Harness Training | Iridescent Feathers

GETTING OUTSIDE

Getting outside has two major benefits for your bird and for society. Your bird grows in confidence when allowed to see different people, walls, houses. It’s no longer scary when a new person enters your house because your bird is confident and used to seeing people who are bald, who have dreadlocks, who like neon or who wear purple striped socks. If you wanted to show your bird around, you need to start with getting your baby familiar with other people who might want to pat or handle your baby.

Another mostly hidden advantage is that although you know how addicting your baby is, most people don’t. When the majority of society thinks of birds, they see a small Lovebird trapped in a cramped cage on a swing, lonely and miserable. This causes people to support animal freedom because all they see are sad birds. And fair enough, a lot of people don’t understand how to look after a pet bird and this imagery can, and often does become reality. Many people don’t understand the need to bathe their bird or play with their pet. When you take your bird around to these naive people, you show them something they didn’t know: birds can be looked after like they deserve. They see that, yes, it’s important to feed fresh food or to provide toys. You can inspire and teach them this- give other birds a better life!

TOO MANY BRANDS

If you’ve decided to harness train your bird, you need to decide on the best brand. We highly recommend staying off eBay and searching the pet stores instead, at least until you find a suitable brand. Go to a pet store, check out what’s best and then look for deals online. This way, you can see what you’re buying and ask about it. If you get a bad harness, you can completely wreck your baby’s experience with a harness. Then, once you’ve found a brand, see if you can find it online for cheaper price, though it will usually be similar to the pet store prices. Harnesses aren’t cheap- they go from $30 to $70, depending on the species.

We use Aviator Harnesses. They come with a 40min DVD from a professional trainer and have intricate designs for when your bird is walking or flying. They have full lists of appropriate sizes for your bird too. They can be found in almost every pet store, and online. If you find a different brand and are unsure about it, check out the reviews (not only on the site as they could be biased- search around) or feel free to contact us and we can confirm or deny the suitability of the harness.

Remember, if you buy a bad harness that is uncomfortable or itchy or painful, your bird will have a bad experience with the harness. And a bad experience usually leads to hesitancy or refusal when made to wear it again...

TAKE IT SLOW

Have you found a brand and got your harness? If your harness has a DVD, spend time watching it- harnesses aren’t super easy to use, and you want to understand it as much as possible to make it a good experience for your bird.

The number one rule when harness training is to take it slow. You need to remember that if your bird has one bad experience with the harness, it will put the process into turmoil. Time and patience are needed to successfully train your bird in anything, and this applies for harness training.

HOW TO START

Birds are naturally inquisitive, so begin by placing the harness nearby, approximately one metre away. You need to let your bird know that the harness is safe, fun and that they have nothing to fear. Some birds will get scared, others will try to play. Neither is good or bad, they may just take different times to complete the training.

Watch your bird’s body language closely. If they appear at all frightened, move the harness away. If they comfortable with the proximity, move the harness closer. This is a gradual process, and may not happen within a day. Each time you move the harness close, treat your bird to affection or a food reward. Harness = reward. Continue moving the harness until it’s right next to or on top of the cage. Again, let your pet set the pace.

NOT A TOY

Be sure to keep the harness out of chewing reach. Some birds have seen the harness, thought it was a toy and had a blast destroying it before it was even worn. Although you want familiarity between the bird and the harness, this is not quite what you want. You want the harness close, but not chewed. If your bird does get ahold of the harness and begins chewing, don’t reprimand him, but don’t reward or praise him. Ignore it, taking the harness away. Praise and reward for curiosity but not chewing. Your bird is smart, and will realise that chewing gives no reward.

YOU NEED TO LET YOUR BIRD KNOW THAT THE HARNESS IS SAFE, FUN, AND THAT THEY HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR...WATCH YOUR BIRD'S BODY LANGUAGE CLOSELY.

NEXT UP

Next, take a seat with a book. The aim of this step is to let your pet know that if you and the harness are friends, your bird and the harness should be, too. Here you will introduce the harness to your bird while he is out of the cage.

Strategically place the harness on your shoulder, or on your arm and take your bird out. Let your bird sit near or next to the harness for about half and hour. Again, if you think your bird is uncomfortable, move it away or go back to the first step. If any curiosity occurs, praise and reward!

Then, place the harness in your hand and get your bird to step up onto or next to it while offering a treat. Praise and reward. Once comfortable with this, play games with the harness (*no chewing games, though). You, as the owner, should know what your bird enjoys: blow drying, showering, playing hide and seek, laying on his back etc. Whenever your bird participates in his favourite activity, always have the harness near. Always remember to praise and reward for curiosity. The best games seem to be hiding a treat under the harness, or a toy on the other side of the harness so your bird has to go through the neck hole to reach the treat. Slowly close the hole if your bird is okay with how you’re progressing.

