Harness alternative

[Zara]

Now I would not recommend this for anything less than a basically perfectly trained bird, who doesn't fly when they feel threatened,

Could you imagine if a car backfired? Or a car alarm went off? Or some other loud and unexpected bang or boom that usually make most humans jump.
You could have the most perfectly trained bird, but there will always be something that can spook them.
You should look into harness training. If you have such a good relationship with your bird, harness training could be quite easy for you. It´s a lot of fun taking a bird outdoors in a harness and letting them be outdoors cage-free. Obviously you have to keep a look out, I used to only go out when my partner could come with me - And it was him that spotted danger before me on one of our outings.

 

[sootling]

Well, I tried something with one of my birds once. They had that metal leg band/tag that most birds have, and I very loosely crocheted a 'leash'. It was super stretchy (bc I loosely crocheted it), and I attached it to the leg band. This bird was VERY closely bonded to me, and I had enough confidence in her to take her outside even if she wasn't wearing anything! (but I didn't want to risk it) She was trained to not randomly fly off, and even if something did scare her, her natural response was to go and try to hide in my hair. She did that every time, and NEVER tried to fly when she got scared! So anyways, I attached it to the leg band, and I took her out. She was just calmly sitting on me, and she didn't care about anything at all! I just fed her some treats and we were outside for a little bit, and then before she could get scared/bored/nervous, I took her inside again! It worked like a dream. Now I would not recommend this for anything less than a basically perfectly trained bird, who doesn't fly when they feel threatened, and I would never use it for longer than 10 minutes. But for that little while, it worked very well! With my awesome and cooperative bird, it worked like a charm. But I wouldn't use it as a long-term solution. It was just an experiment! I do not recommend them, but it did work pretty well for my experiment the one time I ever tried it.

My best idea for an alternative for you and Ruby is just a little carrier! A little see-through bird-backpack would work wonderfully for an eclectus. There's no harness, no hassle, and none of my birds have ever minded them!

There is no such thing as a 'perfectly' trained bird

 

[Gigibirds]

Could you imagine if a car backfired? Or a car alarm went off? Or some other loud and unexpected bang or boom that usually make most humans jump.

Yep! She would go and run into my hair! I also wasn't doing this in a big city, I was doing it in a quiet area with basically no trees or anything that my bird could escape to.

I would have loved to do harness training with this bird, and I tried it, but it was a no-go. She HATED that harness and she chewed little holes in it, so I thought it was too dangerous. That bird passed away a while ago, so unfortunately I can't have her or train with her anymore.

There is no such thing as a 'perfectly' trained bird

Sure, I get that, but she was perfectly trained in my eyes I miss her....

 

[Sparkles!]

There is no such thing as a 'perfectly' trained bird

Exactly. So if someone were asking me my humble opinion, I would tell them not to use a potentially leg bone snapping, ankle wrecking, knee cracking, arthritis causing device shackled to their bird just so they can go outside and not worry about the bird flying away.

 

[Sparkles!]

I would have loved to do harness training with this bird, and I tried it, but it was a no-go. She HATED that harness

Sure, I get that, but she was perfectly trained in my eyes I miss her....

I’ve had little birds that hated harnesses. I only did free flight indoors with them. In the outside world, it was a cage or kennel. And now they have the clear carriers which are pretty stinking cool if you ask me. And thumbs up to the birds who steal our hearts! I have quite a few that I miss too.

 

[Hankmacaw]

None of the rest of us have "perfectly trained" birds. We have birds that are wild animals and operate on that basis - if it comes to self preservation (even if only perceived self preservation) they turn to escape immediately. What I'm trying to say here is that no one should give advice to others that includes such a nebulous quality in our bird (from parrotletts to hyacinth) that not any really possess - except maybe in your perception.

 

[Gigibirds]

no one should give advice to others that includes such a nebulous quality in our bird (from parrotletts to hyacinth) that not any really possess

I agree with you completely! As you can see, I quite specifically did not give advice. I just wanted to share my experience. --->

I do not recommend them

And yep, that bird was perfect in my eyes....Not a thing I would change!

 

[sootling]

Can yall Tell me how to deletye my stupid posts?!

 

[Sodapop&Co.]

Can yall Tell me how to deletye my stupid posts?!

Why delete? I think this thread (even though it's originally quite old) is quite informative and holds a lot of important information for future members who search up this topic.

 

[sootling]

I meant the ones that triggered everyone

 

[Mizzely]

Can yall Tell me how to deletye my stupid posts?!

We don't really delete posts. Everything is a learning opportunity, for both ourselves and for the people that come after us. As you can see, the idea of jesses for parrots is a hot button issue!

 

[sootling]

We don't really delete posts. Everything is a learning opportunity, for both ourselves and for the people that come after us. As you can see, the idea of jesses for parrots is a hot button issue!

Ok, i guess it can be a learning experience, i jus have gone thru so much in my school, bullying for being myself, i jus want it to stop

 

[Sodapop&Co.]

I meant the ones that triggered everyone

My point stands. You can't exactly "take back" things you say; in real life or on a public forum. It's good if you're able to come to a new, better-informed opinion after learning about a topic (and everyone here is very helpful that way, sharing their own experiences and feelings!) but there's no point "retracting" things you say; you don't end up learning anything. Like to not make rash and potentially dangerous (to other people who will take your word for it and endanger their birds) statements on a matter that you might not actually know enough about.

 

[Mizzely]

Ok, i guess it can be a learning experience, i jus have gone thru so much in my school, bullying for being myself, i jus want it to stop

I do not see anyone bullying (some people like to beat a conversation to death but that's about it ) but if you see a specific post that you feel goes against our community standards, feel free to report it and we will review it.

 

[sootling]

no, no ones bullying me here!

 

[sootling]

aa is like my family