What size Aviator harness for a GCC?

[marie83]

Glad to hear it, honestly these smaller birds are less fragile than they look. Its definitely worth a go, the enrichment he will get for being harness trained will be fantastic for him. I'm sure you will stand a good chance of training him from your messages on here but if on the small chance it doesn't work out you can always sell the harness on or keep it for a future feathered companion.

If you do order a custom one then let me know how the process of ordering it is, I think when I'm able to start training Ollie again I'll practice with the xs and then consider ordering a custom made.

[Andromeda]

Thanks for the continued input.

I agree that GCC have very small necks; mine likes to stretch his neck out as far as it can go so I can reach under his feathers and rub his neck so I know how tiny it is. However, I saw a few pictures of parrotlets and budgies wearing a harness so if their necks can support one I'm sure it would be okay on a green cheek.

I do worry about the buckle being hard to manipulate with how squirmy he is but I'm still willing to give it a go.

Friend2Parrots thanks for sharing about the flight suit because I had also considered buying one and cutting out the "diaper" (I agree that a diaper on a bird is weird) but it's good to know it won't work!

I e-mailed the manufacturer regarding a custom size and if I don't hear back from them by the end of the week I will call them. I'll post any info regarding custom sizing here once I find out more.

[rebcart]

Just to add my two cents -

We got the Petite for my GCC, and it seems to be the right size for her. She's a pretty small one (~66g), so if your conure has bigger bones you may find things different. The petite IS really super tight at first to get over her head, so I spent a whole day just fiddling with it, tugging the collar part back and forth, pulling it apart with my fingers, rubbing it: anything I could do to make it softer and more supple. It's made a massive difference in how easy it is for getting her head in and out. If you're interested, I can measure some head and/or harness dimensions so you can see how your bird compares to mine.

We've only gone as far as getting her to stick her head in on her own, and now am slowly working on making her stay in it for more than 3 seconds at a time so taking her outside is a long way off yet. But I'm definitely convinced that we got the right size, and any problems we might have with the buckles should likewise be solved with a bit of elbow (or in this case finger!) grease.

[Andromeda]

Just to add my two cents -

We got the Petite for my GCC, and it seems to be the right size for her. She's a pretty small one (~66g), so if your conure has bigger bones you may find things different. The petite IS really super tight at first to get over her head, so I spent a whole day just fiddling with it, tugging the collar part back and forth, pulling it apart with my fingers, rubbing it: anything I could do to make it softer and more supple. It's made a massive difference in how easy it is for getting her head in and out. If you're interested, I can measure some head and/or harness dimensions so you can see how your bird compares to mine.

Thanks for the response, rebcart. My conure is pretty big for his species at ~76 - 77g so I have my doubts about the petite size but it's good to know that with manipulation it becomes more supple and I will definitely do this once I get a harness!

I got a response from The Parrot University:

We can make a special size at no cost. We have some slightly larger petite size in stock that we can ship immediately. All you need do is return the one you have with a note of what you need and we will resend the next day.

Here is our answer to this frequently asked question.

Unfortunately the smaller the bird the less room we have to work with to make a collar, so the collar will not have a lot of extra room.

This size inequity makes the collar of a petite harness not much larger than the head of a cockatiel, thus a snug fit. Because of this we need to take a little more time working with the smaller birds to make sure they become accustomed to slipping the harness on and off. This is not much different than putting on a sweater or a t-shirt on a child. They are a tight fit going over the head but we become accustomed to the process at a very young age when we can be raised to accept this process.

We make the harness to fit on the average bird. Some birds have larger heads and healthier birds will have more down, making it more difficult to remove the harness.

We do have a few petite harnesses that are a little larger for birds with larger than average heads.

There are a few birds that normally use the petite size but are much larger than normal size for their species. After you work with your bird a few times you will have a better idea.

We offer free exchanges so if you need a different size there is not charge.

I'm a lot more keen to order now that I know they offer free exchanges. I'm also impressed that a custom size doesn't cost extra.

I think I'm going to try the "slightly larger petite size" before I order a custom size.

[marie83]

Did you e-mail one of the addresses on the main website? I tried both twice and never got a response lol.

