Activities with a harness trained bird

[Quantumcat]

What sort of things do you guys do with your birds?

Scarlett has recently finished her harness training (a month ago) and I have taken her to the local shops whenever I've needed to go (twice or three times a week, about a half hour total walk), but I am wondering if there is anything else I can do with her.

Is it possible to take a bird on a bike? I was thinking of installing a perch into my basket, perhaps on springs for suspension, and putting a moulded piece of PVC across the front for wind protection. Nothing bad could happen to the bird, could it? Is it a bad idea?

 

[Dj tweet]

My bike used to have the padded bar accross between the handle bars so I zip tied it on real tight so it didn't move at all and covered it in vet wrap
We only went slow but my bird used to flap his wings in the breeze and spill his entire vocab as we went along
great exersise for him and me alike

 

[Quantumcat]

Yeah I think it would be way more fun to have your bird on the handlebars. But there is a danger of them falling off and getting crushed in the wheel, or just getting tangled amongst the gear wires while dangling from a leash isn't there? Is there a way to modify your bike so they can't fall off?

 

[Aussie Ben]

What are the odds? lol, literally 30 minutes ago, a parcel arrived at my door containing an aviator harness for Eddie Yippee! So.... give me a couple of weeks to train him to wear it properly and then I may have some interesting stories to tell lol.

I would love to take him for walks out on the park. I have taken him in his carrier before and he really seemed to love it. The shops up the road would be another great place to go (although not sure how the shop keepers would respond, how do you guys get around it?). I also thought it might be fun to take him to uni with me one day and meet everyone, although I just found out one of my classmates has a touch of 'Ornithophobia' (fear of birds) so it might not be the best idea :15: Maybe Eddie could cure his fear....unlikely, he'l probably worsen it:09:

 

[JawzX]

there was a guy in the town where I went to school who had an Amazon that went everywhere with him. Walikg with the bird on his shoulder, he had a perch set up on the basket of his bike (so if the bird fell off it would land in the basket) and most amusingly in the convertible! He had a little MG and he had removed the passenger-side seat head-rest and replaced it with a perch. Sometimes on sunny days you'd see them driving around town with the top down, the bird leaning into the breeze and gronking happily

 

[Quantumcat]

What are the odds? lol, literally 30 minutes ago, a parcel arrived at my door containing an aviator harness for Eddie Yippee! So.... give me a couple of weeks to train him to wear it properly and then I may have some interesting stories to tell lol.

Fantastic!! Good luck with the training, it WILL be difficult and frustrating for the both of you! Everything is going to go way slower than your worst estimates. But it will be worth it in the end!

I would love to take him for walks out on the park. I have taken him in his carrier before and he really seemed to love it. The shops up the road would be another great place to go (although not sure how the shop keepers would respond, how do you guys get around it?).

I got a few stares the first few times but now the shopkeepers are used to Scarlett and a couple like to give her a pat when I come in. When I went into the butcher for the first time I was sure I was going to get yelled at and told to get out of there but they didn't mind, amazingly! Might not be the same for all butchers though. The neighbourhood kids all rush over to give her a pat when they see her, it's so nice

I also thought it might be fun to take him to uni with me one day and meet everyone, although I just found out one of my classmates has a touch of 'Ornithophobia' (fear of birds) so it might not be the best idea :15: Maybe Eddie could cure his fear....unlikely, he'l probably worsen it:09:

I've been dying to bring Scarlett to uni with me, only I ride my bike to uni and currently don't have a safe way of taking her with me on the bike It's funny, Scarlett is full of attitude and personality at home, but when out, she is as still as a rock (excellent for little kids to pat, she doesn't even notice. They just think she loves them). Just taking in all of the new sensory input I guess. Eddie might get like that, and then if you can convince that classmate to touch him, he would probably get over his fear!

But anyway if anyone has any extra ideas about fun things to do outside with your bird, keep them coming.

 

[Von1983]

Ben, I own a shop and I would be DELIGHED to see you and Eddie walk in here lol!

Seriously though, small business' probably won't mind. We stock dog treats for the dogs that come in here with their owners. Apparently the dogs now take the owners here - even if we're closed. That was not the intention lol. I would think if you walk to a corner shop for milk or something it'd be fine!

Another interesting thought is most shops only display: No Dogs - except for guide dog signs here, same there?

 

[Aussie Ben]

Fantastic!! Good luck with the training, it WILL be difficult and frustrating for the both of you! Everything is going to go way slower than your worst estimates. But it will be worth it in the end!

Thanks . Well i got so excited that I just had to start the training process today lol. The instructional DVD is amazing and uses methods I am used to so that made me happy. I started by introducing the harness to him (just as an object) and the good news is he is not scared of it, which means one less hurdle to cross. I also started practicing the 'handling' that you have to do to fit the harness (lifting wings, pushing him off-balance and running his head through my hands). He seemed to enjoy this activity, it was new and exciting. So we are off to a good start, its just a matter of repetition, perseverance and PATIENCE

I got a few stares the first few times but now the shopkeepers are used to Scarlett and a couple like to give her a pat when I come in. When I went into the butcher for the first time I was sure I was going to get yelled at and told to get out of there but they didn't mind, amazingly! Might not be the same for all butchers though. The neighbourhood kids all rush over to give her a pat when they see her, it's so nice

Thats awesome, now i am even more excited. People can stare all they want, we'll be having fun (btw, try taking a bird for a walk in a cat carrier.....then you'll get some stares LOL)

Ben, I own a shop and I would be DELIGHED to see you and Eddie walk in here lol!

