Aviator Harness

[ParrotsForLife]

So I Recently got the Harness Rocko lets me put it on him and he enjoys it Outside but the leash dosent go all the way around the body like its supposed to in case the bird turns or something and I put it on properly head goes through then a wing then the other wing and then tighten it but the leash dosent go around all the body because his wings get in the way is it supposed to be like this

Also he bites the harness and i have an idea that might work but i dont know if its safe or not to use the Anti-Pek spray so he wont bite the harness

[Michael]

Are you sure you bought the right size?

[Wolf]

It sounds like the harness that you are using is the wrong size of harness. What size harness are you using for what species of parrot? I do not suggest using the spray.

[ParrotsForLife]

Its for my cockatiel Rocko and Parrot wizard I used your steps to get him used to the harness and it worked great I got the size X-Small i know petite is for cockatiels but the collar on it was too small and the X-Small was a great fit And i had it on the wrong way thats why the leash didnt go around then i looked at the Howcast video on how to put it on the video of you and Truman now i know how to put it on properly. So is the Anti pek spray a good idea or should i let him just stop biting himself.

[Pajarita]

I do NOT advise putting a harness on a tiel no matter if it's the right size or not. If he is pecking it, the bird is highly stressed. I couldn't find any 'No peck' spray that was not meant for chickens, can you post the complete name and manufacturing company so we can check the ingredients?

[ParrotsForLife]

Lots of birds bite at the harness they get used to it and then they stop I just went outside with Rocko he wasnt biting that much and the spray is johnsons anti-pek pump spray johnsons has lots of bird stuff and i said i have a cockatiel not a chicken

[ParrotsForLife]

And of course every bird is gonna be stressed getting something new put on their body and its good for them to get outside rather than sitting in the house all day lots of people on the Talkcockatiels forum have harnesses

Edit: i emailed the person who designed the Aviator Harness he told me that it fits perfectly fine and the he will stop biting it soon and he told me to try the spray

[Wolf]

Glad that you have worked out the harness. Pajarita meant that the spray was probably formulated using chickens instead of a parrot and so is probably not ideal for use with a parrot. Pajarita has a lot of years of experience with parrots of many species and her concern is due to the nervous nature of cockatiels as a whole. Cockatiels make great aviary birds when kept in pairs or in larger flocks as they are much calmer when they are not kept as single birds. Despite this fact they are often sold singlely as companion birds due to their gentle natures. It is actually rather stressful for the bird and shortens their life expectancy. Since the bird is why she is here, it is the birds well being that she is concerned about. This is the basis of everything that she has to say.
Yes, there are a lot of people that have harnesses for their cockatiels and some of them even use them, in the belief that this is good for the bird. Is it good for the bird? I really can't say as there have been no studies regarding either the long or short term effects of using a harness of any species of parrot. There are a tremendous amount of people who still feed their parrots a diet based on seeds or pellets even though we know for a fact that such diets cause liver disease, heart disease and kidney disease in parrots. So just because a lot of people do a thing does not mean that it is right. At this point, I have to say that the birds owner must decide what they are going to do as I can't answer whether it is a good thing or not. I still don't think that I would use this spray. I think that I would rely on distracting the bird from chewing on the harness by getting the bird to fly with the harness on and then when the flying is done removing the harness from the bird.
With all of the new things that I am learning about these birds, I am leaning more towards flying them indoors in a familiar environment so as to give them the benefits of flight while keeping stress to a minimum. I can give the bird the benefits of natural sunshine by using a travel cage for the amount of time that is required to benefit their bodies. It is one of those areas that there is just not an adequate amount of information to know what is the right way to go with this.

[ParrotsForLife]

Hes not the flying type he just likes to sit and relax or play with his toys and the spray is for birds the pluck their feathers and Rocko gets fed good and i work with him every day and cockatiels are ok single as long as they are getting attention and are cared for some birds dont even like other birds if i got another cockatiel which i might be rocko could either become friends with it or not like it at all and the person who designed the harness also said he ordered the spray i have he said hes gonna test it on his birds and hes gonna let me know if it worked and Rocko dosent get stressed when hes outside he enjoys it and the harness isnt only just to get sunshine its good exercise not all birds can fly in a house like my african grey shes too big to fly in a house but rocko is smaller so he can so she wouldnt get as much exercise as he would.

[ParrotsForLife]

Are you sure you bought the right size?

Just wanted to ask your opinion on this do u think the Aviator Harness is good for the bird they do get good exercise and sun I think its good.