BE PREPARED

Before you attempt to slip the harness over your bird, you need to have the harness sized correctly. Be prepared. Measure your bird with your fingers and do the up similarly. Fiddle with the buckles before you put the harness on.

The first harness experience needs to be pleasant. Make sure the harness isn’t too large, or too small! Ensure the straps and buckles aren’t stiff- slide the buckles back and forth so it’s easier to tighten and loosen, especially if you need to fiddle (though don’t plan to) while the harness is on. Familiarise yourself with the harness, and make sure you know why the buckles sides this way, or how to remove it quickly.

It may sound silly, but even try using a toy bird of similar size. If you practice putting the harness on and off on this toy, you’ll be quicker and more efficient putting it on your bird. This is practiced in the Aviator DVD, as the man uses a toy Macaw to practice using the harness on. Remember, your bird won’t be as tolerant as this toy, so you need to practice being gently and soft.

HEAD IN THE GAME

If you haven’t tried getting your bird to move their head into the harness, I highly suggest you do. This is the next and probably most important step. They need to be rewarded and praised for every little positive movement. Make them happy. Once your bird puts their head through and doesn’t immediately pull it out (this may take a while), leave it on, resting it on their neck or forehead (wherever it sits comfortably) for a few seconds. Not too long, though! Pull it off and spend a good three minutes saying how amazing they are and feeding them treats. Don’t feed too many treats so that they fill up, though, and never wait so long that they forget what they did.

Increase the amount of time you can leave the harness on for, from two seconds to around fifteen seconds. Birds will be so happy to receive praise and rewards that they will tolerate the harness. Keep doing this so that they don’t only tolerate the harness, but either enjoy it or ignore it.

Don’t repeat the exercise so much that they get annoyed because of the repetition. Do it until they can keep their head inside for fifteen seconds, then move on. Now you need to make sure your bird can be handled all over, particularly under the wing. The three exercises suggested are:

Press against the wing of the bird for three seconds, counting down “three, two, one”, knocking your bird slightly off balance. Repeat with the other side. Praise and reward after both, telling your bird “what a good bird you are”! As good is the cue word for praise, say phrases with good in them. This is important as when you put the harness on, the bird will be knocked off balance and needs to know to stay calm.
Play with the head of your bird. Praise and reward for progress. Make a circle with your index finger and thumb and slide it down over your bird’s head (though don’t choke your bird! Keep it loose, but still rubbing against your bird’s feathers), imitating a harness. Pat your bird’s forehead and stroke his head.
Lift up your bird’s wing. Start by tickling under the wings and praise your bird for good behaviour. If he bites, back away a bit but continue patting gently. Do not reprimand for biting and only reward for good behaviour. Then, lift your bird’s wings (both) as high as possible, counting down “three, two, one”.

Don’t forget to count down from three to one as your bird will realise that even if it’s uncomfortable, once you reach one, it stops. Praise and reward anything good.

Repeat these exercises until your bird happily tolerates them, or, better yet, enjoys them.

OVER AND ON

When you have successfully completed all these exercises and your bird is fine with the harness being placed around your bird’s neck, move to putting it on. If your baby shows any hesitation or aggression, stop and keep practicing the exercises until he is okay with it. Usually, birds will only keep the harness on for short times. You need to take it off while they are still comfortable so that training ends on a high note and they’ll be happy to do it next time.

Removing the harness will be the toughest part. You need to gently slide the buckle and lift up wings to take it off. You may even need to try having two people that your baby is happy with (do not have someone your bird dislikes). Go slowly, and remove the harness before your bird becomes scared. Praise and reward, always, when the harness is on and coming off. Your first person can be patting and praising and rewarding your bird while the other fiddles and slides the harness off.

OUTSIDE

If your bird has been outside before, you do not need to do this. If your bird hasn’t been outside before, and this is the first time, you need to introduce him to the world and show him that it’s all okay. Let your baby feel the grass, eat the grass, climb around and always supply water. Praise and reward constantly. Let your bird know that outside is safe before you go extreme.

GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!

If your bird is chewing and scratching the harness while it’s on, distract him. Make him interested in pats and food and when he is behaving, praise and reward and then remove the harness. Try not to take it off while your baby is chewing as this teaches your bird that if he fiddles, it comes off. If your bird is seriously stressing, take it off while trying to distract your bird. Always watch your bird’s body language closely.

It won’t be long until your bird realises that the harness is a bucket load of fun, especially if it means you spend more time with him. Take it slow, and enjoy the process.