Potty training

[Sassy]

Hubby's still not thrilled with Neytiri. He will get over it eventually. Part of the issue is her pooping everywhere. We don't mind if she poops on her stand or basket cause there is paper down. But the floor and especially the back of the couch (leather) is REALLY getting to hubby and he's getting upset. I need help on what to do. Neytiri is flighted.

 

Sassy

[Sassy]

Any ideas???

[CLB]

You could get her a flight suit....AKA birdie diaper or only allow her to perch where there are papers below which can be tricky with a flighted bird, but I would think not impossible. Mine are all flighted but Shadow doesn't like to fly around and Lola typically hangs on her perches. It's my little one Sami that tends to leave presents everywhere. I also have these great little placemat type mats made from washable water resistant fabric, poop wipes off, it's washable and the fabrics are nice! That would maybe help for the sofa, or even a towel??

[Luvparrots]

I have old twin bed sheets that I place one over the back of my sofa each morning and in the evening when I put the gang to bed, change it out with a clean one for the next day. I have perches and boings at the windows and throughout my home where my gang sit during the day. They are real good about knowing their places.

Edited November 21, 2012 by luvparrots

[Talon]

Tell him to get use to it it's a new way of life, and goes with the territory. With 4 parrots, 3 that are free flying, my bedtime routine is to go thru my house, and clean up the potty, that includes asking it off the furniture if needed.

[Sassy]

Talon. I wish I could. We're having issues and I'm trying not to upset the balance too much.

 

Putting a sheet over the couch was an idea but hubby was against it. Right now I'm praising her when she poops where she is supposed to. I've tried getting her to poop before I take her out but that doesn't always work either.

[judygram]

If you are going to live with birds you have to get used to having things pooped on, I use sheets too to protect the back of the couch and chair where they like to sit on when I am with them but with leather you would have to also be concerned with puncture holes. The way I see it their poop is not like cat or dog poop which is much larger and stinks, at least bird poop is much smaller and has hardly any odor, it doesn't bother me as it probably doesn't most of us bird people, we take the bad along with the good and the good far outweighs the bad, just my opinion.

[Wingy]

Instead of a sheet how about a micro fiber throw. Lets face it putting a sheet on the couch looks tacky and there is no way to disguise that it is a sheet. Perhaps your husband would be willing to compromise on something that is decorative and protects the furniture from accidents while you continue to work with her on where to potty.

[BeeFernandez22]

Whenever I take Maverick out of his cage, the first thing we do is go to his basket where he drops a big present. Then the following droppings when he is out are much smaller in comparison. (Especially because he doesn't like to go in his cage so he tends to hold it when possible). Maybe you could try taking her to the desired location each time you take her out and allow her to hang out there until she potties? Just an idea.. Maverick kinda started this method on his own. I, like others here, had just accepted that the poop came with the territory

[Sassy]

That's what I'm doing now. I don't like that's she's not really going much in her cage while I'm at work though. I accept that it comes with having a bird. Hubby not so much.

[Lupine]

I managed to train my Hahn's macaw to poop on command. I had a special t-perch where I'd set him about every 15 minutes (it's been a while; whatever his usual poop frequency was). I'd watch until he began lifting his tail and gave a verbal cue just before he'd actually poop...then praise like mad, and offer him my wrist.

 

Eventually he would go to this perch pretty much all the time. It was a small table'top deal made from dowels and a plastic plate, with picnic plates as liners.

 

With consistency and attention it's not too tough to do, since one can predict the desired behavior due to pooping schedules and body language.

 

It also makes a great party trick !

[Wingy]

I am not a fan of potty training. We never tried to potty train but my guy does not want to foul his cage and holds it from 9pm until 3:30pm. I worry about him holding it for such a long period of time but since it is his choice there isn't much I can do about it. I try and encourage him to go before I leave for work but since I don't let him out I am not usually successful. After his huge bomb when I get home he prefers to poop on his human slaves and will fly over to one of us, leave his gift and say go poops.

[lovethatgrey]

Personally, I will ALWAYS discourage and frown upon *potty training* our parrots. Reinforcing our parrots to do this can potentially VERY dangerous.

 

 

Here are a few posts from valued members from other forums. Hope it helps to shed some light..

