Hello, I have been working on my gcc to get used to his harness and the different things that go along with it.
First of all, I set the harness on the area Gizmo was playing because he really freaked out at the sight of it. He wouldn't get within a foot of it. So, I set it down and held a nutriberry over it to get him to go towards it. Then he was a little less afraid of it. Then, every time he touched it I would give him a treat. That way, he associated the harness with treats. Then once he was comfortable touching it (chewing) I picked it up and held it out to him for him to touch and get a treat. I did this over and over till he was comfortable.
Then, I had to hold him so he wouldn't run, I touched it to his head or back and rewarded him with a treat. After doing this many many many times, I took the biggest loop on the thing and had him reach through it to get a treat so he got a little used to the thing going over his head. Keep in mind, none of the fabric touched him at this point. I also did everything very slowly. Don't rush or it will freak your bird out big time.
After that, I slowly made the loop smaller so it was closer to his head and eventually touching his head. I stopped using the harness for training there. Instead, I used my hand and made a circle with my pointer finger and thumb and began slipping that over Gizmo's head so he got used to something sliding over his head and would reward him each time.
Once he was comfortable with that, I took the actual part of the harness that slips over his head and slid it over, had it stay there for a couple of seconds, slipped it off and rewarded him. I did this quite a few times until he was comfortable with it.
I haven't figured out how to get him comfortable with doing the rest of the harness yet. I had to man handle him a little which I'm sure stressed him out some, but hey, we're both learning about this new thing. I took it off and put it on again and it went smoother the second time. The problem is that it is extremely difficult to hold onto him and put the harness on. I need 3 hands! I can't tighten the strap if I'm holding onto him because I need two hands for that.
Does anyone have any tips for putting the harness on small birds? Most videos are for large parrots which are extremely different, especially because the harness is much smaller on a large bird and doesn't take up as much of their body.
I can put the loop over Gizmo's head just fine but tightening the strap is really difficult for me.