So Much POOP. It never stops... :(

[EFGriffith]

Tango poops more than any other living thing I've ever met. I had him out on his towel playing with Legos and he pooped FOUR TIMES in 10 minutes. Tango likes to hang out, likes to be on my shoulder or knee, but I don't trust his pooper to keep from messing up my clothes/carpet. I'd love to take him outside with a harness or hang out on the couch with him, but he poops too much.

 

Is there anything I can do to make him not poop all the time? He does it so quick, as soon as I see him settling his little butt in to do it, it's already too late. I always exclaim "Poop! Poop!" when he does it and put him on the same perch in his cage, but we're not making any progress so far. I know I have to be patient to see progress, but I'm curious if there's anything else I should/shouldn't be doing. I'm also curious why he poops SO MUCH. It just doesn't seem normal...

[LindaMary]

I feel your pain, EF. Maxi is the same way, but I confess I haven't really even tried to train her to poop in a certain place or at a certain time. I'd been kind of resigned to it, frankly, but I have really noticed since we got our second bird (a severe macaw) that she is SO much messier than he is in this respect. In every other way, he is The Complete Goop and she is The Dainty Lady, but man, where toilet habits are concerned, she's just a heathen. It's not like he was trained particularly, either - straight from a pet shop and cage-bound when I got him. I am wondering if it's just a difference between the species. He can sit on me for an hour without pooping sometimes.

 

So I'm afraid I have no words of wisdom to offer - only sympathy!

[Luvparrots]

Wouldn't that be wonderful if we could control such a bodily function!! I put a sheet or towels on the back of my couch/chair to protect it. I also put newspaper on my floor where Ana Grey perches or on the table where she perches. If she sits on me I put a towel on my knee/lap/shoulder. I can recognize when Ana Grey is going to go, a little wiggle of her tail, and am considering training her to go on a certain perch/place. There are members who have trained their greys to go at a certain place, perhaps some of those posts can help you.

[EFGriffith]

Linda: Sympathy, advice, I'll take whatever I can get! I just started working with Tango, and he doesn't talk yet so I can't expect him to verbally tell me when he needs to go, but he doesn't seem to give any warning at all. Other than the little butt settling, but like I said, once we're there, there's no time to stop him. It's more the frequency that baffles me... Four times in 10 minutes? Wow!

[Char]

That does seem to be a lot. As long as I take Whisper over to the playstand about every 20 mins and let her poop we don't have too many accidents. She has always been kind of considerate and will try not to poop on me. For instance if I am sitting at the computer and she is on my shoulder she will go down to my arm and poop over the side.

 

Funny thing is that she used to poop on my husband all the time. {We are now separated.} She would be on me and he would come and get her and as soon as she got on him she would poop. He used to get so mad.

 

It is funny the reaction I get when I tell people that my bird spends a lot of time on my shoulder. They say "ooh doesn't she poop all over you?" I say hardly ever.

 

I would say that if your bird goes every ten mins then start out by taking him to his stand every ten mins and say "go poop." As soon as he does say good boy and pick him back up. I bet that if you are consistent with it that the poops will get farther apart and he will start waiting for you.

 

P.S.

I just got up to test it. Even though I have only had her off the stand for about 5 mins I went into the other room put her on her stand and said "go poop" and she immediatley did. I said good girl and picked her back up immediately. You see picking her back up is the reward.

Oh and don't react when he has an accident. We know how they love drama and could just do it to get a reaction from you.

 

Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/01/22 01:19

 

Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/01/22 01:22<br><br>Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/01/22 01:24

[Nikki]

I have a cat litter box (small one) with a PVC stand I set inside. This is our portable "toilet" When we sit on the couch or in bed I will put my TAG on it every 20 mins or so & say "go potty" she'll go if she has to. It's not always perfect but for 6 months of age I think she is doing well.

[LindaMary]

Y'all are making me think it might really be worth it to try this training - if it isn't too late aready for Max (almost 2 years old). I currently use your method, Jan - the towel over my shoulder or lap - when I have Max on me. Boy do we go through towels!:whistle:

[Sallas]

Saphira poops much more often than Thorn does, but Saphira gives me warning. She squats a little, then wiggles her bottom before she goes, then says "Uh oh" afterward. I usually have enough time to either move her over a paper towel or something, but Thorn has no built in warning system.

[danmcq]

Birds can seemingly hold their poop for a long time. However, normal behavior in a bird is an almost automatic driven instinct to take a dump before they move. I can only assume it is to lighten up body weight as much as possible to make movement/flight easier.

 

They hold their poop all night, thus the BIG BOMB first thing in the morning. :-)

 

They can be trained to poop in a "Poop Spot(s)" regardless of age through consistancy and a ton of patience.

