Majick Feathers

Harness Training Your Feathered Friends

Table of Contents

Why Harness Train Birds

Harness training parrots to reduce the risk of a bird flying away or getting hurt & is one way to be able to engage with your bird and open the world to more experiences.

Going outside with our parrots is emotionally and physically healthy for them as long as we can keep them safe. Birds that are allowed outside time get fresh air and enrichment from their environment. They have the opportunity to socialize with other humans and sometimes other parrots, they also become aware of the world outside and learn what is “normal” sights and sounds. These experiences bring the bird and the handler closer and strengthens the bond between bird and human. However, taking your bird outside is not something that should be done without precautions.

What To Look For In A Parrot Harness

When choosing a harness for your bird there are a few things to consider in order to get the best harness for your bird. Majick Feathers have a range of harnesses that have been specifically designed for birds by Majick Feathers available in our SHOP.

Harnesses must be designed specifically for a bird. Quality bird harnesses will have at minimum,

• Quality metal fittings. Most small animal harness use some plastic that parrots are able to chew and break easily.
• Bungie leads. This is a safety feature which helps to prevent injury if the parrot was to take flight while in the harnesses. Some elasticity in the lead will prevent a sudden jolt and reduce the risk of injury to the parrot allowing a safer, more controlled landing.
• Designed to fit the shape of a parrot. Unlike the other small animal harnesses that are designed to fit four legged animals, the shape and leg position of a parrot is unique, a bird harness must be designed to adjust correctly to the birds shape and size. This includes the size and quality of the webbing and the overall weight of the harness.

Majick Feathers has specifically designed their harnesses for birds that actively address these considerations. Harnesses come in 2 styles. The Explorer Harness which is a clip up harness and the Adventurer Harness & Adventurer Small & Petite which are slide belt harnesses. All Majick Feathers harnesses come with a detachable bungee lead

The Explorer clip up harness has the advantage of being a fully adjustable harness with the easy movement of two tri-glides. V shape front to sit below the bird’s crop and cross over back opens fully meaning no more head loop that can be scary for some birds and difficult to train and the one clip design allows the body straps to slip under the wing easily then clips securely in place with out the need to adjust each time. this has been designed for the medium to large parrots

The Adventurer slide belt harness is a fully adjustable harness with the easy movement of one tri-glide. Wide open front ensures no pressure on the crop and allows for a much larger head opening then other leading brands on the market. The long belt design allows the body straps to slip under the wing easily then tightens to the birds waist and is available in sizes for petite through to extra large parrots

Medium to Large Design Pictured

Harness training – What to avoid doing

Harness training can be a challenge! Getting your bird to accept and wear a harness may not be easy, you must teach the bird numerous behaviors before they are capable of wearing a harness comfortably.

Rushing, pushing, forcing or going past your birds comfort level will result in undesirable outcomes.

For younger birds this will often result in the bird giving up and accepting the harness but as the bird reaches maturity and / or if there is a reasonable length of time between using the harness the bird will regress and start fighting again

For older birds it will often result in some nasty bites.

Another common method, that is highly discouraged, is the just put it on method. It did not take long to find an example online that was extreme and we were deeply saddened by some of the comments telling this person that she was very good at it, unfortunately there is a lot of both good and bad advice on the internet so please use some common sense when viewing this information. If the bird is destressed while putting the harness on the bird will not be happy wearing it.

It will not matter how well you can train them to put it on inside your home, if they do not enjoy the time they wear it, if they get scared when wearing it or are forced to do things that make them uncomfortable when wearing it they will learn to hate it. This includes but is not limited to letting strangers touch the bird ( if they don’t like petting from strangers), Walking too close to something the bird is not comfortable with or even not being aware of the bird of prey flying above.

Harness Training – A Birds Perspective

First Published by Majick Feathers on Facebook 13 October 2020

My human is excited and what’s in their hand, a new toy maybe?

My human is picking me up, okay this is different they normally put new toys in my house.

Why is my human holding me firm? I don’t like this. This is not normal.

This is not a toy it a bit of rope.

They are trying to put it over my head. I don’t like things coming from above, that is where predators come from and I was born to be scared of that.

Can I get away? Let me try to fly. This rope gets caught on something and I get pulled and fall. Get me out of this NOW.

If the human comes near me again with this thing I am gonna bite them

Majick Feathers Harness Training Method

This guide has been created using the Majick Feathers Adventurer Harness (shown in photo) the harness training techniques used are not specific to these harnesses and can be adapted to the brand or type of harness that you have.

Enquire about booking a training consultation with Majick Feathers

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Prepare Yourself for Harness Training with your bird

Remember – Your excited about the harness but your bird is not excited to be tethered and have their movement restricted.

