Flight Suit vs Harness?

[sunnysmom]

So, I bought Elvis a harness. I had these wonderful thoughts of us going for walks outside, taking him to the rescue's different events, etc. From the get go, I was concerned that the head opening on the harness looked rather small and might be a tight squeeze for Elvis's apparently big head. But he lets me lift his wings and stuff so I remained optimistic. I've been letting Elvis play with the harness so he wouldn't be afraid of it. Last night, while playing, he flipped the large wing opening part over his head. You would have thought he was being eaten by a snake. The pure panic on his little face broke my heart. And I was actually nervous about getting it off of him for fear in his panicked state he would bite me. I finally convinced him that I was trying to help him and he let me take it off. So, I'm completely rethinking whether he's going to let me put the harness on him. I looked at the design of the flight suit and it doesn't seem to have to go around his neck like the harness does. Does anyone use the harness? Or have used both? Pros? Cons? Thoughts? Do I keep trying with the harness or is that just torturing Elvis? Are the flight suits any easier to get on/off?

 

[TikiMyn]

No experience with fluff suit, I think @HolliDaze has one for Dex but not sure
I have the aviator, I clicker train my fids to out their head through. Maybe you can convince Elvis it is not so bad, Maybe not. I have reinforced interest in the harness first, and so on untill they were not afraid of it. At first I tempted them to put their head through the hole. But then I stopped and waited for them to make the slightest inclination to putting their head through to click and reinforce. Just started training again today after basically leaving harness training for a few months but they caught on rather quickly

 

[HolliDaze]

No experience with fluff suit, I think @HolliDaze has one for Dex but not sure
I have the aviator, I clicker train my fids to out their head through. Maybe you can convince Elvis it is not so bad, Maybe not. I have reinforced interest in the harness first, and so on untill they were not afraid of it. At first I tempted them to put their head through the hole. But then I stopped and waited for them to make the slightest inclination to putting their head through to click and reinforce. Just started training again today after basically leaving harness training for a few months but they caught on rather quickly

I have both an aviator and a flightsuit. The aviators have a very tight fit for sure, I have to push his crest down to get it off. Harnesses are more comfortable when on but Flightsuits are easier to get on and off. I use the Flightsuit when we're going somewhere indoors, and the harness outdoors.harnesses seem more secure, as Dexter has nearly gotten a flightsuit off before (he likes playing with the velcro).

 

[Shezbug]

I have the aviator and use it a fair bit.
It is a firm fit over the head but it is not so difficult to put on once they know it is not a dangerous thing trying to eat them, lol.

Sometimes Burt is not very co-operative (wants to keep playing with it and wont let it go) when I try to put it on him and that makes the neck band feel much tighter than it is, I find if I give him a treat to nibble on or the hand band of the harness right before I slip it over his head he is fine. The Aviator is very secure and I feel very safe with it, I check it to see if it needs adjustment at least three times before we leave the house because I worry I might have misjudged the fit.....when we finally come back inside I always find that the band is still at the same fitting I put it to. I marked it with a pen the first few times I took Burt outside with it because I was so worried it would loosen up and he would get tangled in it or get out of it.
I have found that the way the instructional video shows you to put the harness on works quite well most times. If Elvis lets you do all the things on the video then you should have no issues putting it on him.

I have not used a flight suit so I can not comment on that.

 

[sunnysmom]

I have both an aviator and a flightsuit. The aviators have a very tight fit for sure, I have to push his crest down to get it off. Harnesses are more comfortable when on but Flightsuits are easier to get on and off. I use the Flightsuit when we're going somewhere indoors, and the harness outdoors.harnesses seem more secure, as Dexter has nearly gotten a flightsuit off before (he likes playing with the velcro).

I was actually wondering it they could slip out of the flightsuit. Elvis is an escape artist...

 

[sunnysmom]

I have the aviator and use it a fair bit.
It is a firm fit over the head but it is not so difficult to put on once they know it is not a dangerous thing trying to eat them, lol.

