Flight Suit Alterations

[SilverSage]

So I am a huge believer in the Aviator harness, I believe them to be by far the safest option, but I wanted to try the flight suit mainly because we have not really done any potty training yet, and Flick LOVES being outside, going to stores, taking walks, etc, and I have several other birds I am working on harness training as well, including both my IRNs who are very young, and I don't want to wait to let them enjoy the outdoors until they are potty trained. So today was the first time Flick tried the Flight Suit - it was the "right" size, but it was too big on her and her feet kept getting stuck in it! So I took it off, turned it inside out, threw in a few stitches, put it back on, and went for a walk! By the end of the walk she was chirping happily as she usually does on a walk, and I didn't have to worry about the poo factor.

I also made my own leash. The leashes for the smaller birds are lanyards, and I don't like that. The idea of wearing it around my neck is out of the question, and holding it in a hand still strikes me as less than ideal. My friend's daughter uses one for her cockatiel, and even though the child is only 5, when the bird spooks she is left dangling and thrashing in mid air because the leash is not short enough to keep her from spooking or long enough to allow the bird to safely land. I sewed a piece of elastic to a back to back velcro strip like they have theirs attached, and made a loop at the end for my hand. I made the leash a little longer than my arm, so the bird sitting on my shoulder will have some slack, and can land on the ground right beside me if necessary, but the leash is not long enough to swirl around in the air and get caught on things. That was another thing that I saw with the lanyard leash - it seemed to get caught on everything.

I am toying with the idea (haha) of making detachable "toys" as in a few pny beads or one wooden bead, or a piece of millet on a short string to attach at the right distance so as to rest on my shoulder to distract the bored bird from chewing on the actual harness on long trips in the car between places. I am talking super short, like no more than an inch and a half, and very very light, and easily switched out. I notice that when she is occupied Flick is perfectly content to wear a harness, bet she get bored in the car, or if we stand and talk to one person too long if there are no people or cars she can watch. Any thoughts?

 

[Phlox]

Where did you put the stitches? My GCC is in the "right" size too, but she's petite, so hers is a bit too large too. I want to get her an Aviator eventually too so I'm pretty much in the same position, but I'm not sure how I'd modify the Flightsuit to fit better.

 

[SilverSage]

If you take the suit off and flatten it, you see it is kind of "shovel shaped," right? At the widest point, right before it narrows to go up the chest, I sewed a line that basically cut off the corners (I didn't actually cut the suit) which really took away the excess space in the chest and belly. You might have to do it a couple of times, but it is only a few stitches so it is not a big deal. I took off about 1/3 centimeter total, so about 1/6th centimeter on each side, but it all depends on the bird - mine was getting her foot stuck EVERY step, so it was WAY too big.

 

[Phlox]

Thanks! I'm going to give that a try!

 

[SilverSage]

No problem! Just remember to be patient and take however much time is needed to make it fit properly