not to do what I have done. And you would have read the years that I aged and aged as Riamfada winged to a grey speck on the horizon and disappeared. Not once, not tiwce, but 3 times. Luckily she came back each time as if she was playing a huge joke on me. Also if you have followed my accounts, it was a series of tiny step by tiny step, with lots of observations followed by lots of deep thoughts. I thought about eagles and hawks, not just taking her in. From my earlier experiences with Tinkerbell and later with Riam, I knew her flight to be swift and evasive enough to survive. In above you can read of the fear I had that even with survival, she might be chased so far away that she might not have been able to know how return to me. I anguished over that in the next writing shanlung: Reflections on Riamfada at edge of the Empty Quarter and some rants . You might like to read that to see the measure that I adopted and if you take your parrot outdoors on harness, you might want to do what I have done in case Murphy comes knocking. I will be much more explict. FREE FLIGHT IS LIFE AND DEATH PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF UNLESS YOU DO KNOW. NEVER EVER FREE FLY WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE AS THIS CAN LEAD TO LOSS AND DEATH OF YOUR BIRD. I hope you do not mind my being hypocritical in doing what I warned all not to do. Unless you do have kitty and your kitty go for walk with you without leash up in mountains and the sea and will come to you through tidepools in the ocean when you called them like in the case of Dommie and me. shanlung: 9-11//Dommie final visit to ocean Ramadan 2010 & unsheduled Riamfada free flight//The Day Approaches Accept that I am different enough from most others to do what I have done, and I urge you all not to try to duplicate because you see those photos. Just like you will not do BASE jumping from edge of building and cliff because you see others do that. Or be a fire eater because you seen photos of that being done. A lot of knowledge and understanding is behind what I have done. I will be more explict as in another writing shanlung: Riamfada free flights in villa // And around neighbourhood I extract a portion below in italics from above that you and others might want to read. Riamfada free flights in villa more photos in flickr folder 'Riamfada free flights and around neighbourhood ' Riamfada free flights and around neighbourhood - a set on Flickr Please do not do what you see me do. FREE FLIGHT IS LIFE AND DEATH PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF UNLESS YOU DO KNOW. NEVER EVER FREE FLY WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE AS THIS CAN LEAD TO LOSS AND DEATH OF YOUR BIRD. I have been thinking. Of free flights with Riamfada. But the last few times when I thought of it, my dear wife screamed. She screamed and cried loud enough to frighten the wits out of me , or back into me , which ever way that you choose. A parrot truely need not do any freeflights. Allowing him/her to fly inside your home made safe for that will give 95% of all the benefits from flying. Allowing your parrot to fly in harness and leash, might add 4.9% more. But that being said, the sheer pleasure to you of taking your parrot outdoors with you and to fly cannot be imagined. If you have prepared yourself by first letting your parrot fly in semi free flight conditions (flying in big enclosed space eg gym or in big hall) , and then taking careful small steps outside in harness and short leash, that should be safe enough. Long distance harnessed flights should be after you and your parrot thoroughly trained together, flying your parrot in head winds, tail winds, cross winds, shifty wind conditions, from high to low, and low to high. Do not do free flights. That 0.1% benefit to your parrot is not worth the nightmare if things go wrong. You know Riamfada had been on deliberate free flights. Free flight is dangerous, extremely dangerous with any kind of parrot, and especially a grey. Free flight might add 0.1% to the benefits of flight to your parrot. But the adrenaline rush to you is immense. That comes from living dangerously, knowing Murphy might just turn up. I know with the coming departure, my mood might not be good. But I felt I could control that enough. I also thought back to Riamfada flights with me. She clearly shown she could think on her wings. The videos of her turning back to my wife when she could not first find me was heartening. And of her flying and turning back to the wall , and then heading to me was heartening as well. Pakistan again// more on mind & tofu // Dommie at Omer//kitties// Riamfada and 3 turns on dime shanlung: Pakistan again// more on mind & tofu // Dommie at Omer//kitties// Riamfada and 3 turns on dime Then that unscheduled free flight at the beach when that knot to that swivel joint unravelled and she did that glorious freeflight and returned to me had to be considered too. Her spooking got even more controlled in the villa, just a short flight away before returning to me. In the villa, Riamfada would so often fly to me uncalled, went back to her many perch to do her thing, and fly again to me. In all our walks in last couple of months, she never showed any desire to leave me. And if she decided on parroty jokes, how many more parroty jokes could she play on me. I decided I could accept her parroty jokes. And she knew our neighbourhood so well now from all the neighbourhood walks we had done. I decided to go on neighbourhood walks earlier today. I noticed the light faded too much by time we went out at 530pm. So today, we went out of the house at 5pm. Riam was harnessed and leashed as we went around the mulberry bush. Thoughts of free flight hit my mind. Hit it hard today 24 September. I decided my wife screamed too much. Before she opened her mouth