[Lyric]

Potty training them is easier than you might expect. Of course, this requires you to remember that they go often and give them a chance to go in the appropriate place and praise them lots when they do it right. Every time you take the bird out of the cage, take it to the spot where you want it to go right away and tell it the command you want to use. Wait until it goes before you move on with whatever you are doing and praise praise praise in an animated way. They love this and will actively seek to make you happy by going when you request it whenever they are able to. I think some birds are able to control it better than others, yours should get the hang of it pretty quickly but just remember to give it lots of chances to go while it is out. Good luck!

[redkim]

I usually just have my fid wear a flight suit minus the leash.

The poop collects in the pocket below her butt and I have never had a problem with the poop sticking to her feathers. She can wear it for hours easily and it doesn't get even half full even though she poops A LOT. It was a real lifesaver when we took her to my folk's house for Christmas. She could be out in the middle of the action all day but never made a mess.

When she's back on her playpen or cage I take it off, dump the ball of poop, wash it and hang it to dry. I have 3 suits just in case one is still wet when I need it again.

[judygram]

So I assume she accepts this flight suit with no problem then, most would be chewing on it or trying to get rid of it off their body. I always thought it would make a mess on their feathers because it would be holding that poop right up against them but you say otherwise. I might have to check these things out a little more but I doubt Josey would take to wearing one now.

[Tigerlily]

well i must be really lucky with Tigerlily as she asks to go poo when she's out her cage which is about every 20-30 mins.

 

she's been trainned to go poo before comming out for quite a while and that took a lot of effort on my behalf but well worth it. i say a lot of effort as i had to put her on her perch in her cage every 20mins and say "go poo" for 2-3 days which meant i had to be totally commited and couldn't do anything else for those 2-3 days as i was watching her constantly for the obvious sign she was about to poo. and it didn't always work so i had to keep her in her cage until she next pooed and just say the words whilst she was going. but she eventually got the idea.

 

what i find very amusing is that SHE had to train ME to put her on her perch if she was on my knee or shoulder to poo. it took me ages to realise she was saying "go poo" as it wasn't clear but once i'd caught on that she was saying it just before going a poo i NEVER get pooed on. she goes on her stands then back with me with lots of praise for asking to go.

 

boy i luuuuuvvvvv my bird:kiss: :kiss: :kiss:

[redkim]

Fred will chew or pluck at it periodically, like right after I put it on but not bad. I think I notice it bother her the most when she wants to preen and it's in the way. Then I take her back to her cage and take it off so she can preen herself.

She has also associated the flight suit as a necessary evil for coming out and having more freedom rather than have to always sit over a paper towel on our hand. I think that's why it's not a big deal to put on and she doesn't try to shred it.

The little poop pouch hangs down far enough away that there's never been a problem with "backup" or anything sticking to her feathers. I just have to do a little tug down after I put the suit on to situate the pouch just right. After that it's never moved and when she does her little squat and poo it drops right in!

Fred was gerat about being handled and touched all over right from the beginning and so I think that went a long way in allowing the suit. Of course I fumbled SO bad the first couple times I put it on I am still amazed that she lets me anywhere near her with it to this day. We have it down to a system now and the minute it's on and adjusted she gets a super-favorite treat to make it that much more okay.

 

I still would like to do the potty training and work on that in the evenings when she's sitting on my hand over the towel. That way I am hoping to strike a good balance between suit time and trained potty time. Plus if we're ever in a new environment the suit just takes any guesswork or accidents out of the equation.

[SweetFX]

Same with Rexxy, He loves to poop all the time too. I think it is a way to show his love to us. :sick: I just hate it when he has gone on my head.

 

But since I got hit with that HUGE morning poop ...way too many times. I have been working every morning ...holding him above the garbage can near his cage...about 3 hops on my cruthes. We get there and I say "go poop" sometimes it takes about 30 sec, but then he justs lets go. Then a make a big "good boy" and he gets so excited.

[GrayGirl]

Just a quick note to say that I really got a lot out of the posts. I'm lucky that Nickel came to me already semi-trained, but it took me awhile to catch on, so now I'm catching up. She doesn't like to go in her cage, so she holds it all night and then ~ watch out! I've learned to pretty much run for the play perch. She also holds it for as long as I'm at work during the day, which can sometimes be 8 hours, tho I try to get home for lunch and give her a potty break.

 

I really liked what Char and Nikki had to say about how they handle their greys' needs ~ and I laughed when I read about how Char's grey used to hold it for her ex. Haha ~ greys are so smart, aren't they!

[she]

Charlie is not trained at all but it is rare he goes on me.He usually backs up and goes over the edge of the setee and as I have wood flooring it is easy to clean.