When introducing your bird to the habit of wearing clothes, whether it is a vest, a dress, a collar, and a harness, it is important for you not to add unnecessary stress for your pet bird. There are many different things that you should consider for your pet. So, here are some of the things that you should remember.
Initial Warnings
- Wearing clothes require training for your birds, so you should be aware that you have to allot time for teaching your pet.
- You should never leave your bird unattended while they are wearing a harness, whether the birds are indoors or outdoors.
- All bird training sessions must be done inside until your bird is comfortable wearing clothes on their own.
- Never tie your pet bird to a bird perch with the bird leash. When left alone, the bird might become too panicked and startled, and this can mean physical injury, or worse, death.
- You should ensure that the clothes of your bird are snug enough on their bodies, but it should not be too tight. The best fit of bird clothes can be determined by slipping a finger in between the clothes of your bird as well as the bird’s body.
- If you reside in an area with bird predators like falcons, you should always walk with a pair so that one person will assist the bird while the other person will make sure that the bird remains safe.
Set The Stage For Your Parrot’s Clothes Wearing Training
Introducing your pet bird to the wonderful and fashionable world of wearing clothes can open a world of amazing fun and socialize for both the pet and the owner. But, before you start with any form of training, you should first identify what things serve as motivation for your bird. You should something to offer for your bird as a reward. It can be a delicious treat, but it can also be a toy that they love to play with. Even enthusiastic praises go a long way for these animals. Therefore, you should choose a short time per day to utilize for training your bird to wear clothes.
Some Useful Training Tips
- If your bird is particular about colors, you should be very careful with the color that you choose.
- You should also use some clicker training so that the bird will be tolerant of the constant touching of their wings and their heads.
- So that the bird will not suffer from mental fatigue, make sure that you can keep each training session fun and short.
- Make sure to train your pet daily. The best thing to do is to set a specific time each day in order to establish a routine.
- If you notice that your bird is becoming scared, rest this type of training and go for something else for a while.
- Arrange training sessions before feeding time. This will ensure that all training sessions will end on a positive note: eating.
- Do not hurry too much, and allow your bird to set their learning pace.
- Observe the body language of your bird. See if your bird is interested and eager. Beware for negative actions like fluffing their feathers, leaning back, and walking away from you.
- Never attempt to force your birds to wear clothes. This will only lead to anxiety and panic for your pet. Frightening can ruin the overall experience and even lead to trauma against you.
- If something goes wrong, just keep calm. Remove the clothing. Allow your bird to work on something else and try again on another day.
Quick Steps For Clothes Training For Your Bird
- Start with letting the bird see their clothes.
Within about a week-long period, you should constantly show your bird their new clothing. At first, place the clothes at a good distance, and then slowly bring them closer and closer to your pet. - Let your pet bird feel their clothes.
- Use training for about a week, depending on the temperament of your bird.
- Pet your bird while you are holding the clothes.
- Lift the bird’s wing through holding the clothes.
- Alternatingly lift your bird’s wing while you are touching your bird’s clothes.
- Allow your bird to eventually touch the clothes.
- Start putting on the clothes for your bird.
- Slip the clothing over the head of your bird’s head, wing, and body.
- Give your bird some treats after it has allowed you to control its sensitive body.
- Watch out for bird nibbling and chewing.
- Consider providing some distractions until the bird gets used to feeling some fabric near its body.
How To Teach An Anxious Bird or An Older Bird to Wear Clothes
- Place your pet bird on a training stand or at the top of a table. Make sure the location is someplace, where they can be attentive without sacrificing their overall comfort. You should also place the clothes in your hand, but hiding the most of them. You should also ensure that your bird only showcases a small portion of the fabric.
- Once you see that your pet bird is becoming a little more curious, introduce the clothing with a game similar to peek-a-boo. Let the bird think that the small fabric is linked to the fun game. Every time your bird does something that interacts with their clothes, immediately reward them. Repeat rewarding your birds several times, until the bird links positive things to their clothes.
- After you notice your bird shows the consistent curiosity of the bird clothes, you should allow your bird to mouth at the fabric for some short periods of time. Never forget to praise your bird as lavishly as you can.
- Show more of the clothes for your pet bird, but hiding them every time that their behavior becomes too scared. Continue working on improving the sense of comfort for your bird as well as keep making it a game so that the bird’s natural curiosity will be improved.
- Lay down the clothes for your bird to see.
- Next, start working on placing the clothes over the head of your bird. Put comfort at the top of the priority, especially around the bird’s chest and wings. Keep praising and rewarding each point of progress.
- When the bird is comfortable with their clothing, focus on keeping the clothing in place. Again, make sure that you can reward your bird with verbal praise as well as providing treats.
- Observe how the clothing fits and slowly adjust if it is too loose or too tight. You should also allow your bird to ease everything through. Never allow your bird to feel frightened by being clothed. Reassure your pet if you notice this negative behavior, reassure your pet if you notice this negative behavior.
- Begin increasing the time frame that you allow your bird to be clothed. You can start as quick as 30 seconds. Start slowly at this period and double the time in small increments.
- Use bird clothing frequently so that our pets will not forget the training that they have received.
