Devin Corso Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 (edited) Hi, I was hoping to get Korra out and about more. Her behavior has made a 360 and she is doing fantastic! I am now able to take her out of her cage for the whole day with her special tree perch. I was hoping to harness train her, so I can take her to do errands with me. I have two harnesses from Echo (rest in peace). A foot harness that holds onto her leg, and a body harness that might be a nightmare to put on her. I also saw this and thought it might be good: http://www.flightquarters.com/bird-diapers/category/flightsuit-bird-diapers.html *You can velcro a harness/lanyard onto it. She is an African grey and as you know they are very emotional. How do I put it on her without freaking her out, and how can I train her to not poopoo on my shoulder and hair? Is there any way to get her to stay on my shoulder? The other question I had was what signs to watch for her being overheated, and how to prevent that. I live in one of the hottest and driest cities in the United States, (Mesa Arizona). Edited October 2, 2016 by Devin Corso Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Love the pic! I don't use a harness so don't have any input on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 (edited) I don't use a harness either, but I know from others here who do that the most common full body harness, the aviator harness, comes with a DVD that shows you how to slowly get your bird used to wearing it. I did a quick search on YouTube and came up with both the manufacturers video, and a video from GoodBirdInc. on how to harness train your bird. The foot harnesses aren't used anymore because they can cause injury to your bird if it takes off suddenly. I don't know about signs of overheating, but I know the measures some members have taken to prevent it. Some with outdoor aviaries have set up misters with fans blowing the mist into the aviary and over the birds. I know when I take Dorian out in his travel cage I fill a misting water bottle with from the fridge and periodically mist him with that. This goes over ok with him because something about going outside triggers the desire in him to take a bath in his water dish, so he doesn't mind when I help out with the mister. Edited October 6, 2016 by Acappella Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Yep - Aviator Harness is the way to go. Very popular. The only drawback is they can eventually chew their way through the fabric welds, which takes my GreycieMae just a few hours if I was to sit and just let her work on it. I don't let her just sit in her harness, we are always on the go. If her human conveyor belt is moving she's not working on her harness so it lasts me a couple years before I have to get another one. Their DVD is pretty good, but you still need to be able to handle your bird around the body or it will never work. I keep my birds out in the heat, sometimes up to 110. However over 95 I will start watching them for signs of overheating: 1) wings extended/slightly dropped and body very skinny 2) mouth open and beginning to pant. Mine never get as far as #2 before I have fans and misters and Pina Coladas served up. I'm pretty familiar with Arizona aka desert heat. You have a real advantage in that if you can keep them shaded and away from the direct sun, you can really cool things off quick. A fan/mister setup are way more effective in those climes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devin Corso Posted October 7, 2016 Author Share Posted October 7, 2016 Ok, I'm going to try to order one of these harnesses with the "poop catch" on it then. When I get her to the point of going out in public with me, is the AC in the car bad for her? When I take her to the vet I point the vents away from her cage and I make sure it doesn't get cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRSeedBurners Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 Ok, I'm going to try to order one of these harnesses with the "poop catch" on it then. When I get her to the point of going out in public with me, is the AC in the car bad for her? When I take her to the vet I point the vents away from her cage and I make sure it doesn't get cold. I dislike the poop catch bird diapers. Seem very unsanitary to me. Take a crap in your shorts and walk around with it...you'll see. My grey is pretty good at not pooping on me. It helps to get attuned to giving them a poop break. I can stop somewhere where there is grass and ask her to "go potty" and she will bombs away if she needs to. If not I ask a little later and when she does I'm good for 30-60m. As for AC, we go on car rides all the time. We ALWAYS point a vent or two into the back seat where they are. I do not like to risk having overheated birds. Car A/C systems are no different than household central AC systems. If you expose them to one, you can do so the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray P Posted April 11, 2017 Share Posted April 11, 2017 I would not use the foot harness ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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