Macaws:
Red Shouldered (Hahn's) Macaw
Severe Macaw
Blue And Gold Macaw
Blue Throated Macaw
Military Macaw
Red Fronted Macaw
Scarlet Macaw
Green Winged Macaw
Hyacinth Macaw
Since people have been asking me about harnesses and it just so happens this is what I've been working on with Truman lately, I figured I'd share some techniques. First, if you are looking for information about the basics of harness training or if you haven't seen it already, I really recommend you read my Flight Harness Training Parrot article. It is about how I screwed up by listening to the stupid DVD that came with the harness and then how I remedied the phobia Kili developed of the harness with positive and negative reinforcement training. The article contains a 10 minute video for each of 3 days which reveal many tips and tricks about getting a parrot to wear a harness. Over a year since using that technique, I still stand by it fully and well now describe to you how I used it on Truman.
Aside from a very basic introduction to the harness strap material, I don't think Truman's breeder ever actually put a harness onto him. However, not more than two weeks since getting Truman, I was already sticking the aviator harness on him and taking him outside. I wanted Truman to begin wearing his harness as early as possible and start taking him outside so that he would be adapted to this from a younger age. At the point when I put the aviator harness on him for the first time, I had no way of training it to him. He had no concept of clicker, target, or treat so there was no specific way I could train him to wear it. But on the other hand he was already very hand tame and easy going to I was able to just stick it on him. I took him outside every chance I could during last summer but over the course of the winter he came to forget his harness. When I broke it out again this year, he was a different bird. He has become more independent and bold since then so after a few times he started to decide that he didn't really like to wear the harness. It was almost getting to the point that he would fly away or at least sway away from me when I was wearing it. He finally decided he had enough of the harness and wasn't going to take it.
This is the point when I realized I had to go through the formal training program with him that I had originally done with Kili. It only took two treats for sticking her head through the harness this year to remind Kili everything she knew about the harness from last year. However, with Truman it took a little more work. I pretty much followed the 3 day program the same as I had done with Kili. The first day I tamed Truman to the harness so he would stop being scared of it. First I held it at some distance and gave him treats. Then I approached with it until I could touch his feathers with it. The second day I started with the same exercises but proceeded to making a fake collar out of the larger part of the strap (not the actual collar part) and practiced putting that on him and making it narrower with each try. By the end of the second day he definitely wasn't fleeing the harness and at times even slightly leaning in. On the third day I went right to practicing him sticking his head into and out of the collar. I gave him a treat every time the collar went on. Any time he turned away or made it difficult to put the collar on, I ignored him. However, if he helped put his head in or at least didn't resist, I rewarded him. By the end of the third training session, Truman was taking steps to come toward the collar and stick his own head in.
Finally, for a week I solidified Truman's harness training by putting the harness on entirely and giving him an entire almond to eat while wearing it. With Kili, you might recall, I fed her meals while wearing the harness. Truman isn't as enthused about meals as she is, so instead I chose to feed him nuts while wearing the aviator harness to build a positive association. For that week he did not receive nuts by any other means than wearing the harness. To me, taming the parrot to the point where it is fearless around the harness material and willing to stick its head into the collar on its own is the significant part of the training. It will come to realize that the other straps will be put on as well, but as long as you can maintain that the bird wants to put on the harness, there won't be any bad feelings or biting. So it's more about accepting the harness than breaking up the different mechanics of putting it on. Sure it is possible to make the parrot dislike the harness again by rushing the process and making the process of putting it on unpleasant, but you can always revert back to the earlier taming steps. However, taking your time with the process and making sure the parrot has had a much longer positive experience with the harness than negative will help ensure that one bad experience won't ruin everything.
Wings is a great trick for a parrot to know prior to harness training because it makes the parrot used to opening its wings and having its wings touched. Also my wing opening taming technique is an important requisite for being able to put on a harness because you will have to be able to move the parrot's wings to manipulate them into the harness straps properly. Finally, it's a really good idea to be very familiar with the harness before every putting it on. In fact move the straps a bunch of times or put it on a stuffed animal before using it not only for practice but also to make the straps less stiff.
