Goose diaper holders, duck diaper holders, chicken diaper holders, but what about clothes, skirts, lace, hats? Yes, it is true, geese, chickens, ducks, turkeys, parrots and other birds now wear clothing. The most popular item is of course the diaper holder. But many owners, and I am one, could not stop there. We make the diaper holders fancy with bright colors, cute prints, holiday prints, lace, fake flowers, bows and then for fun add skirts and hats and collars and...

The more you handle your bird the more your birds will let you do with them. Gentle handling of your bird will also make your bird want to be with you/near you. The bond between the two of you will tighten the more you do with your bird, and yes, handling to dress your bird counts for a tighter bond too.

How do you teach your bird to wear diapers and such? Honestly, it is easier then your think with the average bird. The photo of Eden in the little bright yellow diaper holder harness was taken the first time she ever wore one. I put it on, and set her down and off she walked behind me. Now and again Eden will chew, and dig at her diaper holders, but for the most part, I pick her up and put them on and off she goes. She sits still as I attach the straps and acts as if she always wore clothes....oh wait she almost has. We started putting a goose diaper holder on her from the second day we had her home.

There are many different types of goose, chicken, duck and other bird diaper holders, some even have a loop for a leash. The type that is best for your bird is the one that fits your bird properly and holds all the "mess" within. The one that tickles the owner's fancy and works well. All that I have seen are lined with either a pantie liner, baby diaper, napkin/paper towels or such so that a person can life the "mess" right out.

Be forewarned. Poultry grow so quickly and diaper holders need to fit correctly. So you are going to need several sizes and you probably need more then just one of each size so that you have a change out. Some diaper holders are more adjustable to growing sizes then others.

Teaching your bird to wear a hat is a bit harder then teaching them to wear other clothing. [more to come]

As you can see from the photo adding the hat was hard enough. The pearl necklace and granny glasses, well, almost impossible. When you want to get a photo of your bird in an accessorized outfit or costume you need to have patients and time. It is best to have two people, one to work with the animal and one to take shots and more shots. Luckily, so far, when I set Eden down, she usually stays right there. If she knows, like when my hand is kinda stopping her from moving, she will sit pretty still...except for the head and beak.

While you might be able to put a diaper holder harness on an outdoor or older bird that has not been handled, you will not be able to put a hat, or necklace or glasses on it. The best way to have a calm, handleable, dressable animal, is to handle it in a firm and loving way. Let it learn to sit in your lap; to be handled all over. Like a puppy, it is important to handle their feet and beaks and necks and wings. Do it gently, stroke in a petty fashion. This will pay off in big dividends if your animal is ever sick and or injured and needs to be attended to and or to wear a cast.

Using a few treats to get an animal used to clothing works well too. Put the item on the animal and offer a favorite treat right away...all of the sudden the clothing is not so bad to them.

Measure your Lawn Goose around the largest area at the base where you want your little outfit to end on your Lawn goose. Then measure from the Lawn Goose's neck to where your outfit will end. Add 2" to each of those two measurements and cut a piece (start with cheap fabric for your first outfit) of fabric that will look like a rectangle. Stitch the short sides together, when doing so, put the right sides of the fabric facing one another so that your seam is in the inside of our outfit. At one end of the, now tube, outfit, turn the neck area under just a small amount and make a seam. Now fold that same side, where you just sewed, down again to about 1/2" and make a seam, LEAVING A SMALL OPENING, that is, so not sew down that seam to meet up with where you started that seem. Take a thin piece of elastic and measure it around your Lawn Goose's neck. Cut it to fit, not pulling it tight. Now you will need two safety pins. One safety pin will be placed at the end of our elastic so that you can feed that elastic through the seam you just created approx. 1/2" thick. Start that elastic through one end of where you did not finish the seam. When the other end of the elastic gets where it is about to go through the seam, take the other safety pin and pin it so that it stays at the open area. Feed the rest of the elastic through the seam, meeting the other end of the elastic and pull each of the ends (take the safety pins out as you hold on to each end) and stitch the two ends of the elastic down by going over it, back and forth, at least four times. Your neck is now finished. No put a small turn under seam in the other end of your outfit. You can add lace or trim when it is finished. Now, slide the outfit, neck side up, over your Lawn Goose. This outfit will probably fit a tame full grown goose for photos.

Note: If you want a more full dress on your Lawn Goose make the length of your rectangle 6" - 10" longer then the first called for 3" extra.

I took the same pattern above, the rectangle pattern and made this little Valentine's Dress for my gosling Dinah Soar. Here are the step by step photos of how to do the directions/instructions above.

The contents of this page for Wearing Clothes is still under construction. Please check back later!

-- The Working Wings Team