Poop

[curtie]

HI there

 

Can anyone help me and tell me how to train my cag to let me know when she's gonna poop

[judygram]

I think we have a thread already that deals with this, but I am sure if you have observed your grey you can tell by her actions when she is ready to take a dump and when she does you just put her where you want her to do it and give her a command. That can be any word you want to use and she will come to know what that means when you say it.

[Dave007]

When a bird is getting ready to relieve himself, he'll squat just slightly and flick his tail in an upward motion. Observe him in his cage so you can begin to recognize the movement he makes when getting ready to "go." (Note: Before a bird can be "potty-trained," he should be familiar with the "step-up" command, in which he steps on to a perch outside his cage. If your bird doesn't consider time out of the cage with you to be a treat – as opposed to a scary experience – training your bird to eliminate on command will be much harder. Keep track of the frequency at which your bird needs to do his business, so you can approximate how long it will be before he needs to be taken to an appropriate "relief station" – a corner where a catcher or folded newspaper is placed. It can even be a small trasg can. Remember that younger and smaller birds have to go more frequently. Birds who've just taken a shower or who have just consumed foods with a high water content also have to go more frequently. Birds, after all, excrete "urine" (known as urates) and feces together. The major dum[p is in the morning. The feces has lots of green color and is more solid looking. Compare that to defecating. For the rest of the day, the amount each elimanation will be much smaller, more liquidy and the color will clear to white with a tiny bit of green in it. Those much smaller amounts during the day can be compared to urination.

Once you've figured out his habits, pull a chair up to your bird's cage and get ready for the next step.

Just as the bird begins to take a dump, give a verbal command – something like: "good bird," said in a quiet, pleasant voice. (Any command is fine, just so long as you use the same word(S) consistently in the same tone of voice. When your bird relieves himself – with luck, timed perfectly with your command phrase – say "good bird," open the cage and take him out for some quality time and maybe a treat.

After about 10 to 15 minutes, place your bird back in his cage and wait again. When he begins to "go," say the command, praise him and take him out of his cage for more playtime and another reward. After a few of these sessions your bird will begin to catch on.

From this point on, never remove your bird from his cage until he relieves himself. This takes patience and you may have to wait a half an hour or more, but persistence pays off. Your bird will begin to recognize the command in a matter of days and will associate going potty with being able to come out and play. He may even begin to go potty when you step in the room, in anticipation of playtime.

Once you find that your bird is going to the bathroom consistently in his cage with your verbal cue, you may try it at other locations. If you're watching television, keep a catcher near the couch. When it's about time for your bird to relieve himself, hold him over the catcher and give the command. Give him some time and be patient. This new situation may scare him a bit; but with patience, you can eventually hold him over a catcher or, if you have a smaller bird, over a paper towel. If you're consistent, this training can take as little as three days.

Your bird can go all night without going to the bathroom, but birds wake up with the sunrise, and he'll need to go with the first light of day.

When your bird is very stressed, he'll go to the bathroom much more frequently and is less likely to obey your command. Be patient.

Try to use verbal praise and attention as the reward for this command. Birds are vain creatures and if you tell them they're good and wonderful and beautiful in a gushing, praising voice they'll respond to you. Keep food rewards small, such as 1/4 of a Cheerio or 1/2 of a sunflower seed or a bit of a peanut.

PUNISHING DOESN'T WORK WHEN HOUSEBREAKING BIRDS. It's your responsibility to get him to an appropriate place to relieve himself. He won't understand "bad potty."

If you have a flighted bird, you may be able to become really advanced and teach the command "go to your cage" or "go to your perch." Then, once your bird arrives at the appropriate location of his own accord, you may give the command "go potty."

The key is patience. Prepare for trial and error and MOST IMPOERTANTLY, really think heavily about whether you want to do this. Some people prefer to have their birds defacate in the cage. It's a matter of choice. If your bird will eventually be trained, it's a procedure that will take a long time to undo.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2007/12/08 18:22

[ziggy]

Dave you got it all wrapped up in your response. This is a very well writen response. Curtie Dave is one of the most knowledgable members we have here and all of his posts are true and honest to the best of his ability. Dave karma to you for this response. I cant think off any other info for you on this like usual Dave buttoned it up.(LOL!!):woohoo: I agree with this fully, like most of his input.( cant be all the time but 98% of the time.:whistle: :dry: :dry: