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The Problem

Branch

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I am harness training my parrot and everything was going great until I got into the stage where he got on my hand wearing the neck part of the harness. To get him into the harness, I give him a seed, so, there he was eating the seed and I tried to take the harness head part off of him, but he just dropped what he was doing and came to bite my hand. I know he was defending the seed, but I have to be able to take his harness on and off with ease.

So, I tried another experiment where I let him finish eating his seed, but as soon as he finished, he just bit my hand which he was standing on without me doing anything. I don't want him to get hurt, so can someone give me some suggestions? (By the way, when I normally interact with him, he does not bite me, at all, so this was pretty much the first time in months that he bit me..)
 

flyzipper

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It took me a while to get one of my guys (Jericho) comfortable with accepting the harness, and the only advice I can offer is to go as far as they will accept without displaying negative behaviours. As soon as they give feedback that they aren't cool with what's happening, then stop, make a mental note of how far you got, and try again another time. Pushing too far, too fast, might mean you'll need to regress to a more basic level if you erode their trust in what's happening. Go at their pace, and let go of any expectations about how long it will take.

It reminds me of the car racing axiom: "slow is smooth, and smooth is fast".

The species you're dealing with is a GCC? I've had no luck with mine, so you're doing better than me :)
 

Wally&Eva

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It took me a while to get one of my guys (Jericho) comfortable with accepting the harness, and the only advice I can offer is to go as far as they will accept without displaying negative behaviours. As soon as they give feedback that they aren't cool with what's happening, then stop, make a mental note of how far you got, and try again another time. Pushing too far, too fast, might mean you'll need to regress to a more basic level if you erode their trust in what's happening. Go at their pace, and let go of any expectations about how long it will take.

It reminds me of the car racing axiom: "slow is smooth, and smooth is fast".

The species you're dealing with is a GCC? I've had no luck with mine, so you're doing better than me :)
Got both my lovebirds aviator harnesses and I opened one and have 30 days to return the unopened one. They are ok with the presence of it, putting it on is another thing. Haven’t tried, only loopef the wing part over their heads and pet them with the harness. Maybe they could be ready but Im still a bit timid to start trying yet as they are just weaning so it’s a lot of changes. I’m looking forward to seeing your progress with it inspiring me to go for it!

Of course, every bird is different but just a general question to AA members, what species did you see the most success with in harness training? Not comparing them to mine, just curious
 

Pixiebeak

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It took me a while to get one of my guys (Jericho) comfortable with accepting the harness, and the only advice I can offer is to go as far as they will accept without displaying negative behaviours. As soon as they give feedback that they aren't cool with what's happening, then stop, make a mental note of how far you got, and try again another time. Pushing too far, too fast, might mean you'll need to regress to a more basic level if you erode their trust in what's happening. Go at their pace, and let go of any expectations about how long it will take.

It reminds me of the car racing axiom: "slow is smooth, and smooth is fast".

The species you're dealing with is a GCC? I've had no luck with mine, so you're doing better than me :)
My harness training attempts with gcc....complete failure and broke our trust turned her to a hater ..took six month to repair our relationship and harness went into trash !

I accept all blame
 

Wally&Eva

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My harness training attempts with gcc....complete failure and broke our trust turned her to a hater ..took six month to repair our relationship and harness went into trash !
Thanks for sharing your experience! I have a totally different species, but for the same reason, I’m waiting a bit and slowly starting to build them up in their training first then on to the harness. I think I’m more reluctant than they are. Plus that darn head hole is little haha. Hope your birdie got over it and didn’t hold too much of a grudge haha you tried your best :xflove:
 

Shezbug

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Thanks for sharing your experience! I have a totally different species, but for the same reason, I’m waiting a bit and slowly starting to build them up in their training first then on to the harness. I think I’m more reluctant than they are. Plus that darn head hole is little haha. Hope your birdie got over it and didn’t hold too much of a grudge haha you tried your best :xflove:
You have babies who are a lot more open to new things than older birds are. The earlier you get them familiar with this type of thing the easier it will be and the higher chance of success you’ll have. I’m not suggesting you force them but working with the harness now will greatly improve your chances of them accepting it.
 

Pixiebeak

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You have babies who are a lot more open to new things than older birds are. The earlier you get them familiar with this type of thing the easier it will be and the higher chance of success you’ll have. I’m not suggesting you force them but working with the harness now will greatly improve your chances of them accepting it.
Yes babies young ones much better. My girl was 6 years old when I tried. And I did many things wrong
 

Branch

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My GCC fully trusts me in lifting his wings up and touching him all around but the food is another thing. If I put my fingers near him while he's eating one of his favorite snacks (the sunflower seed), he'll drop the seed and try to attack my hand and it'll take some time for me to get him back to his senses. I would just like to know how to make him know that I'm not trying to take his food but rather trying to take of the harness.
 

Shezbug

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I’m not certain I’m understanding right but it sounds like you’re getting his head through the harness and treating then trying to remove the harness while he’s eating his treat- if this is the case I’d switch to head through harness, head out of harness then treat
 

Branch

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I tried that once but he just didn't want to stay in the harness. I feel his thought process might be: "If I get a treat for putting my head in the harness and then taking it out, then why to stay there longer?" I tried to remove the harness after he finished his seed, but immediately after finishing, he bit me.
 

flyzipper

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I'm confused by this part...
To get him into the harness, I give him a seed, so, there he was eating the seed and I tried to take the harness head part off of him,
Why are you stopping without fully putting him in the harness? Are you progressing to the wing part and he's uncomfortable?

If he's food possessive, I wouldn't use food as a reward when your hands need to be near him to manipulate the harness, or let him finish his seed before moving on (don't attempt to use it as a distraction). Also, if it's only the head loop that's in place, you should be able to grasp the ends of that section and gently pull it off without having your fingers nearby to be chomped (I'm assuming it's an Aviator brand harness, so please correct me if that's mistaken).
 

Wally&Eva

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The earlier you get them familiar with this type of thing the easier it will be and the higher chance of success you’ll have.
Thank you! I find this to be true with a lot of things with them. The little guys can learn!!! If Eva especially keeps mastering these little tricks, she might be almost looking to do new things. They are fully comfortable with me looping it around them, petting them with it. I hope they both get on board cus I don’t think I could take one out without the other. For fear of instant heartbreak hahaha I’m sure I’m being dramatic
 

Branch

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So he's not really ready for the head loop so I make the wing loop really small and let him poke his head through, although I could try using the actual head loop. I cannot put the harness on all the way yet and I'm kinda worried about when I have to put his wing in the loop as I don't want him to chomp my fingers while doing it.
 
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