I would love to bring Eddie to your shop for a visit, but its a bit far I don't think Eddie would be too keen on the swim

Another interesting thought is most shops only display: No Dogs - except for guide dog signs here, same there?

Pretty much the same here, but then again, I wouldn't want to upset anyone. If I am not allowed to take him somewhere, fine I will go elsewhere lol.

 

[Von1983]

Lol Ben! I'm pretty sure you're right about the swim! I mean, I'm sure Eddie loves his bath as much as the next bird, but ummm.....

The reason I mentioned the No Dogs sign, is because Dave was in the bank after a re-fit and mentioned it was a nice day and a shame he couldn't have taken one of the dogs with him for a walk. (We won't tie our dogs up anywhere. Sadly, here, it's just an ad to steal them ) and the cashier said: The No Dogs sign isn't up yet, so noone could tell you to take the dog out - you should have brought him.

Funny old world where we apparently need signs or chaos will apparently be on the agenda!!!

It's each to their own, but no food is fresh or prepared in our shop so I think laying down the animal law would just be silly. We hoover and clean every day like most places, so where's the issue?

 

[Quantumcat]

(We won't tie our dogs up anywhere. Sadly, here, it's just an ad to steal them )

That reminds me of a time when as a kid, I took my dog for a walk to the next suburb's shops where there was a library. I intended to just duck in and get a couple of books and duck out. But I started reading a book and before I knew it an hour had gone by ... poor dog!!! When I remembered I rushed out, and he was gone. I ran around frantically asking everyone if they'd seen a big black dog, eventually someone said they'd seen him near the swimming pool! And sure enough when I got there he was lounging in the shade on the grass, a chewed up lead dangling from him. Never had such a panic in my life!! I don't think I ever sat down and read a book in a library again

Anyway ... I've got Scarlett at uni today, I walked instead of riding. My arm really aches cause for some reason she doesn't want to go on my shoulder All my classmates love her. It's a bit lucky that after a few minutes of the scenery not changing she goes back to biting the harness - she didn't make a peep in this morning's lecture. I was poised in the closest seat to the exit just in case she decided to make noise, but it wasn't necessary.

 

[Beilana]

one of my classmates has a touch of 'Ornithophobia' (fear of birds):09:

LOL My best friend has this! I find it so strange....Spiders I understand but birds? They are just so cute and lovable...

 

[Dj tweet]

That's great news that your trip to uni went so well I'm sure scarlet will become a star pupil in no time

 

[wildheart]

I enjoyed reading this thread immensely because I am always advocating taking your animals with. Some shops are full of nonsense and say that I scare their customers away so I am avoiding those ones.

There is unfortunately a down side to. I had a bad experience about a month ago that gave me a huge fright and I am know VERY scared of taking Sterretjie inside places. She was on my shoulder and we were not even a minute in the shop when I noticed that she started opening her mouth every now and then and it followed with her scratching her nose. I rushed out of the shop and into fresh air in the hopes that she will stop this strange behavior. While outside she sneezed and scratched her nostril so badly that it had a tiny spec of blood showing! I placed her in the car after a while and quickly went back into the shop to find out what caused her reaction because I smelt nothing. It turned out that they cleaned the shop that morning, window cleaner, oven cleaner, polish and the list of chemicals went on and on. This happened about 4 hours prior to our arrival and that is why I did not smell anything.

I rushed home with her and gave her the meds that I got for her metal poisoning - I honestly dont know if it would have helped. It took a couple of hours before she stopped scratching and pulling her mouth open wide. During this time I prayed and prayed and prayed, thank God my prayers were answered and she recovered.

Sorry for the downer guys.

 

[Aussie Ben]

Wildheart thats a horrible story, I'm glad everything turned out okay, poor Sterretjie. I'm deffinately gonna avoid our design studio if I take him to uni. We have all sorts of dangerous metals, toxins and things that we are always using. One of the main materials we use is MDF (which I believe is ban in most/all of the USA and many other countries). The dust it produces is a pretty full on carcinogen and we are always machining the stuff (protective ventilation gear of course ) and bringing the dust back to the studio on our clothes and hands etc. So.....think i'll be steering clear of there lol. Might venture to the nice cafe around the corner from uni .

one of my classmates has a touch of 'Ornithophobia' (fear of birds):09:

LOL My best friend has this! I find it so strange....Spiders I understand but birds? They are just so cute and lovable...

I know, its odd right? Still, everyone has their 'thing'. I only found out the other day...we were walking back to the studio after grabbing some food and then this pigeon flew across our path (it was still like 3-4 meters away) and he flinched big time and turned away from it. Never knew someone could be that scared of something so harmless. Having said this.....those pigeons are organised so look out:52:

 

[schristensen13]

Ok...now I'm totally intruiged with the bike perch...picking up my baby Myers (14 weeks) next week. Aviator harness is on its way....let the loving/bonding/training begin!
If anyone can post pics of their bike perch that would be great...if I come up with something functional I will do the same.