A few questions: parrot sleep, aviator harness

[KNG]

Hi guys, I have a few different questions. I decided to post them under one thread rather than spamming the board.

My first problem is, I don't think Lola is sleeping very well (and neither am I). I have her with me in my room in a small apartment. Her cage is next to my bed (no other place to put it). However, she sleeps clinging to the side of the cage rather than her tent I got her (i'm going to try to bring her old one from home to see if she'll use it - maybe she just doesn't like the new one). I hear her moving around throughout the night. I also toss and turn a lot in my sleep, and I might be waking her up. Since I can't move her cage, is there anything else I can do? Would covering her cage help at all?

Ok, now for the second thing. I would like to buy an aviator harness for Lola. She loves to be pet but doesn't like her wings touched, and is sometimes afraid of my hands if I try to reach for her (my fault - I have forced her flight suit on her a few times, and I also have to hold her when I trim her nails. So no wonder she's afraid). I realize I'm going to have to do a lot of training to get her comfortable. But for those of you who have this harness - how do you and your birds like it? Do you know which size would be best for a green cheek conure? I have heard different things.

Oh, and when can I start taking Lola outside? We are supposed to get a few "warm" days next week...ranging from the 40's to 60's. Can she tolerate these temperatures for a short amount of time?

[Michael]

Yeah, covering the cage is a good idea. Not only does it block light, but also blocks some sound, air, and motion.

Here's how I trained Kili to wear a flight harness in 3 days. For you it will most likely take longer but that's a good technique to use in any case.

Here's a good rule of thumb to follow for parrot temperatures:

A) Never anything below freezing (make it 40F for safety margin)
B) 10F below normal temperature is ok (so if apartment is normally 70F, 60F is ok, if parrot is acclimatized to living in aviary at 50F, 40F is ok)
C) 20F below normal temperature is ok for short amounts of time, preferably in sun, no wind

A good way to make sure you don't freeze your parrot is to underdress yourself. If you can be out in short sleeves, then the parrot is ok. You can wear a single light sweater/shirt but bring parrot inside once you feel cold. If you bundle up in a winter jacket, you may have a hard time realizing how cold it actually is. If the parrot is shivering, going to sleep, or has very cold feet, those are also signs that it is cold.

[felix11]

My green cheek has a petit sized aviator harness.

I never knew parrots could go out in such cold temperatures. I wonder if their are any upper limits to their heat tolerance we should watch. I would guess not, being from tropical climates and all? Living in Australia, in summer it regularly gets up to 40 degrees (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I think petite is the size I got for Scooter. The website was pretty clear about what size was suitable for green-cheek. You will need to handle your bird quite a bit to get it on... the head loop is really quite small. I haven't actually put it on him yet, I've been sort of noodling around with it a little here and there, not really working it as a full time thing.