RINGNECK DIAPER?! what do you think?

[pres_mr]

Hi There,

I thought i'd find a topic talking about it here, but i searched the forum and i didnt' find any.
OKAY!
Its a bit weird to ask, but what do you think about the bird diaper? ringneck poopsuit or whatever they're called, they're on Ebay selling for about $30.
are they any good? recommended? any stories?

okay i am asking BECAUSE.. i love my bird and i want it to walk around in the house and climb on things and ME, but i don't like to step in bird/animal's poopoo. or even worse find them on my seats/carpet/floor/everywhere. they stink, i am very hygienic and i am seriously considering buying one, here.. i said it. so give me opinions. please.

Michael

[ellieelectrons]

Hi Michael

I own a ringneck diaper (hubby thought it was a good idea). The main reason we purchased it was not for the diaper but because it was a harness too. However, I have not been able to train them to put their legs in the diaper. My training methods involve reward rather than force. Wherever possible, I try not to "manhandle" the birds. I think if I could train them to be comfortable lying on their back, I may have more of a chance to put it on them... but I haven't got to that stage yet. I am now considering purchasing a different harness that fastens around the neck. I think that will be easier to train them with.

I have a birdie shawl that I usually where when handling the birds... It gets most of the poop - but not all of it. The birdie shawl looks like this:
http://www.pethomesdirect.com.au/?page= ... &dosearch=
They don't look too hard to make if you know someone into sewing. The do up with a velcro tab at the front.

Regarding diapers, I've heard lots of people think they are a bad idea... I can see both sides of the argument. I've seen cockatiels wear them very happily. I've heard that it some countries they don't think human baby nappies are natural... and I guess the argument is no different???

Good luck!

Regards

Ellie.

[PythonzEve]

I think it is a decent idea if you are allergenic or if the bird does not have a place it can conveniently defecate or is/can not potty trained. I am looking at getting one from Avian Fashions (IRNs are large) and it comes with DVD instructions to put it on and comes with a leash and has a very wide variety of colors and patterns.

As far as harnesses go Ellie, The Parrot University's 'Aviator Harness' (IRNs are X-Small to Small) is said to be the best ones out there and are highly adjustable. You fit it over the head, then put the wings through the very loose loops and tighten it afterward, the slack going into the leash bit of it. There are other things you can get with it like an aviator flight lead, tethers and whatnot. This also has DVD instructions as well as several movies on YouTube.

I love the birdie shawl, that is an awesome idea!

[ellieelectrons]

Thanks Jessica. I had read about the aviator harness and am hoping to pick one up from the Parrot Society shop on the weekend!

[3tiels&aringneck]

I've tried the harness thing on Mikey and he was scared to death. I've heard that ringnecks are hard to use them on. It didn't work for me. Someone I bought a cage on CL had one on her quaker, and her bird loved it. I would like to use one too, but I don't think it will work for me seeing how Mikey responded to it.

[ellieelectrons]

I just bought an aviator harness. It comes with a 1 hour instructional video which I will watch before I try. I'm wondering if my two might be a bit old to learn to get used to it but I am going to give it a go. I mainly want to harness-train them because our house is surrounded by sun-blocking trees and it is just about impossible to give them access to sunlight... so I want to be able to take them outdoors to get some sun.

Do you think I should start training with Janey who is older but lots to receive pattings although she can bite really hard sometimes (and out of the blue) or Charlie who is a year younger and doesn't bite hard but is less comfortable with me touching his body although he loves to step on my hand?

Ellie.

[Rueae]

Oh, wow. I typed "flightsuit" into the search and got no results. I guess, it was silly of me to make a thread exactly like this one. :3

I'm going to get one for Ink, and a harness, I think. The flightsuits from AvianFashions are done up with velcro and while that was fine for my budgie, I want a more secure feeling for my ringneck, more so since I'm going to let her be a flighted bird.

Anyway, I'm part of another forum that is mostly run by Michael (who's the net-famous owner of Kili the senegal and Truman the cape parrot.)
I'm there mostly because I want to teach Ink tricks and flighted recall and all that and...it's a forum of great minds set to the task.

As far as harness training they've got a great couple of videos as well, so:
http://www.theparrotforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1329

I hope that helps you guys. :3