Aviator Harness

[ParrotsForLife]

Sunshine is good for birds, of course, but stress is not so one needs to balance things out a bit. And there is no way on this green earth that anybody can tell if a bird is stressed out or not - not behaviorists, not avian vets, not anybody for the simple reason that they all react differently to stress and none of them reacts the way mammals do so we have no point of reference. There is a single way to tell and that is to measure corticol levels but you can't draw blood without stressing out the bird so the test is useless as you would ALWAYS get elevated values regardless. The other ways are indirect. A bird that lives under constant or often stress will have shorter telomeres (and we have a study done on African grays that tells us the birds that are single birds have shorter ones so no, no single bird, including a tiel, does 'fine' on its own regardless of what people want to believe and say) and a depressed immune system (birds would develop diseases that are happen when the immune system is not working right -like aspergillosis or clostridium, for example).

Your wrong about that lots of birds have lived on their own and have lived long healthy lifes I know for a fact Rocko dosent need another tiel he has me and im with him all the time and my African grey has been alone for 6 years and shes ok shes with my mam all the time and they both get attention all the time and not all birds enjoy another birds company many birds like being on their own they dont need a friend to live longer thats just plain silly and a bird cant get stressed if they like being outside seriously think before you post birds are supposed to be outside so why would they get stressed if they like it and there no dangerous predators where i live

My dear, it wasn't me who reached the conclusion that parrots that live by themselves die younger, it was a scientific study (here it is: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 221746.htm) . But, even if we did not have the study, all we have to do is look to nature. Social animals that evolved to live in groups need the company of others of their own species. It doesn't matter what you or I think, it is what Nature decreed.

And yes, birds that were bred in captivity do get stressed out when they leave their familiar environment and exposed to strange sights, people, noises, smells, etc. Parrots and other tropical and subtropical species are actually more prone to it than others because it's not hard-wired into them to expand their territory - so much so that scientists believe that most tropical and subtropical species will become extict due to global warming precisely because they are not programmed to go exploring.

Well whatever science study u saw is wrong birds can live alone as long as they have some sort of flock to hang out with and thats people and he likes visiting the cockatiels at my mams friends petshop its were rocko grew up and he likes going back for visits he went today and i went to a shopping center with him wearing his harness he had a good time meeting new people and Rocko is ok being outside he enjoys it i can say he was a bit stressed on the way home but other than that he was having a good time

[ParrotsForLife]

So far everything that I have read that is of a scientific nature point to the fact that parrots all do better with a companion bird. It is usually better when they are of the same species, but they will accept other parrots as flock members. They don't even need to like each other enough to share a cage they just need to be able to talk to each other.
I know that it sometimes seems that they don't like or need other birds and there are many reasons for this beginning with them being imprinted on humans. This causes them to think of humans as first parents and then potential mates and once these drives are satisfied other humans can be flock members. They may not have even seen another parrot for years once they have a home with humans. But if introductions are carried out properly they will accept other birds as flock members as well as for potential mates and this creates a problem for the humans as then their parrot does not need them so much, which in my opinion is the true nature of the statements to the effect that their bird is happy and doesn't want or need other parrots.

Alright believe what yous wanna believe Rocko is not always alone he talks to my african grey and my Aunties african grey next door and he goes to my mams friends petshop to visit the cockatiels thats were i got Rocko and he also chirps to the birds outside but yeah if Rocko had no interaction with other birds at all he probably would die young but he does have other birds. And i wanna myself get another cockatiel soon I wanna Adopt

[ParrotsForLife]

The people on the Talk cockatiels forumn know Rocko very well yous dont know what i do with him everyday they do i always post topics of what im doing with him Rocko is a very happy tiel

[Wolf]

I never said he was alone, just that they all do better with other birds to talk to, even birds that they would otherwise not associate with at all. I was recently reminder of this by my Grey who doesn't like anyone other than myself. When she first met the budgies, she would not have anything to do with them and their constant chatter irritated her and scared her somewhat. Then when the budgies came here permanently she started talking to them and there are times when she is talking to them and sounds just like them only much, much larger. I don't know which of them needed it the most as all of my birds can see and talk to each other all of the time. Their interactions are fascinating and much more complex than any human can achieve with them, go figure.
Sure wish you would let go of all of this defensive crap as if anyone were accusing you of anything just because we don't always see eye to eye. That is what a forum is about, people sharing what they learn and think for the betterment of all of our birds. Not a single one of us are in constant agreement and we are not bothered by the words you are wrong whether they are said to us or from us. The sharing and the desire to better the lives of these birds is what is the most important.
If you don't think we know enough about you and your birds then share more and don't worry about who agrees or not, just bear in mind that something that you disagree with today on this forum may be the thing that save the day on another day. There are areas that we don't all agree on that there is nothing definitive on yet, there are things that we think are right but again there is no definitive research on. but most of us do rely on scientific research for our answers. We spend hours with our birds daily as well as hours researching them and hunting for the latest information about parrots and other birds from scientific sources. All so that we can improve our husbandry skills as well as to provide the most accurate answers that we can give.