Sometimes Burt is not very co-operative (wants to keep playing with it and wont let it go) when I try to put it on him and that makes the neck band feel much tighter than it is, I find if I give him a treat to nibble on or the hand band of the harness right before I slip it over his head he is fine. The Aviator is very secure and I feel very safe with it, I check it to see if it needs adjustment at least three times before we leave the house because I worry I might have misjudged the fit.....when we finally come back inside I always find that the band is still at the same fitting I put it to. I marked it with a pen the first few times I took Burt outside with it because I was so worried it would loosen up and he would get tangled in it or get out of it.
I have found that the way the instructional video shows you to put the harness on works quite well most times. If Elvis lets you do all the things on the video then you should have no issues putting it on him.

I have not used a flight suit so I can not comment on that.

Thanks. I guess I will keep trying for awhile and see how it goes. How old was Burt when you first tried the harness with him?

 

[Shezbug]

I got Burt at about five months old and started working with the harness straight away. This age would have made the whole process much easier for me as they are a little less difficult to coax into doing things when they are still babies. I hope you have some success with Elvis and the harness. Do you have access to the training video? They give you some easy steps on training them to be accepting of the harness, I found it helpful knowing the best way to prepare Burt for the fiddling of putting the harness on.

 

[Mizzely]

@AkasyaEllric uses a flight suit for her birds

 

[AkasyaEllric]

IMO Flight Suits are their own kind of beast getting on and off. Getting them off is really easy but when you're first getting them conditioned to them it can sometimes be a struggle to get them on. My entire family hasn't ever had a bird slip out of a flight suit, but that's to say it couldn't happen. My parents eclectus Sydney tried to fly off with his on and the leash around my arm and didn't get anywhere. They have awesome customer service though, so I would contact them if you have any questions and they can even help you find the exact right size if you have his measurements. I honestly really like them personally, but know they aren't for everyone.

 

[sunnysmom]

I got Burt at about five months old and started working with the harness straight away. This age would have made the whole process much easier for me as they are a little less difficult to coax into doing things when they are still babies. I hope you have some success with Elvis and the harness. Do you have access to the training video? They give you some easy steps on training them to be accepting of the harness, I found it helpful knowing the best way to prepare Burt for the fiddling of putting the harness on.

I do have the training video. I'll keep working on it. I'm thinking the part around his neck is going to be a problem for him...

 

[sunnysmom]

IMO Flight Suits are their own kind of beast getting on and off. Getting them off is really easy but when you're first getting them conditioned to them it can sometimes be a struggle to get them on. My entire family hasn't ever had a bird slip out of a flight suit, but that's to say it couldn't happen. My parents eclectus Sydney tried to fly off with his on and the leash around my arm and didn't get anywhere. They have awesome customer service though, so I would contact them if you have any questions and they can even help you find the exact right size if you have his measurements. I honestly really like them personally, but know they aren't for everyone.

Thanks. I'll have to look more into it.

 

[Max83]

I am not sure the flight suit is good because of they stay in contact with their own poop in the cloaca area when they poop in it...

I'd trust the velcro for a small bird like a cokatiel or a small conure if is strong enough, but for a cockatoo don't know, they are big and strong birds

 

[M_Riddly]

I have both and I would say the flight suit is MUCH easier to put on. With all of my birds I've just put harnesses or flightsuits on them and waited for them to adjust and taken them places. Your not really suppose to do this according to the directions but I have had no problems whatsoever with my birds fearing them or any issues. With smaller birds, I will say that it can throw them off balance a bit. Even with the bigger ones, but Leo, my goffin too, was much better at ajusting to the flight suit's added weight than say my tiel speckles. She sometimes would fall off of stuff from the added weight but it only took her a couple minute to get use to it. She was a rescue an not a baby when I started her on the flight suit. She isn't big on the harness and won't chill for me to put it on her. Same with my conures. Leo and the doves are the only birds who are ok with the harness. Flight suits are simpler but harnesses are less material. Harnesses can cause sores from rubbing though. Flight suits don't really do that unless you buy the wrong size.