The best place to put a harness on a parrot is on a Parrot Training Perch because you can adjust the bird to a convenient height and keep your hands free. The parrot can grip onto the perch so that is one less thing to be concerned about as the parrot will be stationary. There is some pushing and pulling in the harness donning process so you will definitely appreciate having the parrot more steady. A Parrot Training Perch will function much better than a climbing tree or chair back because there won't be any extra spindles or places for the leash to get caught on in the process.
Put the parrot on a training perch or wherever you are putting on the harness so that it is facing you. The last thing to remember is to clip the leash onto your belt or at least put it over your wrist. If your bird flies off while wearing the leash in the house, it will get caught on something, crash, get hurt, and hate the harness very much. Definitely make sure that you have a secure grip on the leash as you would outside. Now on to some tips about the actual process of putting on an aviator flight harness.
First offer the parrot the chance to put the harness on by showing the collar loop as discussed before. After the parrot sticks its head through the collar, give a reward (as big as possible but small enough that it doesn't have to use its foot cause that will just get in the way). Not only does this reward the collar part but also keeps it distracted while you put the harness on. With practice this entire process can take under a minute. The quicker you do it (without going too fast or hard), the less time your parrot will have to get frustrated about the situation. If you find yourself confused about what to do with the harness, then you need to stop torturing the bird with the process and practice on your own and watch some videos of how it is done. While this harness is easy to put on when you're familiar with it, it can be quite confusing at first so definitely make sure you know what to do before getting the parrot involved. Once the collar is in place, pull all the slack over to your right hand side. The strap is barely long enough for my Cape's wings to fit through so I have to really use every inch of slack I can get. If he is playing with the end of the harness, I gotta get it out of his beak or it reduces the length just a little bit. With all the slack on the right side, I lift the wing slightly up, pull the strap around and behind primaries. I also twist the wing tip in such a way so that the primaries are aimed into the loop made by the harness slack.
Next, I transfer all the slack to my left side (bird's right wing) by pulling on the slack end of the strap. Some times some feathers under the wings get snagged. I can fix this by lifting the wing, shifting the strap, and working the feathers around it. Once I have all the remaining slack on my left side, I can lift the second wing and repeat the twist and in motion as described above and demonstrated in the video below. Since I want to keep Truman flighted, I'm very careful about not busting his primaries in this process. By aiming them into the strap loop in such a way, I can prevent them from touching the material at all and getting messed up. Once the second wing is through, all that is left is to tighten the harness. I pull the slack through the buckle in two motions. First I pull it into the buckle through the first connection. Then I pull all the slack out of the buckle from the end. This tightening process is actually much easier on Truman than Kili. For Kili I have to feed the slack through back and forth several times to get all the material out from around her. But the larger harness seems to pivot around the parrot's body better and makes it much easier to bring all the slack in on the first attempt. At this point I give Truman an almond and he completely forgets about the fact that he is wearing a harness. Or I actually take him outside and that generally keeps his mind off of it. Only when we're spending a lot of time out that he begins playing with the harness, but for this I bring lots of chew toys to attempt to distract him with.
Taking the harness is just as simple as putting it on. It is literally the exact same process in reverse. First I slacken the strap by pulling the leash end into the buckle and then back out toward the parrot in two motions. Then I lift the wing and pull it forward and through the slack loop to get the feathers through without touching. Then I bring all of the slack over to my right hand side. I let this form a loop and pull the parrot's left wing forward and pull the strap back to bring it around the wing. Finally I pull the collar forward to get the head out. Of course Truman's head is too big and the feathers get pushed in reverse so he hates this part and his head gets stuck sometimes. However, I've been developing a technique where I twist the harness straps just a little and work them so his head pops through. If it weren't for the fact that the harness sits perfectly on him when it is tightened, I would probably be looking for a size up. I don't find it necessary to reward for harness removal because the donning is consistently rewarded and makes up for the discomfort of removal. Also removal is in itself negatively reinforcing that he no longer has to feel the discomfort of wearing or taking the harness off. However, if the removal process seems to frustrate the bird a little much, giving a treat after can't hurt.
