Bird poop in my hair!!

So my Nanday Rio is finally warming up to me! That's the good news. The bad news is that his favorite thing to do is fly to my head and play with my hair. At first I though this was adorable until this morning I got out of the shower let Rio out and he flew right to my head and pooped. And now every five minutes he's flying to my head no matter how many times I get him off. He still isn't step up trained because he's still ifie about my hands. When I put my fingers up to his belly and say step up all he does it put my fingers in his mouth(he's never bit me even when he gives a warning cry he only lightly nibbles which doesn't hurt at all). I need some advice on how to get him to stay on my shoulder and off my head. I love him but I don't want to wash my hair 100 times a day. I'm also ifie about the while potty training thing because I don't want him to think he has to hold it for long periods of time. I've also heard horror stories about birds dying because they hold their poop in. And I'm not really worried about him pooping on my shoulder. I have a wash machine and I don't mind washing my shirt after he's done hanging out.

With my Sun Conure "Squirty" we figured out approximately when he had to go and then would take him to his cage, let him go and then let him come back. He picked up pretty quickly and would fly off our shoulder to his cage, go, and then fly back to us. Made for less messy shirts!

In the wild when a bird lands where he isn't welcome, another bird will gently push him off the branch. Do this. The instant the bird lands on your head, use your hand to effctively, but gently, shove him off. You wont hurt him, he can fly. He will learn in an hour I guarantee it. Don't pick him up off your head, use your hand to shove him off.

Featheredfriendsnmore- once he stays on my shoulder I will defiantly try that thanks!!
Timothy- hes just starting to warm up so could he react negatively to that or do you think it will be okay?

Potty train for him to return to a designated are or to signal you when he has to go. That's what Kiwi does. Since he is not flighted, he will get out attention and raise a foot when he needs to go so we can hurry him back, but you can train a flighted bird to just fly back to a designated area I think allowing the bird to have a means to communicate when they need to go or to simply return to a "acceptable" area is the best way to train. Pooping on command is not the only way to potty train (and IMO not the best way either, due to birds "learning too well").

As for the head sitting, if it bothers you, wear a towel around your neck and when he makes a beeline for your head, pull up the towel. He will not land there. If he's already on your shoulder, block him with your hand or make him step up and place him back where he should go. I personally do not shoulder birds, and Kiwi is only allowed to go to the elbow and no farther up my arm.

I personally used a "mine" and "yours" technique with Kiwi to train him not to chew things outside his cage/play areas. It has actually been one of the most valuable tools I taught him for keeping him a well behaved bird because I can "communicate" what is and isn't acceptable for him to touch or play with. I designated my upper arm as "mine" and he doesn't try to climb up it. Basically, when he would start chewing (or climbing) something he shouldn't, I would (gently) nudge his beak, give a firm "NO" and then touch the object and say "mine". I always have little toys on hand, so I would then hand him one and say "yours" and praise when he took it. It took time, patience and consistency since it is a difficult concept, but he eventually picked up the verbal cues. If you were interested in taking the time to train this, you could designate your head as "yours" and stop him that way. Also useful when your offering new toys, perches ext... that may be a bit scary to let him know it's his and safe to play with Our feathered friends are so sweet and loving making it very tempting to just let them do what they please, but they do need boundaries, especially when it comes to hanging out on us!

Kiwibird- I like when he's on my shoulder but I get the boundaries thing and my head is defiantly mine lol. What kind of toys did you use when training your bird what was his?

I have "Buddy friendly" shirts, that's what I call them. We are no where near potty training yet. I keep Buddy friendly shirts ready for when he's in the mood to visit. He doesn't mess with my hair, but years ago I had a parakeet that thought hair was amazing, he'd hide in it, chew it, get tangled in it. My suggestion, get some bird friendly shirts (junk shirts) and keep them close so you can put them on to save your clothes.

Taw5106- I was thinking about making a bird friendly poncho for the time being so I could just throw it over whatever I'm wearing until I get his pooping situation trained lol.

If you allow him on your shoulder thats fine too It's just my personal preference not to shoulder Kiwi (he's sweet most of the time, but he's a mature male zon and does occasionally get aggressive, so I would just prefer he not be near my face if he gets in a mood). The nice thing about the "yours" and "mine" method is you can pick the boundaries you're comfortable with for your bird!

I use (big enough not to swallow) buttons, beads, plastic game pieces, plastic party favors, small baby rattles (Kiwi loves baby rattles)...little things like that. Just make it small enough the bird can hold it. The toy distracts the bird from going back to what they aren't allowed and helps them understand there are things they *can* "have", just not what "isn't theirs" It also provides an alternate activity, instead of just reprimanding or rewarding the "bad" behavior with a treat. We've had Kiwi a long time, so he's very well trained at this point, but when a bird is still learning, I think it's important if they are corrected for being too explorative outside their area that you offer an appropriate alternative! We look like we have kids sometimes (we don't) because theres always little toys all over. It gives Kiwi the ability to hang out with us and be entertained without ripping up the furniture or going off and being naughty.

