Gloves for handling

[Surfincr]

Not sure where the best spot to put this is or if it would be helpful but here goes.

as an alternative to oven mitts or towels for handling new birds i've had good luck with leather arc welding gloves. i had originally picked up a 3 pack for handling feral cats which cost me all of $10. when i had the untamed conures in they worked great to clip the wings since they still looked and acted like a hand they werent as scared and the bites didnt do anything. i also used them when elvis first came in, i will say this the jabs of the beak didnt do anything but if she was able to bite down the pressure still hurt but not nearly as bad as without.

make sure if you do this make sure to get untreated leather arc welding gloves, mig and tig gloves are very thin leather so they will not do any good.

hopefully this could help some people but i'm curious as to everyones thoughts since i could be missing some bad points of using them.

 

[Birdman666]

That would work against puncture type bites... Are they thick enough to keep macaws from bruising through them?

The reason I use a towel is that you can get multiple layers, and the bird gets nothing but towel in it's beak... with a little bird it doesn't matter. With a mac a U2 or an M2 sized bird, they can still apply enough pressure to bruise clean through...

 

[Surfincr]

the cheapo ones i got from harbor freight dont have a great lining to them some of the better ones do which would help. but with the cheapo ones i got when elvis clamped down pretty good it hurt but no bruise after. i'm sure with what they are capable of they most likely could bruise someone. i definitely agree a towel works best due to the layers.

another trick that may help is there generally is enough space in the gloves that you could wear a pair of impact mechanic gloves in them which would likely take a lot of the pressue away. i thought about trying this but havent had a need since elvis has settled in.

 

[Dopey]

Thanks - I can try that. Mine is for my Amazon. But then he is liable to run up my arm and bite my arm.

 

[Birdman666]

Thanks - I can try that. Mine is for my Amazon. But then he is liable to run up my arm and bite my arm.

Take the other arm and swipe him off to the floor when he does that. NO BITING! Now step up. Be nice. Good bird.

No running back up my arm, I'll put you back on the floor again...

Good bird!

 

[Kiwibird]

We used heavy leather gloves when we first got Kiwi. Bites still hurt and bruised (also bloodblisters) but did not break skin/cause huge wounds (which was better than nothing!). I will say, gloves were a stepping stone to building trust, but not a long term solution. Kiwi did eventually learn to step up like a nice boy and not inflict a wound upon you.

 

[Dopey]

I have leather gloves but Whisper bites through them. I didn't think about welding gloves.