As always with Taming, long term taming is the important thing. It is better to consistently put the harness on the parrot every day (or at least a few times a week) for one big treat, wear for a while, then take it off, than to do many repetitions at a time. The parrot just needs to spend a lot of time in it, have many positive experiences wearing the harness over a long period of time, and few bad ones. While good outdoor experiences will help a parrot grow accustomed to the harness, I do not believe they are direct enough of a reinforcement to make the harness tolerable. Small treats for putting on the harness should continue being administered on a random level once training is satisfactorily completed. I rarely reward Kili for putting her harness on anymore because she clearly isn't scared of it. However, if I do this too much, she becomes more difficult about putting it on. Just a few repetitions of retaming using the steps above bring her right back to the stage she was in when I did a lot of practice. So even if your parrot used to wear a harness successfully last year, a quick reminder by retaming with the same techniques will make it more willing to wear the harness again this season.
Finally here is the promised video of how I put a harness on Truman. You'll notice that he does a pretty good job but still requires some work. He still interferes by biting the harness too much or fidgeting. Some is inevitable but it can be reduced with practice. Also he starts getting agitated toward the end of the video but that's really only because I was putting the harness on and off of him too many times to make demonstrations for the video and not because of his training. He's more used to putting it on once and going outside or eating a nut rather than going through the entire procedure repeatedly. If I want to do harness practice, mainly I will only practice the collar part repeatedly, but I try to do the complete process of putting the harness on only once and quickly to reduce the discomfort. So here is how I put a harness on Truman the Cape Parrot:
In the four months I've had Truman, I have not had the chance to take him flying with me like I've done with Kili. This mainly has to do with the fact that I was not able to trust him not to fly around the airplane, poop everywhere, and cause trouble. However, in recent months I have worked a lot on socializing Truman. I began taking him on extended car rides, meeting new people, and going to new places. Although not with the same confidence as when I took Kili for her first flight, I was ready to bring Truman up with me before the onset of colder weather.
The hour and a half drive to Braden airport was good carrier practice for Truman. He stayed quiet for most of the ride as it was still early in the morning and he had a meal to eat inside the carrier on the way. He used to scream endlessly during car rides but the more we do it, the more relaxed he is about it. Upon arriving to the airport, I got briefed about the day's weather and preflighted the PA28R-180 Piper Arrow.
As soon as the airplane was ready, I quickly moved Truman in his carrier from the car to the airplane because the weather was brisk. I strapped Truman's carrier into the front seat, let Kathleen into the back and then we were all set to go. The engine took a lot of cranking and didn't want to start. With enough coaxing of the throttle and mixture, it finally lit up and we ready. After just five minutes of taxi and engine run up, we were on the runway taking off. The Arrow lifted effortlessly off the ground both thanks to the light payload and colder air setting in.
At 150mph, the 17 mile flight to Sky Manor was so quick that I had to rush to get Truman some out time. I had just barely leveled off when it was time to descend again, so I popped the lid on the carrier and took Truman out. He was excited and very playful. He even got to fly the airplane for a bit from the right seat. He assisted me flying the plane and gave me suggestions. When he sat on my shoulder he obsessed with my headset, most likely disappointed that he didn't get one like everybody else.
I brought the plane around a tight pattern and made a smooth crosswind landing at Sky Manor airport. Meanwhile, Truman was sitting on my shoulder preening, vocalizing, and finding new exciting ways to be a pain in the butt. We left Truman in his carrier in the plane while we went to have lunch at the airport restaurant. We did not entirely forget about Truman. Upon returning from lunch, we harnessed him up in the plane and took him outside for a little bit. He didn't feel like flying recalls so we just let him explore the park bench for a little while. It was cold and windy so we did not leave him out for too long.
The flight back was just as quick and uneventful. I let Truman out a little sooner and let him stay out for a bit but not again for landing. Braden is pretty much the shortest airport around so it takes a little concentration to put a fast airplane onto the tiny strip. Nonetheless, the crosswind landing was fine and I managed to use only half the runway (about 1000ft).
By exposing Truman to as many different scenarios now, regardless of whether or practical or not, it helps shape him into a less fearful parrot in the long run. He will be more used to change and less stressed out if I ever need to do a lot of car travel or move to a new home with him. Since parrots live so long, changes are inevitable. This is why it is best to begin preparing your parrot from when it is a baby. Socialization is not merely about teaching your parrot specific new objects/situations but also teach it to be accepting of the concept of change in general.