I didn't even think about half of those things to use as toys. I'm glad I asked!
Btw he's kind of finally picking up step up!! He's making soooo much progress these last two days, I'm so proud! I'm gonna try that mine yours cause it sounds like a great idea. Also the flying back to his cage when he needs to poop. My only question with that is when he's in another room with me like my bedroom will he hold it cause his cage isn't in there?

My experience with my Buddy who has no clue about potty training, no. April, Kiwibird can provide more info, she's a super Parront. [emoji16]. Yes April that's a super big, toothy grin smile because you are awesome with our feathered friends.

I know Kiwibird always gives great advice in the other threads I read!

I had to train my gcc not to poo on me - it took about a month or two, but he never poops anywhere on me now.
1.Every time he was pooping I said "poop" so he learned the meaning of the word.
2.When he was sitting on my shoulder (he didn't go into my hair at first) I took him off about every 20 min and let him walk on the table or cage top, and said "poop" when he pooped. Later I just took him off, said "poop" and he just pooped right away.
3. When he still pooped on me I scolded him a bit showing him his poop and making sure he understood I wasn't happy about it.

It took a while, but it really worked for my bird. I didn't invent this technique but read about it or saw it somewhere on youtube.
He later started nesting in my hair, but never pooped in it even once.
BTW, my lovebird naturally never poops on me or any person - nobody ever taught her that. She just flies off when she need to poop and then comes back. what a smartie.

Now I'm blushing! Just remember parrots are all unique individuals. One bird may learn very quickly, while another could take months and months of a consistent reaction to get the picture. They are ALL capable of learning though if you stick with it! Patience and consistency will yield you a wonderful companionPotty training a conure may be a tad more difficult than a zon though. From what I hear, they poo much more frequently than an amazon. Just be sure you're watching his body language and snag him BEFORE the butt drops to go (and rush him back to a good spot!). Praise when he poops on his perch, cage or other acceptable place, but grab him and run him to a designated spot if he's going to go where you don't want. He will get the picture eventually

As for him being in a different room than his cage, why not utilize a t-perch or small table top play stand that can be carried from room to room? I adore Kiwi, I really do, but he can't be glued to me at all times. In the same room? Sure, but he can be on a perch entertaining himself and not pestering me all the time (you know what I mean). I've always had a portable perch for him. He loves being everywhere with me even if he's not on me. I know shouldering is a bonding thing for you, and totally fine, but he doesn't need to be up there all day! Here's the perch I just got Kiwi (in the large size, a conure would be able to go with the small):
Gaiolas Decorativas Hot Sale free Shipping Stainless Steel Parrot Stand Holder / Bird Cage Shelf Rack Contains Bangle portable-in Cages & Accessories from Home & Garden on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

I'm defiantly going to look into potty training him and I've gotten great advice from all of you! I'm still nervous about teaching him pooping commands because I don't want him to over learn it and only go when I tell him. Again I've read a bunch of horror stories about it and I would hate to be the reason my baby got sick. But I'll keep looking into it. I like the idea of him flying to his cage or play top.
Kiwibird- I'm was planning on getting a play top but I never thought to use it for that! Thanks for the suggestion. That stainless steel one would be great to hang in my bedroom or office to! And it has little bowls for snacks and water!

He wouldn't "overlearn" if it only happens on your head and shoulder. Mine had never any problem with that - he poops all over the place except my body. They just learn not to poop on you.

veimar said:

He wouldn't "overlearn" if it only happens on your head and shoulder. Mine had never any problem with that - he poops all over the place except my body. They just learn not to poop on you.

Click to expand...

Now I'm really starting to think conure poops must be much different is size and wetness to the abominations larger parrots produce Kiwi would be diapered if he pooped all over the place:54:

That is actually a good solution to overtraining though if you are able to allow poops elsewhere besides on your body.

Now I have a mental picture of poor Kiwi wearing a diaper!!!

Kiwibird said:

Now I'm really starting to think conure poops must be much different is size and wetness to the abominations larger parrots produce Kiwi would be diapered if he pooped all over the place:54:

Click to expand...

LMAO, Kiwibird! I have 5 little fids on the dining room play wall, and it takes every day cleaning, but not that bad at all. They stay in the certain area (although pretty large), and when I mean all over the place it means within "their area". Is Kiwi potty trained so she goes to the same exact spot every time?

Amanda_Bennett said:

Now I have a mental picture of poor Kiwi wearing a diaper!!!

Click to expand...

Just in case you need some inspiration for Zilla:54:

DIY Parrot Diaper - PetDIYs.com

(It even has some suspenders to hold it up!)