hey guys look what I found!!

[birdgirl]

make your own bird harness. I thought this ways cool
http://www.freewebs.com/featheredfamily/harness.htm

[birdygirl]

Oh that looks interesting. It looks like the one I bought for $15.

[crazeemama]

Wo! what great info! thanks for sharing with us.:)

[dlaura]

Neat site - printed out the directions. Just bought one last week- but may make one anyway.

Thanks for sharing!

[retret]

If I put that on Dexter my neighbor's dog would probably say "Weird looking dog, arf arf" :D

sorry just joking..

[birdgirl]

LOL

[JSimko]

Great idea.

[Amanda]

Thanks for the info! It looks easy to make ... so maybe when I have time, I'll try to make one for Rio.

[Mrs.Birdy]

Great idea but doesn't look as comfortable as the flight suit.

[monty's Mom]

I am hoping to get a harness for my cag soon, any advice on how to get it on him without him freaking out?

[crazeemama]

that same website has a lot of info including a glossary of ingredients that are commonly used in pellets, etc. It is worth checking out too.

[Amanda]

Monty's mom, the best way to introduce something to your bird is to do it very slowly and gradually. Let Monty see the harness from a distance at first and see how he reacts ... then slowly move the harness closer to his cage. Once he is used to the "new item", you can then let him get really close to it and see if he will beak it or attempt to play with it. Then once you are sure he is comfortable with the harness at a close range, play a game with him and the harness. For instance, drape it on his back then quickly remove. Let him slowly get used to it being on his body. Once he is ready to have the harness on, make sure you have a very "special" treat for him. Give him the treat and immediately lavish with hoots and praise as soon as he lets you put the harness on. Enforce the behavior by always giving him lots of praise and a "special" treat (may be food, toy or an outing outside) whenever you put the harness on him. This way, he will associate the harness with something fun to do.

My Pionus (Rio) is so used to her flight suit now. She even sits on my lap and waits for me to finish fastening the suit on.

[Amanda]

P.S. I took Rio to the pet store the other day and tried a harness on her ... she didn't mind it at all (maybe because she's already used to wearing a flight suit?), but I prefer the flight suit over the harness because it is so light weight and at the same time, it catches her "droppings".:)

[Mrs.Birdy]

Amanda:

I can't wait to get Marcel's flight suit (a red one). I am still awaiting it. When I tried the original one on (the one too small), he freaked a little, but soon stopped.

I hope he still won't mind once the replacement one comes.

I'll try to get a pic of him with it on.

:)

P.s. You should be a birdie psychologist...you have such great ideas!

[Amanda]

MrsBirdy, I can't wait to see a picture of Marcel in his flight suit. I hope you get it soon. I'm thinking of ordering 2 more for Rio (I think if you buy 2 at the same time, you get a discount?) but can't decide what colors I should get her. I think I like the "Plush Velvet" and "Peri Orchid" ones ... what do you think of these patterns?

Funny that you think I should be a birdie psychologist ... because Psych was one of my favorite subjects in school. :D I like Psych so much that I took more psych courses in college...;)

[Mrs.Birdy]

It shows. You seem to really get into the mind of parrots.

As far as the flight suit patterns....I love the rainbow, but my son thought it too femine for Marcel (even thought we are not sure of his sex). I liked the red because it seemed to blend well with his other feathers. If he wears it well, I will get him another in purple, because he has purple feathers on his chest.

Also, I like the disco pattern....did you see it, it is black with multi color dots. (I don't think my son would like that very much either, but I think it's cool).

I love the plush velvet and peri orchid...just right for your little feminine Rio.

I love this....it's like haute couture for birds.

[Amanda]

Rio has the "rainbow" flight suit now ... but it looks more like pink than rainbow. I also liked the "disco" pattern ... I think that would look so cool on Marcel.

At first my husband thought it was "weird" that I'm dressing Rio up. But now he really appreciates the fact that we don't have birdie "droppings" all over the place.

[Mrs.Birdy]

Oh those dreaded bird droppings. I feel like I'm forever cleaning up after my cockatiel...she is the messiest one, she insists on pooping anywhere but in her cage. I have her cage on a vinyl floor so it's easy to clean-up.

Marcel has occasional accidents on the rug, but I keep baby wipes handy for clean-up especially the ones on our shoulder. He drops his in his cage or on his playstand.

My budgies have their messes too. But mainly in and on their cage.

Oh what a nasty subject, huh.

Anyway, I will be using the flight-suit for Marcel to go visiting or on outings. If he doesn't mind wearing it in the house, all the better.

How's the weather up in Canada....we have had consistent rain, especially on the weekends...enought to make a person stir crazy.

[Amanda]

Poor you, MrsBirdy ... with all the rain.... :( Where in NJ are you? I have some relatives in Summit. Actually, I was there visiting last year ... mostly, I went to the shopping outlets (near West Point Academy...I forgot the name of the place) :D

The weather here has been so nice the last few weeks. It is currently 31 degrees celcius (I think that's about 84 degrees F) in the sun! I'll be going out with Rio soon and see if she wants a misting outdoors again.

[Jenny]

I'll have to try out making the harness. I bought a $15 myself, but vacuumed the actual "harness" part of it up on accident, so only have the "leash" part! It was very bulky anyway, and didn't fit well even after adjusting it. Good luck getting Marcel used to his! :)

[Mrs.Birdy]

SOUTH JERSEY....on the shore.

It's usually absolutely beautiful here this time of year, but this year it has rained most of May and almost whole month of June. Depressing to say the least. Good news is next week should be rain-free, sunny and warm 85-90 degrees.

Summit is about 2 hours north of here. I love outlet shopping, we have Six Flags outlet in Jackson by us.

I've never been to Canada...where are you. Ontario? Montreal?

[Amanda]

MrsBirdy, I'm originally from Montreal but moved to Ontario with my job 8 yrs ago. Funny how you mentioned both places ... ;)

Oh yeah, we went to Six Flags last year! Kids had a so much fun!

Well, I hope the weatherman is right and you get some nice warm weather next week. I'll keep my fingers crossed... :)