Putting on a harness, how not to do it!

[wrench13]

I thought I would make a short video of how I get Saltys aviator harness on him. Disaster - I screwed it up the first try, managed to get it all botched up, had to take it off and try again. That time it went smoothly, but I have to edit the vid, because a) its gives the wrong impression on how hard it might be, and b) because I take various meds, I bleed if someone throws a penny at me too hard. Saltys claws managed to make my left arm look like its been thru a meat grinder. Second try - 1-2-3. I'll post it after i edit it, or try again tonight.

[ame="https://youtube.com/watch?v=iw16lN2T0ik"]https://youtube.com/watch?v=iw16lN2T0ik[/ame]

BTW, he was in it for 3 hours, in the car, shopping and hanging out out side the store, letting little kids give him treats. The only time he gets nervous is at night, in the dark - head lights freak him out. He spent the ride home nuzzled in my neck.

 

[SailBoat]

Nothing like a little blood to drive a point! Or, over drive it!

Poor Salty is made to look like the bad guy - thanks for the clarity! It's you not him! Look forward to the Video!

 

[wrench13]

'Boats, the best thing about watching the entire vid, is how calm he is, he never bites me, one little squawk, and is totally game for trying again. An I am really like handleing him a LOT - playing with straps and wings and even laying him on his back to untangle his feets. He is totally calm.

 

[WakaWaka]

Kelly and I are looking forward to seeing the video.
We have a harness for Arika, but have not tried putting it on her yet. She is still at the bird farm, so we think we will wait till she comes home and gets a little adjusted before we attempt that exercise.
I know we are going to need all the suggestions we can take in.

She is doing well and we hope to have her home in 2 weeks.

Thanks
Kelly and Karl

 

[Ladyhawk]

'Boats, the best thing about watching the entire vid, is how calm he is, he never bites me, one little squawk, and is totally game for trying again. An I am really like handleing him a LOT - playing with straps and wings and even laying him on his back to untangle his feets. He is totally calm.

Salty sounds amazing. I am trying to get Kizzy used to all kinds of handling, but she's a feisty one! Was Salty always this calm or did you desensitize him?

 

[wrench13]

We have wrestled or rough played from day one almost... he's always liked to do that, beak tweaking, scratch sessions that get alittle carried away. The trick with him is to not let him go into Amazon overload, i see that and stop put him on the back of the couch and mellow for a bit. He likes rough play in equal measure to head scratches, frequently he switches back and forth. Ohyeah I been chewed on a few times but nothing serious, and he's learned his beak pressure pretty well. You'll see in the video how much I have to handle him, even on the second try , which i got right. The trick where i shoot him and he lies on his back, in my hand, for awhile I think also helped be comfortable with the kind of handling we do. You'll see.

 

[wrench13]

Well I am not the videographer I thought I was, so here is the entire video, Me trying to put salty harness on, failing misarabily and then doing it right. Ignor the blood.


[ame="https://youtube.com/watch?v=iw16lN2T0ik"]https://youtube.com/watch?v=iw16lN2T0ik[/ame]

 

[T00tsyd]

Having just watched your video - thank you - Salty's collar is much looser than Syd's. To get his head through is almost a push, and to get it off is really tight. The size I have is Petite which I believe is the right size for him but it certainly is harder to get on his head than yours seems to be.

 

[wrench13]

I know its easier with the head loop Salty has, and when its all tightened up, he can not get it off. I feel the parrot should be able to get his head thru and off reasonably easily.
Can you handle Syd to the same extent I am doing with Salty? It would be extremely hard to do if he wasn't cooperating to a certain extent.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

'Boats, the best thing about watching the entire vid, is how calm he is, he never bites me, one little squawk, and is totally game for trying again. An I am really like handleing him a LOT - playing with straps and wings and even laying him on his back to untangle his feets. He is totally calm.

Al I was thinking the same thing..not a word from him and you were putting him in just about every position imaginable lol. Amy would have been cussin' me up and down. Even in your vid,it's a noticeable size difference between him and Amy. I'd be a nervous wreck trying to get one of those things on her lol.

Ahh yes...blood thinners...




