# Harness - Good idea, or bad?



## kendricksmom (Feb 12, 2014)

Hey all, Are the cockateil harnesses safe? We live in Calgary AB (super cold) and we're always taking Kendrick to my mom's for visits. Right now we have a special carrying case for him and an insulted zippered bag. I REALLY want to get a harness for Spring/Summer but I'm nervous about it. 

What are your experiences? If you all use these, which brand(s) do you recommend? Does your bird like them? 

Kendrick is super tame and I don't want to traumatize him. Lol


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## Hobbs94 (Dec 23, 2013)

My cockatiel loves her harness. She uses the avian fashions one. It took about a week for her not to mess with it but now she's just fine! Start them as young as possible with it.


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## goose'smom (Jan 1, 2014)

I worry about the same thing! I would love to harness train, but Goose has never been grabbed or forced to do anything. My hands represent freedom and Im scared I will scare her.
Hobbs94, how did you train yours?


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## cedricsmom (Mar 26, 2013)

It depends a little on howeasily scared your bird is. I have a bird that I heard that the aviator harness is a good one.


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

Aviator is a good one, just be sure you're willing to commit to letting her train to it. With as many as six, I really don't have the time to train any one bird to use it.


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## Hobbs94 (Dec 23, 2013)

Honestly, I grabbed her and put her in it. We were bonded already and she didn't like it at first. I put her in it and gave her tons of scratches and treats and she started associating the harness with out of cage time, treats and attention. Make sure your bird trusts you first, the process could hurt a newly bonded birds trust in you. Patience is key!


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## caterpillar (Oct 14, 2013)

I don't think there's anything inherently unsafe about harnesses. My birds would never wear them, and I think you have to be ready for the fact that your bird might refuse to wear it and never change his/her opinion on that.

One thing to note is that a few people here have reported bad experiences with "flight suit" harnesses. These are the ones that give the bird a "diaper" to poop in, and apparently some birds refuse to poop in it and hold it in instead, which can be uncomfortable for them at best and very bad for their health at worst. Again, depends on the individual bird, and you really can't know in advance no matter how tame your bird is.


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## Tacotielca (Dec 3, 2013)

We live in calgary too and had to order the aviator harness from amazon.com. We haven't used it yet as we just got it about two weeks ago. We are slowly training Taco with it by just looping the harness over her head and taking it off right away. Hopefully by summer she will let us put it on her. I am considering the flight suit too as it would allow us to bring her to the mall or other indoor places. We have brought her to petland when we go shopping and she enjoys it. I would love to bring her out more.


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## Hobbs94 (Dec 23, 2013)

I use the avian fashions one and the only thing is you have to make sure the diaper liner is pushed in all the way or don't use one and wash after each use. Birds don't poop in the diaper if it is touching their vent, so you have to make sure you assemble it correctly.


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## caterpillar (Oct 14, 2013)

Hobbs94 said:


> I use the avian fashions one and the only thing is you have to make sure the diaper liner is pushed in all the way or don't use one and wash after each use. Birds don't poop in the diaper if it is touching their vent, so you have to make sure you assemble it correctly.


Ahhh that's interesting and maybe would help solve some of the problems that people here have said their birds have with "flight suits."

I do not believe in diapering animals at all, mostly because I had a relative who used to put a hideous diaper on her dog so that she wouldn't have to go through the inconvenience of walking it when the weather was "bad" (like if there was a tiny bit of rain!) and I felt like the poor dog wasn't being treated with respect in the process. It's like, different kinds of pets have different habits of pooping, don't force them to adhere to your own. (This reminds me I need to go clean Kitty's litter box.)

But I guess getting birds used to the flight suits may make sense for situations like kendricksmom's where she is taking the cockatiel to a relative's house where it may be less forgivable that the bird will poop whenever and wherever it wants and likely cannot be trained out of this. This would make it a friendlier house guest 

kendricksmom, the only thing that I would say about harnesses in general in addition to getting the bird used to the harness is getting the bird used to being outside uncaged (and harnessed) for small amounts of time at first before you take it to your mom's house (not sure how far that is). I don't know how shy/jumpy he may be, but for pets (especially small ones) it is a dramatically different experience to be transported in a cage vs. transported on a leash.


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## Double Trouble (Nov 24, 2013)

They are perfectly safe, i use the aviator harness on my Tiel and conure


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## kendricksmom (Feb 12, 2014)

*Thanks everyone!*

Thanks all of you for the info. I will definitely be getting a harness for Kendrick come spring/summer. I think we will go with the Aviator one given the good reviews from everyone. I don't want to get him the flight suit, just a basic harness for transport and to enjoy being outside every so often. Mom lives 5 mins (or less) away, so it's a nice short trip. Right now Kendrick is used to being in his transport carrier, or out on my finger as we drive and he's okay with that. I'm thinking he will be even better on a harness, as he will be able to see everything and feel more 'free'.


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## Tacotielca (Dec 3, 2013)

Just to help you out (if you didn't know already) parrotdise perch in the ne sells the aviator in all sizes and flight suits too. I didn't find out about this store until I ordered mine from amazon.com. Petland in my area, NW, only has extra large.

It might take some time to harness train so getting it early might not be bad idea.


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