Poop problems

[Caspersmum]

Hey guys,

 

sorry to be so direct, but some topics are just like that. I've got a bit of a problem - or at least Casper has. We've been working on potty training for a while, and Casper's now really good when he's out of his cage, only pooing when he's on his T-stand or on a cover I have for him. He doesn't seem to mind which, and learnt this really quickly. However, just in the last few days he's stopped pooing in his cage. When he's out of his cage he'll poo on command, but won't when he's in his cage, even when I try to bribe him with treats. I'm really concerned that this is going to affect his health. As soon as he comes out of his cage he'll poo - and to be even more frank, it's huge.

 

Does anyone have any ideas of how I can break this habit, as I'm really worried about his health.

 

Thanks,

 

Julia

[jtullos2]

I have read of this in an african grey book. The author said greys are very cautious birds and alot of times will not poop were they sleep. She said it is a fairly common thing and shouldnt cause a problem unless they are keept there for a long period of time. I have no expierence with this but its what the book said.

[Guest Monique]

I have heard that parrots that catch on "too well" to potty training will hold it until they are told to go - and in the spot they think appropriate. I think I would stop the potty training all together right now and let him go without a command for a while. I have never encountered this before so I don't have any good advice . There are a bunch of people with all breeds of parrots at the perch message boards. If noone w/a grey here has the same experience I would check there - due to the multi breeds I think they have about a billion members. Please let us know how you come out!!!!

[Caspersmum]

Thanks both of you. I'll check out the other forum, but I think your advice to stop the potty training for a while is a good idea. I think part of the problem is that he's a remarkably bright boy - and I'm not just being a proud mum!

 

I'll let you know how we get on,

 

Julia

[TheGreyMiester]

When I get my TAG home I will need your advice on how to potty train him. If he never learns that’s ok but ideally I would like for him to at least learn not to go on me when holding him.

[Guest Monique]

The Grey we had before just "naturally" did not go on me when being held. Of course the floor, the couch ... most anything else was fair game but I just always kept a paper towel handy. And if a quick mess it picked up very quick right away and to be honest did not bother me. BUT - I think when our new TAG gets home since I have a few more play stands that I used to I will try to teach her when she is out to go on the stands, not the furniture. That would be even better.

[Caspersmum]

For those of you who are interested, here's how I got as far as I did - but then given my current predicament, maybe I'd have been better to put up with the poo!

 

With casper it seemed quite straightforward to train him - it's really obvious when he's about to 'go' so whenever he hunkered down like that I'd say 'poooo!' and then once he'd gone say 'good boy'. I did this whenever he went either on his perch, in his cage or other designated safe spots. If I thought he was about to go on me, I'd just say 'hold on', pick him up and put him on his perch. There were a few accidents, but he picked it up really quickly. I very deliberately praised him when he pooed in his cage, as I was aware that this could become a problem. I'll give you an update if we get our current problem sorted out!

 

By the way, I tried this with a previous bird I owned, and he never cottoned on!

 

Julia