Can I use a detachable leash with my Aviator harness?
The biggest problem with a removable or quick disconnect leash is many parrots are much better at unclipping them than humans. Cockatoos especially can remove some of the slip clips and squeeze clips in a fraction of a second. It is impossible to know what moment in time a bird will discover how to remove a clasp, and little way to train them not to.
A safe bird harness also needs to be as lightweight as possible. Any disconnect mechanism that is strong enough to stand up to a parrot’s beak, and can also be worked by human fingers, will increase the weight a bird has to carry.
Modifying The Aviator Leash to be removable is not recommended for several reasons.
Any change made to something as important as a harness for your companion needs to be thoroughly tested by someone with experience working with harnesses and birds. There are many variables that can only be discovered after many years of trial and error.
Curious mechanically inclined species like cockatoos will figure out how to work the connection and remove the leash every time.
A bird carries the weight of the harness and ½ of the weight of the leash. Extra weight is a problem for smaller species, especially when flying. The Petite Aviator Harness weighs less than 7 grams. This equals about 12% of a cockatiels weight. Adding a 4 gram clasp increases the percentage to 17%. For a 150 pound person this would be over 25 pounds, and we don’t have a lightweight skeleton and fly.
The possibility of the clasp snagging on something is low risk but can be very annoying to a bird walking in the grass or sitting on a tree branch. We need to avoid things that may annoy a bird and cause him to not like wearing a harness.
A bird wearing a harness and left in a carrier will likely become bored and may turn his attention to damaging a harness.
Most slip clips similar to what are used on dog leashes are a composite metal of steel. The metal does not bend like a nail, it breaks like plastic. A few larger parrots have been known to break the standard slip clip.
Most connectors will be shiny and attractive as a toy, and a constant distraction. Some are plated with a coating that can be peeled off, with sharp edges and possibly toxic properties. (The metal slide on The Aviator is powder-coated black with the same safe paint that is used on most quality bird cages.)
At The Parrot University we have over 20 year’s personal experience using harnesses on thousands of birds of all ages. Before we settled on this design we spent 10 years experimenting with our designs and researching every harness design from every kind of animal. Since 2005 The Aviator Bird Harnesses has been tested by over 400,000 birds.
