Aviator Harness Sizes

[marie83]

Wasn't sure where to ask this question but i guess it falls under accessories.

Right, I have e-mailed the parrot university twice but had no response so was wondering if anyone else knew. I have a green cheeked conure and bought the petite sized harness for him. We started training and he was taking to it really well but the neck collar is too small for him, its a so much of a struggle to get over his head I've only attempted it once and I never will again. I definitely wouldnt dare to put it on my cockatiel who is bigger than Ollie and that size is supposidly suitable for her too.......

Anyway would the xs size be ok for my green cheeked? The neck collar is over double the size of the petite and sits quite low down his neck. Looking at it, it should be quite secure once I'm at the point I can tighten the wing straps up enough, but even though I intend to fully test that theory indoors before I attempt to take him outside Im still worried as I don't want any accidents.

Has anyone else had this problem? bit annoyed I've now bought two harnesses for him and neither seem suitable, also that the response from the manufacturer has been non existant.

[Julianajara]

Hi, well I think he XS is the right one, I read somewhere, dont remember where, that the petite was only for cockatiels, and the xs was for conures, ringnecks and similiars. I have a ringneck, and I bought a xs, i havnt tried it yet, but at least on my hand it seems large enough for him.

[marie83]

It's on the official site and the site I ordered off of that petite is for green cheeked conures and for cockatiels. I have both and my cockatiel is definitely bigger than my green cheeked. All the cockatiels I've had have been bigger than my green cheek tbh so I wouldn't even risk trying to put the petite on a cockatiel given I thought I was going to hurt Ollie (GCC) trying to get it back off. I thought I would end up having to cut it back off. That said I had my doubts about its size as I put it on so I should have listened to myself then.

With the xs the neck collar is alot bigger than the slight difference I was expecting. I'm a bit disappointed by the manufacturers lack of response, I heard they have quite good customer service but they haven't got back to an e-mail I sent about 2 1/2 months ago, nor the one I sent last week. Fair enough if they don't know but I wish they would just say! lol. I would try a different make but I really dont like the look of the feather teathers and similar.

I'll probably still try to train him again with the xs but just use it inside for a long time to see how we get on and make sure theres no risk of it coming off first. Would just be handy to know if anyone else has had a similar experience with the petite harness and what they did about it.


Thanks for the reply.

[Bobioden]

On this page for the Petite it lists the Green Cheek. My GCC is on 65grams, and the size for the petite is 75-100. I wonder if it will fit?

http://theparrotuniversity.com/aviator_harness.php

[marie83]

My green cheek is 72g so you would think it would fit. Unless mine just has an unusually big head. Then again like I said it wouldnt fit my 'tiel either cuz she is bigger.

[Joe]

I have the same worries. I just got a petit harness for my gcc and when I saw how small neck hole was I was worried it was too small. We haven't gotten to the place where we are ready to try it on (still getting used to it and the handling needed) but it just looks too tight. Can any other gcc/petit harness owners calm my fears?

[Michael]

It's better tight than loose. As long as it can be put on and taken off without hurting the bird, it's fine. Too loose and it could slip off in flight. Don't forget they have a lot of feather on their neck and it's far more slender than what you see. So as long as it fits over the head to slip on, you're good.

[Joe]

Thanks Micheal! That puts me at ease. We'll keep working on getting Pip at ease....

[marie83]

It's better tight than loose. As long as it can be put on and taken off without hurting the bird, it's fine. Too loose and it could slip off in flight. Don't forget they have a lot of feather on their neck and it's far more slender than what you see. So as long as it fits over the head to slip on, you're good.

I wouldn't be able to get it back over Ollies head, it's definitely too tight. I'm sure it isn't too tight around the neck but thats no good if you can't get it back off without hurting the bird.
I wish they made a size in between the petite and extra small as there is a huge difference in collar sizes between the two.

[Michael]

If extra small is the size they recommend for Senegals (which I think it is), then it is wayyyy too big for gcc. It's a bit loose on Senegal already.