I told my mom that I am going to take a chicken to the 4th of July Pet Parade, (easier than a goat). OK, which chicken should I take? Should I take one of the roos? Is there a leash that I could put the chicken on. I plan on bringing it in a carrier. Should I practice with the leash before hand? Should I dress my chicken for the occassion? Millie, my adult RIR - no objection as long as not close to the other chickens to being held Dorothy, very pretty Brahma cross - not crazy about being held, but better than she was Hedy Lamar, EE - ok if for a short period Maggie, Delaware, - doesn't like being held Captain Jean Lafitte, cockerel - used to take for "walks" as a chick, loved going places The thing is at 10 AM, these girls should be laying by July 4th. Will it mess with their laying schedules and bother them?
Id have to suggest a small dog harness as a collar/ leash purfect to round up them there chickens of yers ;] can be found at most pet stores :]
That would probably be a lot of stress on the bird, walking it on a leash may stress it out more. I've taken chickens in parades before, I usually just let them perch on my arm, keeps them cooler than just holding them the whole time
It will probably stress them out with the noise, tons of people, and the many other animals that would look at them like they were a snack. I have two harnesses for small and large birds I can use just in case the animal jumps from my arms when out, but I don't use them to walk the bird, just to make sure they can't run away.
I would carry her too. Put a diaper on her and a little outfit if you want....have water with you for her because she will get hot for sure.
It's not like a parade parade, just a little thing they're doing at the club my mom belongs to. I think the harness idea is good, as it will be stressful. I guess I should put pics up cuz I need help deciding which chicken to take. I could take the second in command roo. I think it will be fun. Yes it will be hot at 10 AM. Maybe I should bring a bottle of water in a spray bottle so that I could mist whoever I bring.
I use an adjustable cat leash and harness combo...it's an all in one deal. It's more for the bird's safety because they're easier to hold onto that way. If you hold your bird on your shoulder, s/he's gonna get heavy...I speak from experience. I took Obelisk, my standard Leghorn to the Quincy Petco last week. I'm spoiled because the Hanover Petco has shopping carts and Quincy doesn't. So I had to hold her the whole time. She thought sitting on my shoulder was the thing...I DID wind up having to buy her a bottle of water and letting her drink out of the cap because she got thirsty and was drinking out of the feeder Goldfish tank. blech. But it does sound like fun...you can tell when your bird gets hot because s/he'll pant and hold their wings away from their bodies...a small spray bottle will help to keep them a little cool... For dress up you could get a cheap July Fourth-ish bandanna and tie it around the bird's neck...Slifer wore a bandanna in the Christmas picture I have of my 3 kids- DS, Slifer and Obelisk. Take the bird that will be the calmest...Sounds like Jean Lafitte might be the best candidate so far.
I took Captain Jean Lafitte to Petsmart as a practice for the pet parade July 4th. He did very well. I got him a bird leash. He liked all the attention there with the people coming up and wanting to pet him. The funny part was when I thought it would be fun for him to look at all the little birds there on display. He was looking at them and they were looking at him. A few of them stretched out their wings and stood on one foot while they stretched one wing at a time. Sooo, Captain Lafitte decides to stretch his wings too. And all the little birds ran to the far side of their little glass box. I couldn't stop laughing that he frightened the little birds. Needless to say, we left shortly thereafter. I think he'll do well in the parade