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Post by beccilouise on Jan 16, 2016 6:55:20 GMT -5
Hello again everyone,
So, I have bought an aviator harness (xsmall, quaker sized!) and I am currently in the process of training Byron. We are only a week in, which means he has it say outside his cage so he can see it every day, then I take him out to play, sit him on my hand and hide treats in and around the harness to he associates it with positive things like food. I am going to continue this strategy for another week. When we first started, he was quite nervous of the harness, now he is getting used to it and will even approach it of his own accord to inspect it more closely. I don't want to rush anything. Just as the video says, I will attempt to begin the fitting on a quiet day (a Sunday, for us) and begin by fitting the head part of the harness and giving lots of treats. Gradually, we will extend this to the whole harness, which he will wear for a few minutes a day until he is used to it.
My question is not so much about HOW to harness train, as I know the principles, but more to ask whether or not anyone has managed to successfully harness train their Quaker, how long it took, and any pitfalls to avoid?
Thanks! |
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Post by Caseysmom on Jan 16, 2016 8:37:28 GMT -5
Good luck, we tried everything you are doing and Casey did not like her harness, so I am no help. Hopefully others are. Casey has a clear travel cage that we use to go outside in and hang out in the garden.
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Post by easttex on Jan 16, 2016 11:34:15 GMT -5
I can't help, either. I figured at 21 and cage bound, as Peppy was when I adopted him, I'd never be able to handle him, and once I learned otherwise, he became ill and I don't want to add any stressors in his life.
If you happened to watch a link I posted to a Barbara Heidenreich harness training video, it looks like she manages to progress very quickly. I don't remember where I posted that, but if you look on YouTube for "Barbara Heidenreich harness" you should be able to see it.
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Post by julianna on Jan 16, 2016 15:12:15 GMT -5
No luck here either. Oscar hated it from day one and still hates the sight of it. Good luck to you and I hope it works out.
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Post by beccilouise on Jan 16, 2016 18:13:07 GMT -5
Well, we tried fitting the head strap earlier and he accepted it but tried to pull it off. We distracted him with treats but the he would Try to pull it off again, then we was a little frightened of it again, and after about 5 mins, he was back to foraging through it for treats. I'll continue to take it slowly. According to the video, it's just a case of conditioning them to the feel of the harness, and trying to chew and rearrange it is a perfectly normal first response. So we'll keep going!
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Post by beccilouise on Jan 17, 2016 6:12:40 GMT -5
SUCCESS! We had a training session this morning where we practiced lifting wings, holding off balance and covering the eyes. Then I tried just stroking him gently with the harness. He didn't like it very much at first and kept running away. I was really slow, offered him treats to come closer to the harness and then treats when he let me stroke him with it. Then we worked on approaching the beak with the harness on my hand. He was SO GOOD so I showered him in praise. We didn't move beyond that point, as I think I'm just gonna try that for the next few days just to get him used to the approach. Then we'll try putting the head strap on and taking it off and getting him used to it going over his head before I put the chest strap on. Really, I want to choose a day when we can go outside with the harness on so that he is too distracted to try and pull it off. Slow and steady is the key!
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Post by aaron on Jan 19, 2016 15:10:03 GMT -5
Nice work! We've never had the patience to do harness training with Cupcake. She absolutely hated the few attempts we made initially... so much that we ended up strategically locating the harness as a way to deter her from landing in certain places  |
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Post by beccilouise on Jan 19, 2016 16:11:55 GMT -5
Hahaha, bless her! Byron is getting there. We're still working on approaching the beak with the harness and just gently sliding it over his eyes. I've been counting to 3 so that he knows 'it's unpleasant, but after 3, it'll stop'. He still tries to beak it, so I'm also practising stroking his breast feathers with it so he gets used to the feel of the material. I think I'll keep this up every day for a week to 10 days and reassess after that time to see how far we've got, it may be that he still needs a bit of time. I'd just really like to be able to give him a few more interesting experiences.
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Post by aaron on Jan 20, 2016 17:52:18 GMT -5
Sounds like you guys are really going about things in a methodical manner. I bet it will work quite well in the long run!
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Post by beccilouise on Jan 22, 2016 1:29:26 GMT -5
Let's hope so! He's doing really well, but we still start off most training sessions with him backing away from it, and I have to withdraw, coax him towards it with food and try again. He always gets there, it'll just take time  they do say smaller birds can sometimes take over a month to learn, so I'll just have to persevere! We've only really been trying for 11 days |
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Post by easttex on Jan 22, 2016 7:30:30 GMT -5
She has to overcome a whole lot of instinct to let you put that on her. It might be that you'll always have to bribe her to get the harness on, even after she knows it means she gets to go outside. It sounds like you're doing really well, and I look forward to your updates. |
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Post by beccilouise on Jan 23, 2016 8:02:31 GMT -5
Thanks he's doing really well and you're quite right, easttex, I imagine it must be really difficult for him to overcome his natural urges not to accept it. We're continuing to take it slowly and I'm trying to use as little force as I possibly can, letting him move his head away if he needs to and just starting again. Hopefully, that way, he will learn that it's not going to 'attack' him. |
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Post by easttex on Jan 23, 2016 14:44:55 GMT -5
Sorry about the "she". Must pay more attention to detail!  |
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Post by aaron on Jan 24, 2016 10:11:30 GMT -5
Cupcake would like to convey this message to Byron -- "Don't trust that harness! I swear I saw it attack like a snake once!! It tried to swallow me whole! And the humans are in on it!"  |
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Post by beccilouise on Jan 24, 2016 16:38:09 GMT -5
Sorry about the "she". Must pay more attention to detail! hahaha, please don't worry, easttex, we actually have no idea if Byron is a boy or a girl, so 'he' is just a randomly chosen pronoun at the moment. It might turn out you're right! And aaron, poor little cupcake! I will avoid giving Byron her message until we've succeeded with the harness He did fantastically today, he didn't even need too much bribing. He's now sitting quietly while I slip it a little way over his eyes. I've been gently putting it up to and over his beak and saying 'one, two, three' before taking it away. He's learning that if he waits patiently, after 'three', the harness will be removed. Once I'm happy that he can deal with it, I'll gradually start increasing the counting and try encouraging him to let me put the head strap on. I'm not going to fit the wing straps until he can cope with the head strap. Baby steps! It might take me six weeks at this rate, but got to think long term, right? |
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they do say smaller birds can sometimes take over a month to learn, so I'll just have to persevere! We've only really been trying for 11 days 
