Discover the tricks to stop your feathered friend from making a mess everywhere!
Birds are tiny, beautiful jams, but sheesh, the squirts!😓😰
They poop everywhere, and I mean every single place.
Of course, this is a non-issue for seasoned owners, and you’ll get over it as well, but until then, you’ll want to develop a few hacks that best suits your living situation.
Well, so how do I deal with mine, you ask?
Not to worry, I’ll let you in on the not-very-top-secrets in a few seconds, but first…
,…I hope I change one thing in your heart forever now that you are a bird owner.
See, birds are dirt machines, and you’ll never be one hundred percent able to keep them from creating a mess, more so parrots. The best you can do is embrace your newfound full-time commitment with joy and merry-making🧹🧼.
Happy thoughts😈.
How Can I Keep My Pet Bird from Pooping Everywhere
Remember the hacks I said I’ll get to a few seconds past, well, here we go.
Now, since you can’t stop your bird from pooping everywhere in your house, your safest bet is to train him (her) to poop in one place. This includes using a command word to stop him anytime you realize he is about to go, which is every 15 minutes or so.
My phrase is, no, don’t do it!😎
As you would expect, this is followed by me frantically taking him to his poop spot (or above a trash can), which mostly is inside his room a few feet out.
I must say this is nowhere near not tasking, plus you have to watch him and remember to speak out the command loud enough, any other way, and he will dump as needed.
Moreover, potty training your bird will take a pretty long minute, and it’s not for the faint-hearted. As such, learn as many ways to deal with bird poop around your house.
Can A Bird Be Trained to Poop in One Place
Yes!
A bird can be trained to poop in one place, but it depends on the individual. Some birds are easier to train than others, plus you require a tone of patience to hack it.
In my case, I started by learning my birdie’s body language, granted we had already bonded. I realized anytime he was about to poop, he would back up and raise his tail a bit.
Knowing that, I knew when to remind him where to poop and place him in the spot.
Since most birds have a natural flight path and places they like to land, you should not have a hard time identifying a poop spot for your parrot and even proof the area.
Even if a bird is given free roam (of your room or house), they typically have preferred perches where they spend the majority of their time.
If you are lucky, he may even prefer to go on his perches without being trained to, which significantly cuts down the time you need to train him (her).
Granted, I recommend whenever your bird chooses (or changes) a spot, make sure the area has an appropriate perch or play gym, so he is not tempted to poop on other things: Budgie Face Killer, Redditor.
In terms of wordings, you only need to teach your bird the phrases associated with where to (or not) to poop. For instance, a simple NO, DON’T DO THAT is enough to stop most birds from pooping in the wrong spot.
Some owners go an extra mile and teach their birds to poop on command, mostly every 15 to 30 minutes, which is no problem if you prefer to do that.
Easiest Pet Bird to Potty Train
I reckon there is not one bird type expressly easier to train than the other. It depends a lot on the one you have, though parrots are arguably more tameable and easy to teach tricks than others.
It also helps if you have a parrot (as a pet) since more information is available in the hobby on training and keeping these colorful, feathered babies than say pigeons, starlings, finches, toucans, or what have you.
Now, in terms of intelligence, birdies like African grey that can learn many words and tricks can perhaps also be potty trained a lot quicker than other parrots…
,…but you’ll want to start with a hand-raised chick.
Why you ask?
Because parrots, like dogs (or is it humans), will give you a hard time teaching an old soul new tricks, even an African grey or the rather oddly intelligent budgie.
Can You Potty Train A Love Bird
Certainly, you can toilet train your love bird, which is pretty much how you would teach any other bird or parrot for that matter.
The idea is whenever you see the classic poop sings (back up and raise her tail), say something explicit and easy to recognize, such as GO POOP, followed by lots of praise: Summora, Flock Member, Lovebird Plus.
If your birdie is well trained, the simple command is all it takes for him to fly to her cage or proofed spot to poop.
I know some owners have trained their lovebirds to go whenever they are placed over a trash can or toilet paper, which is equally effective.