Here is a video of Truman's flight. While it is a bit long, there are cute scenes of Truman throughout the video so I recommend sticking it out and watching the entire thing:
You could say it was a fun filled weekend of bringing parrots places... The first outing was with Kili the Senegal Parrot, and the second was with both Kili and Truman the Cape Parrot. These were done to maintain socialization skills with Kili, and develop socialization further in Truman.
Michael and I took Kili to a recent homecoming football game/alumni reunion event. We arrived at the homecoming game near the very end but just in time to see the home team's victory. We stuck around on the school's field for snacks and socialization for Kili after the game. She was very comfortable and calm in her flight harness on Michael's shoulder with crowds of people in every direction. The temperature outside that afternoon was a bit chilly. Kili was snuggled into the collar of Michael's light jacket with her head poking out to shelter her from the occasional breeze. Some of the school's faculty, alumni and students attending the events spotted Kili and handled her. She eagerly performed tricks, said hello, and seemed to enjoy being the center of attention.
The following day, Michael and I took both parrots outdoors to a park. Kili had been fed pellets in the morning in her cage so she was not significantly food driven, but Truman had only been offered pellets in his carrier and had not eaten much.
We started the experience by walking around the park area with Kili and Truman, looking for members of a wild flock of Monk Parakeets in Brooklyn. We walked around to two different communal nest locations for 10 minutes and listened for the distinct calls of these parakeets. We heard their shrieking and we knew they were near by. Amazingly, we spotted five or six of them flying together. We stood and watched some land in a tree across the street and then watched a few fly to their nest.
When the activity died down, we headed for the playground a few minutes walk away with Kili and Truman. What started as just a socialization experience at the playground became a trick and recall session, especially with Truman. Some children and adults at the playground gathered around and watched us with the parrots. Truman was screaming and shrieking loudly in excitement. Kili and Truman demonstrated a few tricks and harness flight recalls, and the parrots seemed to enjoy all the attention and showing off for the crowd. Truman was highly motivated at the park and showed improved recall reliability with Michael. He seemed more motivated in the presence of the crowd. We finished up at the park and were walking out when Truman became highly vocal and excited on Michael's shoulder. He learned to mimic a catcall and clicking sounds from Kili's vocalizations, and we finally caught it on video.
Truman is currently maturing and is developing beneficial outdoor, social and coping skills. He is acquiring a positive association with being inside of his carrier because Michael and I are offering him meals, treats and toys inside. However, Truman was not fully comfortable eating in his carrier and his carrier training is still incomplete. Kili is already socialized and has become more accepting of being outdoors, new people and changes. As a result, being outside with us in new situations and meeting strangers are meant to maintain her skills. However, Kili is highly aggressive in her territory and defends her cage, perches and trees from anyone but her perceived mate, including Truman.
It is beneficial to bring a territorially aggressive parrot to unfamiliar or neutral territories and introduce a perceived intruder to a parrot who has displayed this kind of aggression. This type of interaction can help to improve a relationship and increase confidence in both the parrot and the person. Kili is more willing to step up for me away from home because I am more familiar to her than the surroundings. Furthermore, both parrots benefited from spending time outdoors. Prolonged direct sunlight exposure is important for vitamin D and calcium. Harness flight training outdoors helps to prepare for the event that either parrot is lost outside.
In order to avoid serious behavioral problems including stress, aggression, and fear toward new people and new objects, prevention is best. In the wild, baby and juvenile parrots would learn skills from their parents, such as what is food, where to find food, how to eat food, what is dangerous, what are predators, flock dynamics and social skills. As pets, parrots rely on their breeders, hand feeders, caretakers, and owners to teach them skills so they can thrive in a domesticated environment.
Exposing your parrot to new things will prepare it for more significant changes in the future. Introduce your parrot to new people, objects and places. Always create positive experiences and pay attention to your parrot's comfort level. Reward the parrot for tolerating or experiencing new things to avoid creating phobias. Make being inside of a carrier rewarding with a meal, treats, or a toy. Take your bird to an enjoyable and safe environment so it becomes accustomed to traveling in a carrier. Teach your family and friends how to properly handle and interact with your bird. Set up positive reinforcement scenarios for socialization with other people with trained tricks or other behaviors. Teaching a parrot socialization and coping skills is essential in order to own an overall healthy and confident pet.