 

1) The reason I posted that was because Tika's previous owner had potty trained him and I thought it was great until I noticed that when I asked him to take a poop he would sit there and strain to take one even if he did not have to. I didn't like that. I asked my vet who filled me in on the dangers. She had seen many patients with cloacal problems because of it. That was the last time I ever "asked" him to take a poop. He will still try if I ask after all this time

 

2)There are other dangers associated with it as well:

 

...although it is possible to train a parrot to defecate on verbal command, this method is dangerous. Occasionally, a bird may be so eager to please that it will incur life-threatening kidney damage waiting for that verbal command. This becomes an issue if the owner is ill or injured or must go out of town. A forgotten instruction to command the bird to defecate has proved fatal on at least one documented occasion (Athan 50).

from Guide to a Well-Behaved Parrot

 

 

 

3) I have hear many horror stories too, one of which in particular stuck with me because the bird strained itself without even being intentionally cued to do so. It just goes to show what can happen. It was a Cockatoo whom the owners had trained to poop before he was picked up. As time passed he got out less, and whenever someone passed the cage, he would lift his foot and poop, because he wanted to be picked up so badly. He eventually strained himself into a prolaspe.

 

As for my birds, before they poop they kind of make a slight backing up motion which I can feel even if I can't see them, so that is my cue.

[danmcq]

I never bothered to train Dayo to poop on command or a certain place either. I can certainly see the downside of doing so. It is really disconcerting to hear how it can affect their health when circumstances change and the intervals are suddenly interrupted by a change in schedules and perhaps homes. As mentioned, I can tell whenone is gong to happen and wear "Bird Shirts" when they are out and hanging around on a shoulder, leg etc. They get stained and holes bitten through them. But, thats the style now for some groups of younger people. So I guess I am cool to some.

[Talon]

I too am against potty training. My tag will always hold it when in her cage at nighttime, and since her nighttime cage is upstairs in my bedroom, I carry up what I call a potty basket for her to perch on and Poop on as soon as she comes out of her cage. Since it is her morning bomb, she can't hold it and will go all over the floor otherwise. It works well for her. My others will go in their cage. When they are out, I know their usual spots, and clean them up as much as possible and a definite check at night to be sure I got them all.

[Luvparrots]

I did not potty train my parrots. They do have places they go. I have perches and boings throughout my home with the round large plastic flexible flyers that kids use to play in the snow with underneath each perch/boing. These are great for catching poop and in the evenings after I bed the parrots I just clean all the flexible flyers that are stained. Works great at my house.

[Inara]

Really interesting thread. I enjoyed reading the the contrasting views.

[kevindunn]

maybe ask the hubby to leave ? just an idea:D

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Sophie has open cage concept, but poops on her plastic under cage, or on towel under her gate dividing kitchen and family room. She is very good about pooping on designated areas. Nancy

[SullysMom]

Sully is kind of potty trained lol His hanging ball perch is beside the couch. Whenever he would go poop we would say "go poop" or "take a big s**t." Now I'd say 75% of the time he will say "go poop" or "take a big s**t" just before he needs to go or before we pick him up to come on the couch we say "Go poop" and he does his little thing and does his business. Of course he does still use the bathroom on things from time to time, but I know roughly how often he needs to go and his little dance before hand so I put him back on the perch, "go poop", bam! And he's ready to go lol otherwise sometimes when you gotta go...you gotta go!

[Charlies Dad]

Charlie and I are still working on "designated pooping areas".

 

His big bombs in the morning can be a pain to clean up, especially when I am running late. So what I did was make a PVC perch that sits over the toilet bowl. I take him out of his cage every morning and and place him there and tell him "bombs away"....then he waddles his little butt and lets it rip. Obviously, I do not condone leaving bird near an open toilet alone. I let him take care of his business every morning while I shave/shower, get ready for work.

 

His poopies are considerably smaller the rest of the day...but he smart and know not to poop on the bed or couch. Usually, he will fly to his tree stand, drop one, and go back to whatever he was doing.

 

I praise him highly when he poops in desirable areas and when he poops in the wrong areas, I stay completely silent and only give him stink eyes. I can tell he knows he did a no-no...