Our aim when we harness train is to work with the bird so that THEY decide that the harness is good and results in things THEY enjoy. To be successful at this long term we not only have to be slow and careful about how we introduce the harness to them, so they are comfortable and happy to put it on, but we need to understand and be their protector when out in public. Remember birds fly away from what they perceive as danger so by putting them in a harness we remove their natural self-protection ability and must take responsibility to keep them away from anything they think is dangerous or we loose their trust

We need to gain and keep their trust, or we risk putting them in a position where they may bite someone through fear, they may take flight but be held back by the lead or they may simply freeze, all of which will mean next time you try to put the harness on they will be reluctant to do so. Too many negative experiences will result in the bird no longer wanting to participate in outings with the harness and will damage your overall relationship with the bird.

Many parrots are slow to accept new things, some are slower than others and a lot can depend on their previous history. A companion parrot must overcome a lot of things to be able to really enjoy using a harness.

• Having their movement restricted
• The feeling of an unfamiliar item around their body
• Sounds and sights of new locations
• Strangers walking up to them, some strangers will try to pull their tail, stroke their body or squark or make other unsettling sounds when close to them
• Exposure to other animals for example A dog on a lead can be a scary experience for a tethered bird but an unrestrained excited dog can be deadly
• The feeling of wind
• And many other distractions in the outside world

If your bird has not happily used a harness before or it has been a long time since using a harness, please take time to train and familiarise your bird before attempting to go on outings.

Beginning Harness Training

All training should be completed at the birds’ pace. Failing to do so can result in a bird that is fearful of the harness and cause much stress for you and your bird.

Start by allowing your bird to get used to the sight of the harness. This can be done by clipping the harness to your clothing while you are playing with the bird.

 Most birds are inquisitive by nature and will after some time investigate new objects. This can take hours or weeks depending on the bird and how much time you are spending with them and how comfortable they are in the environment. It may take longer if they have had a bad experience already. It is particularly important you do not rush them.

Once your bird has gotten used to the harness just being there, spend some time playing with your bird with the harness in your hands. If step one was completed well step two should not cause any fear for your bird. Touch the bird with the harness and use the harness to pat your bird getting it used to the feel.

With your birds’ favorite treat in hand open the head loop of the harness as large as it can go, lure the bird with a treat to put its head through the harness. You may need to start by holding the treat through the harness and getting your bird to lean forward to reach the treat and slowly reduce how far through the harness you are holding the treat until the bird is reaching through the harness to get the treat. This needs to be repeated many times until your bird is comfortable and happy to have the loop go over their head.

Only once your bird is extremely comfortable with the loop going over their head then you can start to pass the straps under their wings. As this is a new movement you will most likely have to do this in small stages as well. This may start with touching the harness webbing to the birds wings and slowly as your bird becomes more comfortable slipping the webbing under the wings. One side at first then the other. Do not clip the harness together or adjust the tri glide depending on the model of harness you purchased until you have repeated the current processes many times and you bird is very comfortable. Ensure you are using positive reinforcement for your bird at each step of harness training to help they feel good about the experiences they are having.

To complete the training clip or adjust the tri glide reward your bird then remove the harness and reward again.  Repeat the process, continue to put the harness on and off ensuring you are rewarding its calm behavior each time until your bird is happy with the whole process. This may take a couple more training sessions for your bird to be truly comfortable  Take your bird for a walk around the house several times before attempting to venture outside. Be aware that for most companion parrots the outside world is a scary place full of unfamiliar sights sounds and smells that can be unsettling to them. It is normal for your bird to be a little nervous in these initial stages, take it slow, only go out for short periods of time to begin with and be ready to protect your bird against any real or perceived threats it may encounter.

Remember do not rush any part of the process as this can make your bird scared of the harness – Let your bird set the pace

Final Advice

The key to successful train is to allow the bird to set the pace for learning. Some birds will move through all, or some of the steps, very quickly and with others it may seem painfully slow. However, taking it slow is always faster than trying to force the bird to move at a quicker rate than they are comfortable. If you move too fast your bird will fight the training. In most cases you will find that birds will move at various rates as you desensitize and teach each part of the chain. They may quickly put their heads through the harness but be slower at allowing you to put their wings through the openings. Expect your bird to learn some behaviors quicker than others

The birds prospective articles are written in a way to elicit empathy for our feathered friends and encourage training methods that promote positive experiences for both the parrot and human. Training your parrot in a positive way can help to elevate problem parrot behaviors, increase enjoyment for both you and your parrot and reduce the expense of hiring a professional parrot trainer.

There is no way to understand what a bird is thinking or feeling but as humans we can use kinder methods to achieve extraordinary parrot training results,

It has been Majick Feathers experience that parrot training becomes even easier using kinder more animal centric training methods and once the fundamentals of clicker training and target training are established many new behaviors can be trained even quicker.

Current training practices should be based on scientific methods. Most commonly current animal training is based around Applied Behavior Analysis and fantastic work is being done by many leading experts to give animals positive experiences, choice and even a voice in their own lives.