aviator harness!

[lovemyGreys]

xxbeccyxx wrote:

yes, like putting a little suit on them.. i dunno maybe i'm just wierd not as in clever smart, but handsome smart.

 

I agree beccy, they do look handsome Now i have Coco as well,we are going to build them an outdoor aviary around Easter time,As my hubby works away from home i cant see myself with 3 greys on a harness on my own in the garden :ohmy:

The aviary will only be for outdoor time, not to live in

[Guest briansmum]

thats a great idea, if i wasn't renting i would build one for brian too, so he had somewhere secure to be while we were in the garden

[judygram]

I agree, lovemygreys, with 3 greys it would be very difficult next to impossible to take them out on harnesses and leashes, an aviary would be just the thing.

[Guest briansmum]

yes, they'd get themselves and you all tangled up! now theres a mental image :laugh:

[lovemyGreys]

Well im not going to try it

 

Any other members reading this, does your bird have a harness ??

[Makena]

We just ordered the harness a couple of days ago. We figure we will give it a shot. We want it to be able to take him outside on our shoulder and go for walks to the beach, etc. We didn't get it to allow him to fly... at least not yet anyways. He is too clumsy right now and I would be scared of a crash landing!!

[Guest briansmum]

you should find it pretty easy as makena is only a baby, so start now!

[Sofabed]

I bought harnesses for my guinea pigs and they escaped from it and it took hours to get them from under my decking and so this had made me a bit weiry of buying one for my grey as if it did escape they could fly away. Is there a chance that they could escape from theirs? I really dont want to get his/her wings clipped and i do think that the harness sounds like a great idea but i'm just scared of him/her flying away.

What's the best thing to do?

[Guest briansmum]

if the harness is on properly then no they can't just come lose from it. if left unsupervised outside with it there it a chance they could chew through it or pull it off. but it is not intended to be used unsupervised.

 

as long as you ensured before going outside it was fitted correctly and are there to keep you bird stimulated it will have no interest in it's harness therefore it won't come off.

[lovemyGreys]

The aviator harness is the most popular harness among bird owners,& it is claimed he only escape proof harness on the market,

have a read here

http://www.viparrot.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=4

[Sofabed]

Thanks, I Think I Will Leave It For A While Before I Buy One As The Grey Im Getting Will Still Be A Baby And I Want To Bond With It First. But I Will Definitely Buy One Later On As It Will Be Alot Better For It If It Has The Opportunity To Fly In Open Space. :cheer:

[lovemyGreys]

I would advise to buy one now & introduce it to your baby, he will be more willing to accept it as normal as he is so young, rather than later on.You can watch the DVD that comes with the harness & introduce it to him as part of your realtionship with him

[danmcq]

Yes, lovemygreys is right.

 

Introducing the harness to your new grey can be made into an enjoyable learning time activity for you and him.

 

Doing this, includes head, neck body and under wing rubs and scratches that he will find very enjoyable once he gets used to them. :-)

 

I had the harness on my new baby Dayo for the first time at 15 weeks old.

[Sofabed]

I Never Thought About It Like That...If I Buy One Now And Introduce It As Soon As Possible Then He/She Will Be Used To It But I Just Wont Risk Taking It Out Yet Until I'm Certain I'm Putting It On Correctly. :unsure:

~*~Sofabed~*~

[danmcq]

Hi Sofabed,

 

The DVD that comes with the Aviator Harness is very detailed in how to put the harness on correctly. They really did a good job of explaining how to introduce your Parrot to the harness.

 

Once you feel comfortable with the fact that you have it on correctly, then you take him outside.

[Sofabed]

O I Didnt Know That...Is That Bought Of The 24parrot website?

~*~Sofabed~*~

[Guest briansmum]

yes you can buy them from the 24parrot site, that's where i got mine. it would be a really good idea to introduce your baby to it straight away, practise putting it on and taking it off while your baby is easy going, but you are right don't go outside until you are confident you and the bird are both 100% comfortable with the harness

[Makena]

Arrggg... bad luck so far with the harness! It came in the mail today and we watched the DVD twice. We first decided to let Makena become comfortable with it before even trying to put it on him, as the DVD recommends. So I hung it next to his perch like a typical toy. He immediately puffed up and started attacking it. It seems this harness is the first thing he has ever been scared of :pinch:!!

