Today, as I was flicking through some photos I saw one of a pigeon in a pigeon nappy and it reminded me of the bird harness we had bought for Georgie and Elmo a while ago. As I wrote in Pigeon nappies?, it wasn’t a success – Georgie wouldn’t co-operate and Elmo was scared of it – however I was thinking about when we finally take the road trip through Europe and Scandinavia to Finland we will need Georgie and Elmo to be in a harness when we take them out for a stretch when we make pit stops. We cannot risk them flying away accidentally! So I thought we’d give it another go in putting first George in the harness.
And here’s the pretty girl all kitted out:
At first George was not happy with it on, which is understandable since she’s not used to wearing things (what bird is?!), but after the initial walking about like a drunkard Georgie found her harness-legs and didn’t seem too bothered by it. You can imagine our delight!
Here’s her first steps with the harness on:
We were overjoyed with her acceptance and quickly took Georgie outside into the garden. I placed her on the grass and she walked about a bit then decided she wanted to be on me so she flew up into the air and hovered a bit until I placed my hand under her outstretched feet for her to land on. We did this a few more times just to test how safe the harness and lead is and it is now a big success!
Of course we cannot take her out for ‘walkies’ like a dog – and that’s not why we bought the harness – it’s just a safety measure to keep George safe in case she flies up and the wind catches her. Now George and I will be able to sunbathe together in the garden! 
We now need to try Elmo in the harness, however, since he’s a bit scared of it we’ll need to get him first used to the sight of the harness before we put it on him. After a week or so of the harness near his nest he should realise it is nothing to be afraid of and then we’ll see if he’ll accept the harness on him. Somehow I think he won’t be as accepting! (especially since the harness is blue!)
Elmo is so scared
..poor boy
Yes, poor boy is scared of pretty much everything. It’s very odd. His previous keeper said he was fearless with her. He would fight with the dog, and pet rabbit…
Hi guys, I love your website and your birds are so sweet! I too “own” rescue pigeons as well (I say “own” because sometimes I think they own me)! The harness looks very promising and I would like to try one out on my birds. I’ve looked at Aviator harnesses for parrots (rather expensive…) but am not sure what size to buy. Thanks, Cat
… oops cut my own thread a bit short! What size did you buy for your pidgeys? Thanks, Cat
Thanks Cat! It’s always great to hear from other pigeon lovers out there. And yes, I agree about the “own” bit! Most of the time the pigeons are the boss!!
Not all pigeons will accept wearing a harness but it is always worth a try. I bought the small size for birds of 190–450 grams weight. Pigeons are usually between those weights. There is also a “feather tether harness” for cheaper but I’ve heard that it’s a bit heavy with metal clips instead of plastic ones, so I don’t think it would be suitable for pigeons.
Good luck but don’t expect your pigeons to love the harness – they may learn to tolerate wearing it for a while but not for long periods of time. I doubt any bird likes to wear a harness!