Flightsuits: Pros & Cons

[Nazir's]

Flightsuits, pros and cons please. To use them or not to use them?

[Monica]

Most birds do not find them comfortable because they are very binding to the body... although they may be good for keeping birds from pooping on you, it's safer to actually go with an Aviatar Harness than a flight suit... as some birds will refuse to go potty in a flight suit, and could potentially be harmful to their bodies.

[Nazir's]

Thank you! I purchased four flightsuits for my baby and Iris will poop in them.. Big time! I just wanted to make sure that flightsuits were not harmful in any way, as I believed that I once heard something like tha to some extent. At first Iris didnt like the suits all that much but now he basicallt ignores them. If I notice him picking with it, I just tell him to keep his clothes on and we laugh. LOL
Are there any other pros and or cons that anyone would care to mention?

[Monica]

I've heard that the velcro to keep the flight suit on isn't necessarily strong enough or that it breaks apart easily. For the time being, I can't think of any potential risks other than that, ingesting parts of the material, or somehow getting caught in it. You really don't need more than one unless you've got a wardrobe going on with different outfits!

[Buteo]

Personally, I don't know about the discomfort factor as I don't have the physiology of a bird, nor a sufficiently large FlightSuit or Aviator Harness to try on....
To prevent a suit from binding across the body though, you must make sure to get the proper size for your Fid.
Whether it's a suit or harness, some birds just don't like the feeling of anything looped around their wings.

I can say Gracie has no problems wearing her Flightsuit. After more than 9 months of everyday use, her suit is starting to show some wear. We are in the process of getting her a new one.

Yes, the Velcro does wear out, but that's true of any fastening material regardless of what it's put on....
If you've ever had anything that uses Velcro to secure it's closure, then you know when it's wearing out. You can see when the hooks & fuzz are losing their grip.

One bit of advice if you're thinking about using the optional "leash":
I've found our Gracie is much more comfortable with the leash connection hole in the Velcro strip pointing towards her tail rather than her head. When it's towards her head, her movements cause the leash to drag & rub over her wings which annoys her. The leash is also in the perfect position for her to turn her head & start chewin on it...
With the leash in the down position, it hangs off one side of the tailfeathers and makes it a little more difficult to get at it to chew on....

[Nazir's]

Okay, thanks very much guys. I have the leash connector and I've found that my baby just doesn't like it. However, I believe that with time all things are possible. I just will not force it ever. Iris is doing fine with the flightsuits. Although, I've found that you have to be really careful while taking them off tbecause while gripping/holding one end to remove the other from the velco you can easily snagg the downy type feathers. Oppps

Oh and yes, I do have a waredorbe starting here. We have blue, red, gray, and yellow. All with the matching leashes that we never use. I am glad that I got several as well. I had three hanging up to dry last night with one to spare. But yes, I agree--size does matter. Fortunately, I got all perfect fits ahich I believe made them more comfortable for Iris to wear.