Some are shocked by the title of this article. Put clothes on a Cockatiel? You have to be kidding me! I suspect my cockatiels thought the same thing.

Avian Fashions created this line of bird clothing when they needed to travel cross-country with a flock of birds. They didn't want birds pooping all over their vehicle.

These flight suits are made of colorful Lycra dyed with bird-safe dyes. The Lycra is slightly stretchy. It has elastic shoulder straps to go over the wings. The key feature is the pouch that forms under the bird’s vent to catch the poop. You can add a flight liner to absorb more poop. The suit hooks over the back of the bird with Velcro strips. You may also add the leash, which has a Velcro strip that is sandwiched between those strips closing the flight suit. I am impressed with the variety of fashions being offered -- there is something for everyone from the tiniest bird to the largest bird.

My birds spent a few days chewing on their flight suits before I attempted to put them on the birds. You must be somewhat coordinated to successfully get the elastic band over their wings on both sides and their feet through the appropriate openings. My birds have learned to slide one wing back out before I get the other one in! Liberty likes to lead me on a chase when he sees the flight suit coming. I suggest you view the video at the bird-diaper.com site to learn how to put these on your birds.

Jubilee seems a bit frustrated wearing her suit because she wants to be constantly preening her feathers. Unfortunately, she has difficulty getting her head under the suit to do this activity. After about an hour, she does give up and goes to other activities. Liberty, on the other hand, is quicker to accept his flight suit and get on to other activities.

Jubilee and Liberty’s Responses to the Flight Suit

Neither bird seems thrilled to see the flight suit coming. However, I am able to get them on even though my fingers are somewhat stiff and tender from arthritis. Both birds are able to fly with the flight suit on. Jubilee never stopped trying to preen her flight suit off. Part of that may have been due to her discomfort from a tumor I didn't know she had. She always preened her back very vigorously. I now realize part of that was due to pain from the tumor.

We used to go on regular pet therapy visits to a family friend and local senior citizen centers. The birds enjoyed going from person to person visiting. Jubilee frequently sits on a person's hand and busily starts preening. Liberty visited one person and tried to wind her watch for her! Liberty has taken the time to carefully pull out his "diaper" several times. He must not like the feel of having a cotton pad next to his body.

Recommendation

I strongly suggest trying this product if your bird likes to go visiting with you or if you are involved in pet therapy activities. It can help to keep your own house clean too! Flight suits may be purchased at flight-suit.com in various colors and sizes. You can mix and match the colors of the leashes with the color of the flight suit.

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