Jim

 

[wrench13]

Geri was laughing , back in the bed room, listening to me try to make this video, because it has obviously gone so poorly.

 

[T00tsyd]

I know its easier with the head loop Salty has, and when its all tightened up, he can not get it off. I feel the parrot should be able to get his head thru and off reasonably easily.
Can you handle Syd to the same extent I am doing with Salty? It would be extremely hard to do if he wasn't cooperating to a certain extent.

To be fair I don't think Syd is quite as comfortable as Salty. He's fine with what I would call everyday handling but maybe not quite trusting enough for the more unusual yet - but I'll keep working on it. Seeing you do it has been very helpful - thank you for going to the trouble.

 

[mh434]

Wow! If I tried that with Sammy, my next stop would have been at the Emergency Room to get various fingers sewn back on...

 

[Ladyhawk]

Having just watched your video - thank you - Salty's collar is much looser than Syd's. To get his head through is almost a push, and to get it off is really tight. The size I have is Petite which I believe is the right size for him but it certainly is harder to get on his head than yours seems to be.

That's one of the drawbacks of the Aviator Harness design. I had the same problem with Kizzy and the small harness. When she was younger and less opinionated, it wasn't a big deal. Now it is.

I've watch lots of videos about the Aviator Harness. The manufacturer says the small head loop on smaller sizes is a feature of the harness that can't be changed. He explains why this is so in one of the videos. It has something to do with the length of the vertical back strap.

I've decided to go with the medium for Kizzy even though the manufacturer recommends the small for blue fronts. It seems to fit OK. You could buy a size larger for training purposes. If it seems to fit, maybe you could use it instead of the current size? The biggest concerns would be chafing and (especially) the possibility of escape. I believe you can exchange an Aviator Harness at any time. When Kizzy is fully trained, I will probably exchange the small for another medium. Salty is smaller than Kizzy and he wears a medium, so based on wrench13's experiences, Kizzy isn't going to escape from her medium harness as long as I make sure it isn't damaged and put it on her correctly.

I'd like to see more harness sizes, but that's unlikely to happen because it would make choosing a size more confusing than it already is. Maybe they could do "custom sizes" that cost a bit more? Probably not. A "small medium" would be better for Kizzy, but I don't think it's going to happen.

 

[Ladyhawk]

Ahh yes...blood thinners...


Jim

Oh wow. Yeah, that would be an issue. Yikes! I need a blue front emoji with red on its beak.

 

[SailBoat]

'Boats, the best thing about watching the entire vid, is how calm he is, he never bites me, one little squawk, and is totally game for trying again. An I am really like handleing him a LOT - playing with straps and wings and even laying him on his back to untangle his feets. He is totally calm.

Thanks for the video my friend!

If there is a single most important take-away, its the total advantage of working extensively with active handling of one's Parrot! The level of comfort that Salty showed with your handling is a true statement of his total trust in you!

Congratulations!!! This is something that requires extensive effort, long hours and a dedication to Loving endlessly! You are a Five Star Amazon Person! And, truly owned by a loving Amazon!

A Clear Statement of Why I Love Amazons and The People that They Love!!!

I am honored to call you my friend and a fellow Amazon Snob!

 

[wrench13]

Thanks ' Boats, coming from a Amazon expert like yourself, that means a lot. If folks can take away anything from Saltys videos, its that just a little bit of work is repaid 10 fold by parrots. Salty and I horse around most nites, roughhousing and preening each other (yes!) but our training sessions are maybe 15-20 minutes. But every night. Who does not have 15-20 minutes a nite for their parrot? That investment, that intense interaction between us, is why he is so trusting. Am I proud of Salty? Hell yes, but I want to show how little it takes to make the connection between parrot and parront.

 

[Ladyhawk]

Unfortunately, Kizzy now sees the harness as a negative object and if I confine her in any way with the harness, she will bite me hard. I think she doesn't like the weight of the harness on her body. She used to put her head through the loop with enticement from a seed, but after I put it on her for the first time, she decided it was evil and I have to really work at it now. It could be worse. She could head for the hills when she sees it, but we've just lost a little ground.

I'm going to have to do some desensitization work with her to get her to accept it as neutral. She doesn't trust it after it grabbed her like that.