Taking parrot to school

[SpotsandSally]

Ok so I wasn't sure where this wold fall under so I just guessed here xD
So my indian ringneck is good about sitting on my shoulder, and I was thinking going to my school carnival as a pirate whatcha think? I was thinking using a yarn-makeshift harness to make sure he'll stay and can find him easily, he can't fly as his wings were clipped & they moulted out but still too small for flying.

My only concern is him flinging forward ('OMG I CAN FLY LETTME TRY TO FLY') and getting trampled. That and disease /: I am already dealing with a sick pigeon, I do NOT need a sick parrot.
If he gets too stressed I plan on bringing a small cage and putting him in it if he gets too stressed, than place the cage in my teachers room. One of my teachers is doing face painting, apple cider & caramel apples, the other isn't doing anything. Both are animal lovers. So I have a mellow room for him to chill in if it gets too rowdy, and a completely quiet and chill room, depending on the birds stress levels.

So I don't know. I love the idea of showing off my parrot, he doesn't bite, and I of course would make sure to watch him to make sure he doesn't feel the need to bite, and I know he'd be a big hit, though part of me thinks this might be too much. If I go play carnival games, I think Ill leave him in the room, either in the cage or under the care of my teacher (like I said, both are animal lovers and I would trust them, though I wouldn't be burdening them with him ^^ )
I'm just a bit nervous, I know a lot of people walk around with their birds on their shoulders ^^ do you think it's too much too soon? We have a fairly small school though its still pretty loud during Halloween carnival.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Do you take him out often? Has he been in a situation with a large amount of people? Will the carnival have small rides? How do you think he'd react to those? Will there be a cooking booth with a BBQ creating smoke? If there is smoke you'll need to stay up wind of it, or at least in a area were the smoke isn't reaching.

My worry is the same as yours, if he flies to the ground were he is injured on accident by other people. I think the quite room is nice concept, but I'd never feel comfortable leaving Rosie or Kenji alone like that. Although I would be fine with staying with them in a quite room so they can get a break while I'm still with them.

A makeshift yarn harness sounds like it would have a lot of complications, you should get a actual harness for safety reasons. Although the aviator is the best, the feather tether is a much cheaper alternative. It is a much bulkier & heavier harness.

School carnivals are pretty fun

 

[SpotsandSally]

No rides nor BBQ. Our 'rides' are the rooms setup with games - bean bag toss, maze, that sort of thing. There's really nothing big and scary, aside from talking decorations. Our school is also smoke free (duh duh, I think all schools are xD ), and we aren't cooking anything - nothing but good, sweet candy :3

Ok, I'll say I'm going to leave him and go play games, however I say a lot of things.
I've made a lot of the yarn harnesses for my pigeons, and am very comfortable doing so and very good at it. I've taken him out to a few places, however never anything so big. It will be pretty loud. I am doing 'cider shift' & 'caramel apple shift ' (selling cider & apples) so I will likely to be spending a lot of time there. It's 30 minute shifts, right after each other, and the carnival only lasts 2 hours. It's not that long, and ill be spending a lot of time in the mellow room.

They really are ^^ lots of candy !
Hey, I could make a bunch of candy by charging to let kids pet him, LOL.

 

[pacoparrot]

Does your bird let you hold his feet? If he does I'd let him on your hand and hold them to prevent him from getting away. Some birds, like my amazon, will just chill on your hand and let you hold their feet. Just be careful, don't let anyone else pet him or handle him, and bring a carrier as back up in case he gets to be too much to handle or is acting up.

 

[SpotsandSally]

No petting? May be a bad idea, then. There will be lots of little kids...
I could say he just bites, lol. Do you think it'd be ok to let 1-2 people pet him? Like, friends who I know / trust ? I could make them use hand sanitizer first, or would that be bad for the bird? I could always have them wash their hands. I like that idea.
Yes he's pretty good with me holding his feet. Sometimes he doesn't mind, sometimes he pulls his feet away. Can yogurt balls (I have a cereal that has little yogurt balls in it) be used as a treat? They're safe, right? He loves them. Otherwise I can use sunflower seeds. He also loves those.
He's also good if I'm wearing a hoody to sit next to me ear in my hoody, which is nice.
Yes, a carrier / cage.

 

[khaiqha]

I took my Indian tingneck to lots of pool parties and outings. I highly recommend a harness. A spooked bird could jump into any number if hazardous things. Not to mention, there's a good chance that you're going to get people wanting to touch/pick up your bird without asking.

My IRN loved the attention though, especially because people would feed her (keep an eye out for this too, i've had lots of strangers try and feed my birds without even asking).

 

[faeryphoebe1]

People WILL want to touch your bird. What Khaiqha says is quite true. Often times people don't even ask. They just touch your bird. In my experience, people don't care if I tell them that my parrot bites. They try to touch him anyway. Crowds are the worst.

I highly recommend the Aviator or at least those foot tethers Copperarabian mentioned. Safety around crowds of people where your bird could easily get spooked is of the utmost importance. Using a professional harness or tethers is the safest way to go.

I had planned on being a pirate as well on Halloween with my Sunny. I even ordered the Aviator early, just for that purpose. Now, I'm not so sure that taking my kids trick or treating with my parrot would be safe. Lots of strangers, scary masks, smoke machines and barking dogs may be a bad mix. I love Sunny way too much to risk his safety. However, my final verdict isn't in yet. Best of luck with everything.

 

[Captsteve]

Socialization and new and exciting places are great for the bird. However, young children are not so great in large quantities.

I travel in an RV with my Too and he is a big hit where ever we go. I do allow nearly anyone to hold/pet him. He is very polite and will let me know when he has had enough or does not care for someone.

That being said, your idea is cute but might not be the best thing considering all the kids. I would be much more inclined to take him to a mall to socialize. The school seems like it might be a little too much stimulation. This comes from someone who would take his bird anywhere any time.

 

[Kinny]

I agree with everyone else here. Aviator Harness would be good.

I took 2 of my baby green cheeks to a 1-4year olds playgroup and all they want to do us hold and touch touch touch! I had an apple pre-sliced and hospital grade sanitizer. Only one child at a time could pet them. And believe me even if they understand they still try to touch birds when they aren't allowed to, so you have to be super alert and watchful.

If they sanitize their hands (infront of you) then they could have him sit of one hand and perhaps feed a piece of your own fruit etc with the other hand. Kids love it! But yes, kids can say "yep i cleaned my hands!" and you look at them and theyre covered in dirt. So id beware of disobedient children. Some naughty ones are willing to even hurt birds, just as long as they can touch them WHEN they want to and not a second after. So if you do take it, id suggest growing eyes all over your body! Lol