"flight suits"

[birdlady49]

I can do you one better on what people do to their animals. (Sorry for straying from the original subject but I think flight suits are just as ridiculous.) More in the next few posts....

[birdlady49]

[birdlady49]

[birdlady49]

Tne end.

[Snowy]

I don't know if I should be shocked or laugh!!

Are those for real? not computer graphics??

The clown on the butt is just too funny though!!!

by all means go off topic here. I've learned enough about the flight suits and thoroughly enjoying the pics!!!

[Monica]

A few do look like they might be computer animated, but supposedly, the rest should be real... however, then again, after finding this Painted Cats? It's a Spoof! I'm not too sure...

I guess all those painted cat pics may be false then...
Urban Legends Reference Pages: Painted Cats

However, those dog photos are real.

[swanwillow]

yeah, I was about to say that I read somewhere those were computer enhanced.. but then got lost in the pages of snopes, reading away.. two hours later I come back to see that its already been answered!

[birdlady49]

I didn't question the source of the painted cats. I just thought it was ridiculous and left it at that. Supposedly they're truly painted and it costs $15,000 each time. Doesn't make sense, does it?

[Monica]

Who's to say that a cat HASN'T been painted??? Maybe all those were fake, but who's to say that it's never happened? Your right, it IS ridiculous...

But then again people do strange things with their dogs....

[Buteo]

Gee, since the majority of members that have responded so far seem to dislike them, I feel rather out numbered.
But....
Everyone is entitled to their opinions, even if I don't agree with or even understand logic behind them.
Besides, I'm a scorpio - we don't let a little thing like overwhelming odds stop us from addin our 2 cents.
Considering the strength of the Canadian dollar and the fact that it's gonna be the only comment so far on the PRO flightsuit side, I feel it's worth at least equal consideration.


Snowy : We have a flightsuit for our WCP and we love it. In fact I think it's one of the best things they've come up with for pet birds in the last 20 years.
(OOO I can hear the feathers ruffling already! )

I don't attempt to control every action of every animal in my care, but I also don't allow them free reign to do what comes naturally whereever they wish.
It's not safe for them & it's not safe for me, my family or visitors to my home. I understand accidents happen, but I don't want uncontrolled defecation spread to the four corners of my house either.

We use the flight suit for the same reason we have our dog "housebroken" and used to wearing a collar & leash. A flightsuit is a purpose-designed item, not just some strange costume- though the manufacturer does have some holiday type items.
A FlightSuit allows for the bird to be transported openly from place to place without worry of it soiling either person or property. With the optional leash, it also provides a way of securing the animal against possible loss or escape if something startles it. We must also remember just because it's wearing a suit doesn't mean its a set-it-&-forget-it thing. There is a limit to how much poop the "diaper" pouch can contain and the pad must changed after a certain length of time to prevent soiling of the butt feathers and the area around the bird's vent.

While at her cage or playset, Gracie is as nature intended but whenever she leaves either of those locations, she knows she must have her suit on. Yes, she does take the occassional unsuited flight over to the couch or bookshelf. When she does go travelling unexpectedly and makes a little mess, she is returned to her area & the accident is cleaned up. If she flies off repeatedly, we understand she wants closer contact, she's suited up and happily rides around on a shoulder or sits on the back of a chair.

I've come across a few people locally that use the suits as well. So far I haven't heard of any bird refusing to go poop while wearing one, but I'm sure there are some birds out there like that; Just as I've heard of birds that were trained to poop "on command" killing themselves holding it because the bird wasn't directed to relieve itself while the owner was absent.

As Monica mentioned, Flightsuits are easier to use if the bird is accustomed to it from an early age.
Can they induce some stress?
Yes.
But so can introducing a new toy or just rearranging the perches in the cage. Birds are adaptable to those conditions as they are to wearing a suit; and if done correctly most birds including older ones can be acclimatized in fairly short order to wearing a flightsuit.

swanwillow: I'd suggest that you may have the wrong size for your Lorikeet if it fits badly. Getting your bird used to them requires patience & consistancy...and sometimes even a little distraction. She doesn't need it now, but I used to use a "whatdahelkisdat" when I was first getting Gracie used to putting her suit on.
(((See the attached pic for a view of a couple of my birdy tool distraction aids.)))


As to the doggie & kitty dye jobs - ICK!
While some were rather artistic, I'm not a person that agrees with doing that to a human let alone an animal.
[That one shot of the Chow - I'm not sure if that's a paint airgun in the lady's hand or an electric trimmer. I'd hope it's a trimmer though. Being as I've owned a couple of long coat breeds, I know first hand how vitally important it is to trim around the butt.]

I find it hard to believe the majority of that feline stuff is real - even if it were only the disgusting domain of those with much more money than brains. Some are plainly PS jobs.
I mean really now....
What do ya think the reaction of most cats would be when faced with the prospect of such prolonged confinement nesessary to apply such intricate patterns. Either the person doing the dye job would have to have a 1 in a billion relationship with the specific cat for it to trust them that much...
or they're wearing head-to-toe chainmail or some other kind of body armor.
To me even the low odor bleach stuff is horrid! I can only imagine what it would be like to a creature with a sense of smell hundreds of times greater than mine. My dog loves & trusts me to an incredible degree, but I wouldn't blame him in the slightest for biting me if I tried to spread a bleaching solution over his face.