[Andromeda]

Did you e-mail one of the addresses on the main website? I tried both twice and never got a response lol.

I e-mailed "sales@theparrotuniversity.com" and a man named Steve Hartman replied. He actually said "I apologize for my tardy reply, I am watching the parrots in Honduras this month and neglecting my work a little" but I thought the reply was pretty fast as I only just e-mailed them Friday night.

[marie83]

Meh, maybe they didn't like my e-mail address

[friend2parrots]

wow, that response from Parrot University was very thorough. thanks for sharing it Andromeda.

I am very impressed with their customer service. they seem very supportive, and ready to answer questions.

I'm a lot more keen to order now that I know they offer free exchanges. I'm also impressed that a custom size doesn't cost extra.I think I'm going to try the "slightly larger petite size" before I order a custom size.

this is exactly what I was thinking of doing myself, but on second thought, having read the email,
I'm now thinking of asking them if they have one that's about the same size as the petite in the body region, but has a slightly larger neck loop. my reasoning is based on what Mr. Hartman wrote in his email:

This size inequity makes the collar of a petite harness not much larger than the head of a cockatiel, thus a snug fit.

from my own observation of both GCCs and cockatiels, I've noticed that GCCs have bigger heads than tiels, and that tiels have slightly bigger bodies than GCCs. Considering this, it kind of makes sense that the petite harness, which is designed to fit a cockatiel (thats what they say on their website) is hard to get over the head of a GCC. The body part of a petite harness thus should be big enough. The only part of the petite harness that seems to be a challenge for GCCs is the neck loop. so when custom ordering, I'm thinking of asking for a slightly larger neck loop, and a regular body section. what do you guys think?

And rebcart, I'm feeling more encouraged about how to deal with the sticky buckles and tight straps now. I guess like both you and marie say, the trick is to fiddle with the harness until it becomes soft and supple, and perhaps use a microscopic bit of oil? (would you guys advise that?)

also, just wanted to mention a few thoughts I had about the following part of their email:

They are a tight fit going over the head but we become accustomed to the process at a very young age when we can be raised to accept this process.

my only concern about this part is that a number of us who are trying to get our GCCs used to a harness have older birds. Mine will be 6 this year... what do you guys think about getting an older bird used to the "tight fit over the head" part?

[Eurycerus]

my only concern about this part is that a number of us who are trying to get our GCCs used to a harness have older birds. Mine will be 6 this year... what do you guys think about getting an older bird used to a harness?

I hope it's not an issue considering Nika is six or seven now and is only just now getting any type of training and beginning to get accustomed to the harness. I'm working on getting her used to sticking her head halfway through the loop right now. She's not super keen on it but I think we'll get there eventually.

[Andromeda]

this is exactly what I was thinking of doing myself, but on second thought, having read the email, I'm now thinking of asking them if they have one that's about the same size as the petite in the body region, but has a slightly larger neck loop. ... The only part of the petite harness that seems to be a challenge for GCCs is the neck loop. so when custom ordering, I'm thinking of asking for a slightly larger neck loop, and a regular body section. what do you guys think?

I thought the same thing so I sent him a follow-up e-mail and asked him to clarify if he meant the collar is larger. I also asked if he knew exactly how much larger the collar is versus the "normal" petite.

He did say in the initial e-mail "we do have a few petite harnesses that are a little larger for birds with larger than average heads" so I'm thinking that the collar itself is larger but I want to be sure before I order a "larger petite" versus a custom size.

I also asked how I would order the "larger petite" if I wanted one since I don't know if I could go through the website or if I'd have to do something special.

my only concern about this part is that a number of us who are trying to get our GCCs used to a harness have older birds. Mine will be 6 this year... what do you guys think about getting an older bird used to the "tight fit over the head" part?

I have the same concern. Mine will be 7 in just over a week so I'm not sure he'll ever tolerate a tight loop around his neck or a harness on his body but I'm going to use clicker training to at least give it a try.

I don't worry about him learning something new at his age---he just learned how to put little colored pegs in a small white box and that only took 5 days---but rather I worry about him physically tolerating something as constraining as a harness on his body.