Re: [MickaCoo] [Mickaboo Discuss] Fw: Re: Harness

This is a really profound example regarding the difference between parrots and pigeons, both of which are incredibly smart. I've never been so kind or respectful or patient as to give a pigeon this incredible process. I've just picked them up, put pigeon pants on them, let them walk around funny for 2 minutes and then, in some cases, taken them directly to an event. I don't think of myself as cruel or insensitive. They handle it. Really well. I wouldn't and couldn't do it if they weren't moderately OK with it. (There are some pigeons who I'd never put through this- Louie, Charlie, Country- because they just don't want to be close to people nor suffer any foolishness gladly.) But I would never even try to slap a harness on a parrot the way I do with pigeons. I'm writing this not with a lot of clarity on the difference(s) but just to share with you that there is something profoundly different about pigeons and parrots. I have a foster (Hi, Alice!) who has successfully aclimated a rescued adult, unreleasable feral pigeon (Sam) to a flight suit. e On Mon, Aug 2, 2010 at 5:49 PM, dorene adams wrote:

I'm sure Brian wouldn't mind if I shared this info :)

--- On *Mon, 8/2/10, W. Brian Greger * wrote:

From: W. Brian Greger Subject: Re: Harness To: doreneadams@yahoo.com Date: Monday, August 2, 2010, 12:31 PM

Hey Dorene,

Yes, I use the Aviator, and yes I have trained birds to use the harness such that they love to put it on. The instructional video that comes with the Aviator is flat out the wrong way. Here are the steps using positive reinforcement.

1) Show the harness to the bird at a distance where they remain relax, say "Treat" and give them a small piece (eaten within 3-5 seconds) of their favorite treat (Bridge/Treat or B/T). 2) Next bring the harness closer in small steps, each time B/T 3) Next have them touch the harness with their beak, B/T 4) Drape the harness on their body, B/T

Do the above steps only as quick as your bird will allow, i.e. they remain calm all the time. You should get to the point where your bird looks forward to having the harness near them; they will actually want to come over and touch it.

5) Now we have to work on training the loop to go over their head. We want to start with a large loop say 6-8 inches in diameter. Since the Aviator loop is meant to be tight around the bird's head, you cannot use it for this initial loop training. You need to use a piece of rope or equivalent to create this 6-8 inch loop. 6) Using the 6"+ loop, put in front of your bird, B/T 7) Next have your bird point his head towards the loop, B/T. 8) Next have the bird touch a target on the opposite of the loop to get the bird to put his head through the loop. B/T 9) Once you bird readily wants to put his head through the loop, start making the rope loop smaller and smaller each time having the bird repeat 5-10 times putting his head through the smaller loop. B/T 10) Once your bird is very comfortable putting this head through a loop say twice the size of his head diameter, you can switch to using the Aviator loop. 11) Using the Aviator loop, get your bird to put just his beak through the loop. B/T 12) Next have your bird put more and more of his/her head through the loop with it sliding past his eyes to around his neck. B/T. This step is awkward for your bird. Make sure to pay attention and B/T a lot for all the little steps. Just practice on having the loop slide on his/her head to the point of the eyes, B/T, and remove. Do this repeatedly until your bird is very comfortable with you putting the loop past the eyes to around the neck. 13) Once you get the loop around the neck, B/T a lot (numerous times) 14) Next with the loop still around the neck, drape the rest of the harness on the bird's body. B/T 15) Now remove the loop from the head by grabbing the loop with both hands to the left and right of bird's head. Slowly pull the loop off the head. B/T a lot. Pulling the loop off the head can be very uncomfortable for the bird since it slides past their eyes and also lifts their head feathers in the opposite direction in which they natural lay. Don't do this when they have head pin feathers. 16) Next we need to work on getting the wing loops on. Start w/o the harness. Lift one wing up to a comfortable height. B/T 17) Lift the other wing. B/T 18) Go back and forth lifting the wings up. B/T. Repeat this over a number of training sessions 19) Now put the harness loop around the bird's head, and lift one wing and put the harness around this one wing. B/T 20) Lift the other wing and put the harness around this wing. B/T 21) Now cinch up the front of the harness. B/T a lot for getting to this point. 22) Now practice step-up and step-down with harness. B/T 23) Practice walking around the house and other activities before going outside. You want your bird to feel very comfortable having a harness on them. B/T

Well, I know this is a lot of steps. Depending on your individual bird, some of these will go quickly others very slowly. It takes about 4-8 weeks with once a day training to teach this successfully. The goal is not necessarily to get the harness on your bird but more importantly to make sure your bird remains relaxed during all the steps along the way. You want your bird to be a willing participant. If done right, your bird will eagerly want to get the harness on them. Now that's cooperation!

Note: Using force anywhere along the way will result in your bird learning very quickly to avoid the harness. If this happens, it takes much longer to overcome this bad experience. If at any point you see your bird get uncomfortable, pause, let them relax, and then regress back to an early step to help them get over their anxiety.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Take Care, Brian

Hey Brian! I have a couple feather tether harness's and my birds hate them. On the list, some were praising the Aviator. They also said you have better instruction on how to use it. Is this true? I have not purchased it yet as my last 2 were a total waste of money. I just want to be cautious. Please let me know when you have a moment.

Dorene Adams Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

*Aviology Learning Center *W. Brian Greger wbg@aviologylearning.com www.aviologylearning.com 415-227-4450

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