[ParrotsForLife]

I never said he was alone, just that they all do better with other birds to talk to, even birds that they would otherwise not associate with at all. I was recently reminder of this by my Grey who doesn't like anyone other than myself. When she first met the budgies, she would not have anything to do with them and their constant chatter irritated her and scared her somewhat. Then when the budgies came here permanently she started talking to them and there are times when she is talking to them and sounds just like them only much, much larger. I don't know which of them needed it the most as all of my birds can see and talk to each other all of the time. Their interactions are fascinating and much more complex than any human can achieve with them, go figure.
Sure wish you would let go of all of this defensive crap as if anyone were accusing you of anything just because we don't always see eye to eye. That is what a forum is about, people sharing what they learn and think for the betterment of all of our birds. Not a single one of us are in constant agreement and we are not bothered by the words you are wrong whether they are said to us or from us. The sharing and the desire to better the lives of these birds is what is the most important.
If you don't think we know enough about you and your birds then share more and don't worry about who agrees or not, just bear in mind that something that you disagree with today on this forum may be the thing that save the day on another day. There are areas that we don't all agree on that there is nothing definitive on yet, there are things that we think are right but again there is no definitive research on. but most of us do rely on scientific research for our answers. We spend hours with our birds daily as well as hours researching them and hunting for the latest information about parrots and other birds from scientific sources. All so that we can improve our husbandry skills as well as to provide the most accurate answers that we can give.

Well u shouldnt believe something just because its scientific would u believe McDonalds if they told u its real food cause its not and by the words u said its like you were saying Rocko is lonely so if u dont want me misunderstanding things check over your post and theres no point in me sharing more information about me and Rocko because im hardly on this forum i only come on here to get help if theres no really anyone online on Talk cockatiels forum Rocko has a good life and im a great owner I dont rely and believe things from the internet i like to discover my own ways of doing things with Rocko and I know what is the right thing to do from things on the internet maybe u should join the talkcockatiels forum even if u dont have a tiel they seem more experienced with birds than the people ive seen on here

[Wolf]

Actually, I am a member of several parrot forums including Talk Parrots of which Talk Cockatiels is a part of. I really don't think it is my posts so much as the way that you choose to take it. You have so far had issues with everything that anyone has had to say, so perhaps you should examine how you are taking things and yes I will take scientific documentation over what most people have to say every time.
We are willing to accept you just as you are as long as you are considerate, who knows what you may yet have to contribute that will help someone who needs help. I know that I don't know, I just wish that you would not be so defensive in the process. There is no one here trying to offend you and we openly share what we know in the hopes that it will improve the lives of your birds , which is why we are here and why we spend so much time researching and studying.
Also I am glad that Rocko's first trip to the mall went as well as it did. Hope that you remember to bring his own stuff next time. Sorry to learn that they clipped one of his nails too short so that it bled, it takes time for the blood vessel to recede back up to allow more than just the very tip of it to be trimmed.

[Cage Cleaner]

Gl

[Cage Cleaner]

Gl

[ParrotsForLife]

Actually, I am a member of several parrot forums including Talk Parrots of which Talk Cockatiels is a part of. I really don't think it is my posts so much as the way that you choose to take it. You have so far had issues with everything that anyone has had to say, so perhaps you should examine how you are taking things and yes I will take scientific documentation over what most people have to say every time.
We are willing to accept you just as you are as long as you are considerate, who knows what you may yet have to contribute that will help someone who needs help. I know that I don't know, I just wish that you would not be so defensive in the process. There is no one here trying to offend you and we openly share what we know in the hopes that it will improve the lives of your birds , which is why we are here and why we spend so much time researching and studying.
Also I am glad that Rocko's first trip to the mall went as well as it did. Hope that you remember to bring his own stuff next time. Sorry to learn that they clipped one of his nails too short so that it bled, it takes time for the blood vessel to recede back up to allow more than just the very tip of it to be trimmed.

im not being defensive and it wasnt you someone else parjarita was saying that wearing harnesses is stressful and you shouldnt do it thats what i was talking about

[ParrotsForLife]

Can you send a picture of the harness on the parrot? It sounds like you bought the wrong size, or that you aren't pulling the wings through, etc.

Aviator harness is the best, with the best customer service. It would be worth contacting the manufacturer, too. They were helpful when I was first acclimating my parrot to the harness.

As for biting the harness, it's useful to just use the distraction method. Whenever the bird starts to chew, just get its attention onto something else. Going outside works well for this since there are a lot of novelties.

The harness fits ok on him The petite is for cockatiels but i got x-small because it fits better on him hes a big cockatiel I have it on him properly collar over the head wing through then tighten the first time i had it on him it was on wrong he enjoyed his day today we went to a shopping center and two petshops one petshop was were he was from lol he looked happy to be back I also met lots of bird owners and cockatiel owners and they were asking where i got the harness and he went for a few rides on my shoulder If i didnt walk he would bite in the harness so i had to keep going or i would scratch his head to distract him while in the petshop i asked could they cut his nails but they could not because they cut just the tip and he started bleeding well hes home now Relaxing in his cage I need to teach him not to bite the harness

Glad it worked out for you. Sounds like you are on the right track. Just keep doing what you're doing and you'll do great.

Is there no way to completely stop them biting the harness other than distracting them