 

I left the harness hung next to him for a good portion of the day and he finally started acting ok with it. He wasn't puffing up anymore and even took some small nibbles to check it out. So I went over to him and tried to move it a little closer. Well the minute I touched the thing he lashed out at me... I can now officially join the parrot bite me club as I received my first skin piercing bite !! I didn't react, I just kept the thing where it was and walked away. Obviously I didn't have any plans to stick it on him... but man I wasn't expecting him to be scared to death of the site of it! We will see how things go in the future... maybe I will make the fiance in charge of this one !!

 

Here is a picture to show you what I have to deal with! <br><br>Post edited by: Makena, at: 2007/09/01 07:04

[lovemyGreys]

It's early days

Continue leaving it around so Makena becomes familiar with it, even try playing with it yourself in front of him,show delight in it & let him see it's not something to be wary of.Some greys will take to the harness straight away, but for others it takes time.Just keep at it & go at Makenas pace.

[danmcq]

Hi Makena,

 

It's interesting that Makena reacted to the harness like that, after all the other adventures and play you have described in your many posts since He came home.

 

But, as the DVD points out, it could be a process of time with him getting used to it being close, then slowly handling it around him and touching him with it until he is no longer fearful.

 

That sounds like a Bite that would make the best of us wince :pinch: and I am sure a shock at the same time since he has never demonstrated behaviour like that. But, one thing for certain, is it was meant for the Harness, not you :-) you just happened to be part of it at the time.

 

I like your style.....get your fiance to take over the Harness familiarization process ;-) Ah, the joys of being "The Man" when it fits the soon to be brides purpose of getting something done they don't want to do :woohoo:

 

That is a perfect picture of Makena "Someones going to get hurt" :-)

[Talon]

Yes, Makena Talon took also took many days to get used to just being close to the harness, never mind allowing us to put it on. we still can't do that. But give her time, and she will get used to looking at it, and chewing on it!

[dblhelix]

Some of you may recall my first incident trying to fit Kip with the harness...it ended up bloody (for me)!! I work with her and the harness nearly every day now for about 5 mins. I usually stand with her in the mornings in front of our sliding glass door to the patio. I have the door open and the screen closed where she preens and gets full sunlight...I can now scratch her all over with the harness. She usually will put her head down if she sees it coming, though at first she was quite freaked out by it. I still have not tried to completely fit her with it yet. I am going to work on this another month or two until she seems completely comfortable with it.

 

My point is that I am making progress, but it is going slow. Slow but steady... B) Its an investment for their lifetime and woth it. Absolutely to those of you with really young birds, work with them as early as possible. The learning curve and comfort level will be quicker!

[danmcq]

Hi dblhelix,

 

Great advice and example.

 

You have a much patience. :-)

 

I think the only thing that keeps you going is the focus on the end result, not how much time it is taking.

 

That Say's a lot about you in a very positive way! :-)

[Makena]

Thanks for the nice words guys

 

I think I will just continue to keep it near him and let him decide when he is ready. Hopefully he will be some day! The guy on the DVD made it look so easy!

 

It was definitely shocking to get the first bite. I have gotten plenty of nibbles before, but nothing hard! I guess it comes with the territory... I knew the bite would come sooner of later :pinch:!

 

It's just so ironic that Makena isn't scared of anything... well at least I thought! He is so calm and laid back. Nothing ever bothers him!! The first thing he ever decides to be scared of is the harness?!? It's like he knows....

[cdelatorrejr]

At what age do you recommend using the harness? I know babies are more accepting of new things. My TAG is just over 8 weeks old now. Also, are there do's and don'ts of taking a grey out? - picking up illness/diseases, what things to watch out for? spending time with other birds outside of home flock?