Can You Potty Train A Budgie
I know this comes as a surprise to new owners, but budgies are pretty intelligent, able to learn almost as many tricks and words as African greys, including toilet etiquette.
So, yes, you can train your budgie to poop in one place, similar to how you teach any other parrot.
Come up with the phrases to use, then introduce him to the place you need him to poop, and you are sorted.
The only caveat would be your budgie pooping a lot more than, say, macaws, cockatoos, and even conure, because of their relatively tiny bodies, meaning you will need to pay more attention to them.
Why Do Birds Poop Too Much
The number of bowel movements a bird has per day depends on its size. While budgies go dozens of times per day, a large bird, like a macaw, may go as few as 15 times: Animal Mom.
Bird, like other small animals, poop a lot and pretty much everywhere.
One reason for this is their oddly high metabolism. They also have small bodies, meaning their bowels are smallish and can only hold too much poop for so long.
The high metabolism has a lot to do with the energy birds need to fly and go about other birdly activities. Combine that with a small stomach to hold the food and bowels for the waste, and what you get is nothing short of a poop machine.
Granted, a budgie’s bathroom needs are a lot more frequent than a macaw or African grey, although they excrete lesser waste with every dump.
Do All Birds Poop A lot—Birds That Don’t Poop Alot
Do all birds poop a lot, Well, YES and NO.
See, compared to other house pets, birds, regardless of the size, poop a lot more than your average dog or cat, but when comparing one bird to the other, some poop a lot more than others.
Biggers birds, I’m talking cockatoos, macaws, greys, amazon parrots, and Eclectus go to the toilet a lot less than conures, ringnecks, cockatiels, and Quakers, which in turn, go less than budgies.
Essentially, the tinnier the bird, the more likely it is to poop more unless it’s trained to poop on command.
But of the flip side though…
,…a smaller bird will excrete only a tiny amount of waste, which is less likely to stain your carpets, clothes, floors, and walls. A budgie’s poop can literally be wiped off with a wet towel, but for a larger bird, you will need a little water, vinegar, and a brief rub-job.
Can A Bird Control When They Poop
Yes, a bird can control when to poop if you train him to go on command, though most experts have reservations with this trick.
Potty training your bird to go on command means holding it in, waiting for your instruction, and at times, straining to go when asked: Parrot Owner.
If your bird prefers to release itself in one place, then he might also know to hold till he gets to that spot.
Even so, for the most part (and for most birds), they will poop anywhere, whenever they feel. This is their natural instinct since they are wild animals that should ideally be living in the jungle.
Conclusively, it’s mostly a trainable pet bird raised at home (hand raised) that will learn when to poop. I doubt one in the wild would need, leave alone learn, to control when and where they poop.
Why Does My Pet Bird Poop on Me
Almost all birds are food mills and will poop when and where they want, even on you once in a while, so don’t take offense.
Although I’m not convinced they poop on you on purpose, some keepers say they’ve observed a pattern and believe parrots poop on their favorite person.
I recall one owner saying (in a forum) that her bird developed a tendency to poop on her, albeit being trained to poop in one place and on command.
Bizzare way of showing affection, huh!
Personally, I think birds (mostly tiny ones) poop a lot with no toilet etiquette whatsoever, and if you think yours is going on you too often, perhaps you are spending too much time with it, or maybe you let him out of his cage more than most keepers.
Perhaps you are just unlucky, but not because your bird knows what it is doing.
Is Pet Bird Poop Dangerous
Experts say breathing air or water droplets with bird poop in it can lead to several diseases, though the extent is not something to worry about too much.
I’ve had birds for a long minute, and I don’t remember a time I had a problem with droppings apart from occasional sneezes and whiffs.
Even so, this is not expert advice, more so for people with allergies. If you think your bird’s droppings are causing you discomfort, I suggest talking to your physician. He (she) is in a better position to advise.
Thats all for this post.
See you in the next one.
Happy birding🐦🦜🦜.