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Post by biteybird on Jan 24, 2016 23:28:19 GMT -5
Hi Beccilouise, I'm super impressed with your approach to training with the aviator harness. I HAD a new flightsuit for Bonnie...I left it lying casually around the place and things were looking promising. Until...we were cooking and sealing food for going camping and I think my hubby threw it in the bin by accident (it was on the kitchen bench amongst some food wrapping paper). $54.00 AUD down the drain.  I might order another one. I took Bonnie's aviator harness away camping just in case she'd be receptive to it. I showed her the harness and said "Remember this?" - OMG, the quaker alarm call nearly burst my eardrums [sigh]. Curse the little blue chicken's long memory! I look forward to following your progression with the training and am sure you're on the right track. |
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Post by beccilouise on Jan 25, 2016 6:48:30 GMT -5
Hahaha, poor little thing! We practised putting the head strap on Byron today. He didn't cry out or run away, but he did try to pull it off. So I did the same thing I'd done before, put it on, put a finger lightly on his beak, count to three, take it off, shower with praise and treats. My main concern is not using brute force to push him into it. If I gently stroke his head while the harness comes towards him, he seems to relax a little more. I think he will always be slightly nervous of it, which is understandable. My main hope is that he learns to accept it so he can go flying outside. I just feel it would massively enhance his life experience if he can go outside and experience flight outdoors. As it's entirely for his benefit, I just want it to be slow and steady. Poor little Bonnie and her terror of the harness! I'm sorry you lost your other flight suit. Have you tried maybe getting a different colour aviator harness and trying again? Byron and I have been training for 2 weeks now. I can't see him accepting the harness for another two weeks at least, but that's ok. We do five minutes of training a day, no more. And it IS working.  |
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Post by aaron on Jan 26, 2016 11:25:18 GMT -5
Your patience is very impressive, beccilouise! I have to ask though, are these harnesses actually intended for outdoor flight? I thought they were just to make sure in the event that the bird tried to fly away, they couldn't. I'd personally be terrified to actually encourage Cupcake to fly outdoors, harness or no harness. That said, I think it would be wonderful to just be able to walk around outside with her on my shoulder, and show her new places and things without having to put her in the carrier that she hates, at this point.
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Post by beccilouise on Jan 26, 2016 11:26:06 GMT -5
So we were NOT HAPPY about the head strap today. I had hoped to see if he would cope with it for three seconds, but he just wasn't up for it. We went bs k to approaching the beak and holding it up to his face for three seconds. He coped with that, so we ended on a positive. *sigh*. Tomorrow is another day!
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Post by beccilouise on Jan 26, 2016 11:29:32 GMT -5
Aaron, from all the videos I've watched, the idea is that the aviator IS to encourage flight. They are made in a very specific way, with a reinforced elastic leash and wrist strap and chew proof harness material. The stitching it very specifically tailored to discourage chewing and it is fitted together such a way that the bird can fly comfortably. It has enough give so that when the bird reaches the end of the leash, it just brings the bird to the ground rather than jerking them to a halt. It's designed by the parrot university. (They're online). They stress that the owner still needs to be vigilant at all times but, when used properly (not left unattended) the harness is very safe |
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Post by aaron on Jan 26, 2016 11:32:08 GMT -5
Wow, very interesting. I did not realize that. I'm intrigued, indeed!
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Post by beccilouise on Jan 26, 2016 16:55:39 GMT -5
It's definitely worth checking out, even if you only ever use it indoors. But it might also be a really nice way to get Cupcake out of the house and exploring a little more. I totally understand your concern with it, but seriously, you'll have enough trouble getting the flipping thing ON them in the first place, so if you can manage that, you'll want to use it!  EDIT: Link to the parrot university website here: theparrotuniversity.com/ |
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Post by easttex on Jan 26, 2016 17:27:52 GMT -5
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Post by julianna on Jan 27, 2016 13:44:31 GMT -5
That is a good video easttex and yes... the bird does seem to enjoy it. Still.... it isn't for me.... but I can appreciate the effort it takes to get the bird used to it.
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Post by beccilouise on Jan 28, 2016 3:54:06 GMT -5
I think it suits some birds and doesn't suit others. It may be that Byron never takes to it and I'll just have to accept that, but he is doing well. Because I travel relatively frequently to perform, I'd like him to be comfortable with being outside. He comes with me in his glamorous travel cage anyway and seems to enjoy it, but it'd be good to be able to take him outside for a fly. We'll see how we go Thanks for the video, Easttex! |
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Post by biteybird on Jan 28, 2016 4:46:29 GMT -5
I'm like you, Beccilouise, in that I wanted to give the Aviator a go so that Bonnie could come with us outside in a somewhat 'natural' fashion (i.e., not in a cage) and be able to participate in activities with us. Unfortunately the first real 'fitting' was stuffed up through an unfortunate series of coincidences...hence she won't even look at it. Maybe I might be able to trick her by ordering one in a different colour; we'll see. Keep us posted on Byron's progress! |
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Post by easttex on Jan 28, 2016 7:08:30 GMT -5
I never would have thought of that, biteybird. That could be a good way to get past the bad experience. I'll be very interested to find out if changing colors works.
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Post by beccilouise on Jan 28, 2016 14:22:36 GMT -5
Best of luck biteybird! Byron did brilliantly in his training today. He had the headstrap on fully TWICE while I counted to three. He still 'helps' me pull it off, but he's not running away from it. It won't be endless progress all the time, some days he's just not having it. We've been training for 19 days now, so nearly three weeks. I'll be very surprised if we manage it before a month has gone by. The wing straps, I don't think (although I may be wrong!) will be as much of a problem, I think accepting the headstrap will be his biggest challenge. Once he's mastered that, I have a feeling things might pick up pace. I don't want to rush him though. If he's going to live for 25+ years, a few extra weeks of time and patience are really not a lot of skin off my nose! Biteybird, you can buy the aviator harness from the Parrot University website in a lot of different colours. Byron's is black, but they do red, blue, green and silver as well, I think. I got the xsmall one, which was advised for quaker sized birds and the headstrap is a good size for Byron. The wing straps are fully adjustable anyway Best of luck! |
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Post by aaron on Jan 28, 2016 22:31:37 GMT -5
Wow, I had no idea! For a little bird like a Quaker, though, I would think the risk of being nabbed by a hawk is pretty great, harness or not... Maybe the harness would keep the hawk from actually taking them, but they'd get mauled nonetheless. We have tons of hawks around here. *shudders*
I would love for Cupcake to experience that, though. You're doing great with Byron, beccilouise. I'm very impressed.
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Post by beccilouise on Jan 29, 2016 3:53:04 GMT -5
Thanks! Yeah, hawks could be a problem. However, a human presence may deter them from diving. We have a few kites that fly around over our house and I take my bunny outside to eat grass. The kites don't dive because I'm there. Luckily, we've got a big open park nearby for me to take Byron to where the kites tend to steer clear because there's a lot of people walking through. I think it hugely depends, as with everything, on the needs of the particular bird and their human flock. Some really jumpy birds might actually get really stressed at the unpredictability of being outside and want to be back in their warm living rooms, in which case it's totally pointless taking them out because they just feel anxious. It's all about what they need, isn't it, and it might be that Byron really hates being outside, so we'll see. he did very well with his training yesterday, so we'll keep our fingers crossed! |
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I might order another one.