On Saturday I took Kili and Truman into their aviary together for the first time. I finally added toys and perches to the aviary, some old and some new. Many of them you might recognize from Truman's toy shopping I did after getting him. Unfortunately cause of his injury much of that had gone unused for a while but came in quite handy for decorating the aviary. I reused many of Kili's old swings though to make comfortable hanging perches for her.
Truman just hung out wherever I'd put him. Kili got comfortable quite quickly and was moving from perch to perch. Sometimes she would fly but mostly she found it more convenient to climb up the toy to the ceiling bars, hang upside down, make her way across the ceiling, and then down the chain for the next toy. The boing spiral rope perch quickly became Kili's favorite. This is a bit of a problem because when I put Truman on that and Kili elsewhere, Kili flew over and started attacking Truman until he fell off and landed on the aviary bars. This is why for the time being I am keeping Truman in the aviary daily (when weather and time permits) but only putting Kili in on occasion when I can be inside to supervise. I want Truman to become more familiar with the aviary so he could have at least a little advantage over Kili. Until I can feel confident that Truman is healed and that Kili cannot hurt him, I have to stay inside whenever they are together.
For the next few weeks there is a street fair going on nearby so I've been taking Kili there quite frequently. I am using this as a way of desensitizing her to people and noise because some day I might have to take her to a TV studio. So to teach her not to be scared of novel environments, I think these outings are very effective. The first time I walked through the fair I had her perch on my hand and held her leash pretty tightly. She can only fly to the end of the leash but in such tight crowds I could not risk her going even that far.
As we continued, Kili was becoming much more relaxed and used to the situation so I let her sit on my shoulder the entire way back. I have brought her several more times since. With every successive time I bring her, the less time it takes before I can stop holding her and just put her on my shoulder. She may flinch a little when a balloon pops but she does not try to fly away. There was not a single time she tried to fly off and in fact the more scared she is, the tighter she clings to me instead. So even without a harness I could have made all of these outings much the same way. It's just that in that very unlikely even that she does try to fly off, the harness is my backup plan.
Kili would get really vocal during these walks with many "hellos" and noises that she does. A girl wanted to hold Kili so I let her. She began asking if it's ok to pet Kili and just as I was uttering the word no she stuck her finger in and got a good bite. Didn't have the patience to hear the answer. Really it is ok to pet Kili but only in a certain way. She didn't give me the chance to show her. But hey, a good lesson for the girl no less. She was surprised that parrots can bite but really I would not even classify it a parrot bite as there wasn't any blood. Some other parrot owning people took notice and wanted to talk. I was surprised that otherwise these parrot outings went quite unnoticed. Typically Kili brings out a much bigger gathering at the park.
I began bringing Truman out to the park as soon as we had bonded enough that I could put the harness on him without bothering him too much. It's a good way for him to get some sun, air, and get used to various sights and sounds. Also I shower him and then dry him out in the sun. He dries much quicker that way and he gets really fluffy and enjoys getting pet. Furthermore all this helps strengthen our relationship as he looks to me for protection/comfort. Here is a video of a recent outing to the park both with Kili and Truman.
Taking the Senegal and Cape to the park together helps socialize them to each other on neutral territory. Kili is far less aggressive here and both parrots end up more focused on their surroundings than each other. They almost become friends on the basis of familiarity this way. I let Kili show off her tricks and Truman practice target and recall. The children at the park always gather around and enjoy watching the parrots perform but sometimes it can get out of hand so it's important to keep a close eye not only on the parrots but also the kids.
I showered Kili and Truman down in the water fountain but Truman flew off and landed in dirt so he needed another one. I waited until the parrots were dry before taking them home.
Trained Parrot is a blog about how to train tricks to all parrots and parakeets. Read about how I teach tricks to Truman the Brown Necked Cape Parrot including flight recall, shake, wave, nod, turn around, fetch, wings, and play dead. Learn how you can train tricks to your Parrot, Parrotlet, Parakeet, Lovebird, Cockatiel, Conure, African Grey, Amazon, Cockatoo or Macaw. This blog is better than books or DVDs because the information is real, live, and completely free of charge. If you want to know how to teach your parrot tricks then you will enjoy this free parrot training tutorial.
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