to scream, I premptively told her to shut up. Got her to hold the rod/reel. I then took the leash off Riamfada's harness. I saw from corner of my eye my wife opened her mouth, as to scream. I told her screaming might well spook Riam, and to my satisfaction, saw her closing her mouth Warmest regards Shanlung 山 龍 http://www.geocities.com/shanlung9/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Shanlung, I always appreciate your candidness and great write ups of the lessons learned. Something I have learned through contact with many free flight groups. Greys are not a bird with the correct mentality to free flight. They are just too neurotic to be trusted in most cases. I do know a person that has owned a grey for 17 years that takes his flighted grey with him everywhere he goes without a harness and that grey takes unexpected loud bangs and strange territory with no seeming alerts or nervousness. But, that grey is the exception, not the norm..Macaws and Conures are what seem to be the most reliable birds in free flying, from I have have gleaned from very experienced free flight professionals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanlung Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Shanlung, I always appreciate your candidness and great write ups of the lessons learned. Something I have learned through contact with many free flight groups. Greys are not a bird with the correct mentality to free flight. They are just too neurotic to be trusted in most cases. I do know a person that has owned a grey for 17 years that takes his flighted grey with him everywhere he goes without a harness and that grey takes unexpected loud bangs and strange territory with no seeming alerts or nervousness. But, that grey is the exception, not the norm..Macaws and Conures are what seem to be the most reliable birds in free flying, from I have have gleaned from very experienced free flight professionals. I am so frightened that people want to read what they want to see. You recalled in that report of the first free flight I did with Riamfada in Buwah, so many comments were made on duplicating what I have done. I got so frigthened for them that I had to make very strong rebuts even of the complimentary things they wrote of me. As much as I wrote, I could not have written on everything. Some factors I might have taken for granted and had not thought of writing on. And that can be so very important Some I know but cannot write on. How can I write of mental connection made with Tinkerbell or Riamfada? I alluded to that in the free flight hide & seek I did in my villa compound with Riam. Tinkerbell had done free flights with me too. But that was nearing the end of that glorious first chapter of our lives together. And I had too many unfinished reports of stuff that we did, and also, I was chronicling the last few days, and my heart was too broken then. I never felt free flight to be that important until folks make such a fuss on that. Everything done for the birdie MUST have the birdie as primary focus and MUST be for good of birdie. Free flight might give 0.1% of flight benefit to birdie (provided birdie allowed to fly freely at home and taken out on harness to fly (AND ALWAYS CARABINERED LEASH TO BELT OR BACKPACK - NEVER EVER HOLD LEASH BY HAND) With such little benefit to birdie, why do free flight? The risk are real so so high and a nightmare so horrendous that you just cannot ever imagine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamara Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 HI I havent been able to get on here much LOL But i thought i would let you all know my hubby and i got our Gabby in her flight suit 2 days ago. She got me a few times pretty good lol but once it was on her she was fine. We left it on only a few minutes, then took it off. We put it on again last night and without any blood shed!!! A total plus!! LOL I put it on her by myself today so we could go for a short car ride. So im hoping she will associate that when we put the harness on her, shell get to go somewhere with us And Shanlung, Great Post!! Thank you so much for that!! I must clarify though, i only wanted a harness so i could take her from my home to my car and back LOL I am in NOOO Way going to let her fly in it!! And i am in no way saying that people that do let theirs fly outside are bad!! Just to make sure no one thinks im trying to be mean LOL Cause im not!! I just want to guarentee that my beautiful baby will be safe when i take her outside, and i hate her having to be in a cage when we bring her with us. She deserves to be part of the family in every way! She is out of her cage all day, and i so want her to go with us when we take a short trip, of course someone is in the car with her at all times lol but she is doing great with it, and the smart little bugger already figured out how to take the clippy thing off one of the sides of the harness, so im looking round on the internet for a different style. the one i have now has 3 like the metal things you can put on your keys, where you push the button down and the round part opens, so she an unhook one but will still not be able to get her harness off, but would still like to get a different style one, just to be sure lol......does anyone have a particular harness they used? That is better? I bought the one we have from the local pet store, just becuase i wanted to get it on her and have her used to is sooner rather than later. Any other harness suggestions would be great!! And where to get them! Thanks alot!! and ill talk to ya guys soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morana Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 And please do add a size which you used for your CAG. Tnx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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