Senegal & Flight Suit training - need advice...

[cledford3]

I've had my Senegal for about 6 weeks now - making it about 6 months old. He is pretty much hand tame and allows me to pick him up, flip him over on back and has no issue stepping up, etc. He's also got the target stick down. I can have him to climb anywhere in his cage or out of it to be clicked and treated. He can also do "wings" with a finger prompt. (haven't faded the finger to only verbal command yet...) He is just starting to get a bit "opinionated" - such as he was able to climb to the top of his cage the other day (I don't allow this - but he managed it anyhow...) and didn't want to come down and has balked once or twice in the last few days at stepping up - which here to for was almost automatic. I figure he's just about at the age to start testing boundary's. His is however very bonded to me and wants to be in my company etc. and comes out of cage well. I've even been working on recalls with him on the bed. I place him on one side and go to the other and call him to me and treat when he arrives.

I purchased a flight suit for him over the weekend. This is for double duty. He is clipped now (was by breeder) but I'd like him to become flighted. I also want to take him on trips etc. I also want to extend his "out" time with me without having to clean up accidents. So, I've got the flight suit and need to get it on him. I've had it out during our "chill time" and have made sure he can see it and check it out. I've also stood him over it and started to pull it up but not to point of putting it on him in any way. He's not too keen on it and it is going to be a big step to move from where we're at, to actually putting it on him. I also (until just recently) have not handled his wings much and he's a bit touchy about it, so I've been handling them a lot now (and clicking and rewarding) but trying to pull them through the holes is going to be stressful - for me! I just don't want to freak him out or damage a wing and this being my first parrot I don't know how much I can and can't do with them - so I tend err on the side of caution...

I'm looking for advice on moving forward with the next steps on the suit and what to expect. The bottom line is that I think at some point "flooding" is going to need to take place as I don't see him ever taking to it on his own. I'm just wondering who's actually been through the flight suit training and what to expect. I bought it from a local aviary and I really like the owner. She was honest with me (I feel) and said that the first couple of times with a bird that wasn't exposed to the suit from hatching (whcih they do with theirs) can be a bit unpleasent for everyone - but that she expected that it would only take a few sessions before it was ok. What do you all think?

Also, I purchased a small and the packaging says for "African Senegal" - but is still looks a bit undersized. My parrot weights 141 grams.

Thanks for any input!

-Calvin

[Michael]

Ok, to me it seems like you are doing the wrong things for the wrong reasons. Let us split the goal and solution rather than talking about how to put on a flight suit.

First of all, a flight suit is not the solution for pooping issues. It's not fair to make the bird sit in its own poo just because you don't want to get soiled. Instead, you have to learn poop management strategies and then it solves the problem in the long term rather than just while the bird is wearing a diaper. I'm not going to get into all of it, since I wrote this article about it, but it's a process of both modifying your own behavior as well as the parrot's. I very highly recommend parrot training perches for a flighted parrot for potty training. My Senegal Parrot probably takes 70% of her poops on a newspaper beneath the training perch and only 29% in the cage. Less than 1% is on me or furniture. Even if I'm holding her out at home, she'll fly back to her perch when she needs to go or hold it in till then. This is a much more effective solution for dealing with the poop problem.

Now the second issue is going outside and flight. Once again, a flight suit is not the best for this. An aviator harness I think has been found by many, including myself, to be the best leash and flight leash solution available. It is relatively easy to use, less constrictive, and more reliable than a lot of the other stuff. I wrote a detailed article and made several videos of how I trained my Senegal Parrot to wear the harness in just 3 days. The same techniques could be used for a flight suit but I think the parrot will get used to a harness quicker and be less uncomfortable in it so the training will be more successful.

So in conclusion, separate the poop and leash goals, lose the flight suit, get a harness, and teach the parrot using positive reinforcement techniques coupled with some mild negative reinforcement and flooding. Check back on my blog as I am putting together a new article/video of harness training progress with Truman including closer details of how to actually put it on. Good luck.

[CheekyandMalolo]

If you would still like to use the flight suit, I have heard of people saying they simply roll their bird up in it and velcro it up, obviously with it the right way round etc and when the bird moves their legs and wings pop out the holes. Obviously you don't want to freak the bird out and make it feel trapped tho.
Also, due to the design of the flight suit, the poo is actually drawn away from the bird and kept in the end of it, eg, NOT touching the bird. I've heard of many good reviews about how well it manages the problem of poo being near the vent.

[Conure_Concierge]

The limited experience I've had trying to coax/stuff my Green Cheek into his flight suit doesn't entitle me to anymore than an opinion, but it seems to me that though well made and a good idea, the flight suit doesn't work well on unclipped birds. I've only managed to get Enkidu into his flight suit correctly one time since he regrew most of his primaries. The elastic arm bands on the suit aren't large enough to easily slip his wings through and after binding one of his wings and his panicking two times I've largely given up on the idea. I'm considering the purchase of a harness for the safety factor, but he's quickly learned to 'potty' on command so there aren't many accidents (if I'm half-way paying attention). Here what Enkidu looks like in his wild-man suit.

[Cage Cleaner]

I had a flight suit for my GCC and there was definitely one time when his vent touched his poop. I had it on for maybe three hours, which may be why a it was a bit of an extended session. However, I stopped using it after that.