What skills does my bird need before using a harness?

We highly recommend having your bird target trained prior to harness training. Having your bird be eager move towards and to touch an target will allow you to request them closer to the harness. By having your bird target trained, you can encourage them to be confident around new objects. When you have target trained your bird you are able to speak the same language as your bird and let it know what you are asking! Using lots of praise and treats also helps let your bird know they’re doing well.

We also suggest having your bird trained to have their wings lifted. Some birds you may need to start with simply touching the wings and then rewarding them for not moving away. Young birds will often let you grasp their wing gently and move it. You always want to reward your bird for staying calm while you do this. Initially this may only be for short, couple seconds, touches. But slowly you can train your bird that picking up their wing is okay.

Finally we suggest that your bird be willing to be touched around the head and neck. Very few birds have ever had an object go around their head, and this can be very scary at first. Try first simply touching your bird with new objects, eventually try to have them be calm when you touch them along their head and neck. If they are comfortable with this then try making a large loop with the leash of the harness and having the bird take a treat from within the loop. You might have to hold the treat away from the loop initially, and slowly decrease the distance to the loop, but eventually it will be completely normal and your bird won’t second guess the new item.