Potty training question

Vilatus · Apr 8, 2018

Hi everybody!

So I've successfully potty trained my male tiel for the most part. However, he doesn't seem to understand where to go poop, and he has accidents on the furniture or on people. I want to get him to go in one spot, or at least a certain area. I can handle getting pooed on occasionally, but I'd prefer it not on the furniture lmao. I have been putting him in mostly the same spot when I ask him to go, (java tree or rope attached to java tree) but he doesn't seem to get it.

Does anybody have any experience with this? He's extremely attention motivated and that's how I trained him to begin with. (On the perch around the time he probably needs to go, "go potty", when he does he comes back and gets to cuddle again)

I know I can't fully potty train him the same way I can a dog, but I would like to encourage the behavior of going not on people or furniture.

Thanks in advance!

(Also, does anyone know how to help my birds not fear the clicker? I've been unable to train them much because the noise scares them.)

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Inger · Apr 8, 2018

Ziel said:
Hi everybody!

So I've successfully potty trained my male tiel for the most part. However, he doesn't seem to understand where to go poop, and he has accidents on the furniture or on people. I want to get him to go in one spot, or at least a certain area. I can handle getting pooed on occasionally, but I'd prefer it not on the furniture lmao. I have been putting him in mostly the same spot when I ask him to go, (java tree or rope attached to java tree) but he doesn't seem to get it.

Does anybody have any experience with this? He's extremely attention motivated and that's how I trained him to begin with. (On the perch around the time he probably needs to go, "go potty", when he does he comes back and gets to cuddle again)

I know I can't fully potty train him the same way I can a dog, but I would like to encourage the behavior of going not on people or furniture.

Thanks in advance!

(Also, does anyone know how to help my birds not fear the clicker? I've been unable to train them much because the noise scares them.)

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Potty training:
I just keep track of when Bumble is about to poop again and put her on her stand and ask her to poop. Every once in awhile she heads that direction on her own, but not reliably. Her parrotlet poop is very tiny so I’m not that worried about it. I know there are others here who have fabulously well potty-trained birds so maybe they’ll offer better insight.

Clicker training: you don’t need a clicker to do clicker training. You just need a consistent sound. I give and enthusiastic, high-pitched YESSSSSSS when I get the behavior I’m looking for. I’m not coordinated enough to manage a bird, props, a clicker, and treats. If your guy is afraid of the clicker, ditch it for something else. [emoji5]

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Sunnyclover · Apr 8, 2018

You said your bird is mostly potty trained but then I got confused because you are describing a bird who isn't potty trained. Here are some things I hope can help. My 2 conures are potty trained almost perfectly. I just started by placing them on a spot that I wanted them to go potty around the time I thought they needed to go and said "go poopy" and tapped their tail with a double tap motion (video on my youtube channel linked to my Signature) and they went and I gave them a tiny piece of treat. I did this for about 24 hours and at that point they were potty trained and I still give them a treat each morning for doing their morning poo in the toilet (yes I said toilet) because it's good of them to wait and not go in the sleep cage. I can go say the words "go potty" and do the tail tap and they will go anywhere I tell them is okay. Like when I go with them on a car ride I just hold a napkin under them and they will just go. Of course of I wait too long an accident could happen but I am really vigilant about it so that rarely happens. And they don't hold it forever or wait until I say they can go or any of that nonsense, they go when they need to go but in the appropriate spots or they sort of let on that they need to go in their own special way.

clark_conure · Apr 9, 2018

I take clark to the bathroom, I have a towel draped over the shower door slider for him to use and the sink. He knows he's a good boy for pooping in the shower or sink.

Occasionally there is an accident like we go outside and my Huge muscles catch his poop or in a car ride etc. But he's generally pretty good.

clark_conure · Apr 9, 2018

oh also....enjoy....

Vilatus · Apr 10, 2018

Sunnyclover said:
You said your bird is mostly potty trained but then I got confused because you are describing a bird who isn't potty trained. Here are some things I hope can help. My 2 conures are potty trained almost perfectly. I just started by placing them on a spot that I wanted them to go potty around the time I thought they needed to go and said "go poopy" and tapped their tail with a double tap motion (video on my youtube channel linked to my Signature) and they went and I gave them a tiny piece of treat. I did this for about 24 hours and at that point they were potty trained and I still give them a treat each morning for doing their morning poo in the toilet (yes I said toilet) because it's good of them to wait and not go in the sleep cage. I can go say the words "go potty" and do the tail tap and they will go anywhere I tell them is okay. Like when I go with them on a car ride I just hold a napkin under them and they will just go. Of course of I wait too long an accident could happen but I am really vigilant about it so that rarely happens. And they don't hold it forever or wait until I say they can go or any of that nonsense, they go when they need to go but in the appropriate spots or they sort of let on that they need to go in their own special way.

So sorry for not replying, I'm not getting notifications from tapatalk suddenly!

This is basically what I did with my bird as well. See, I feel like I don't receive any warning (besides maybe getting a little squirmy if cuddling) when my tiel has to poo. He'll go basically anywhere I ask like yours, but also if he wants to he'll just let it go on me or furniture. How did you get them to associate certain spots with being ok to poo, rather than just on command???

I apologize if I missed anything, I'm a little sleepy.

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Vilatus · Apr 10, 2018

clark_conure said:
I take clark to the bathroom, I have a towel draped over the shower door slider for him to use and the sink. He knows he's a good boy for pooping in the shower or sink.

Occasionally there is an accident like we go outside and my Huge muscles catch his poop or in a car ride etc. But he's generally pretty good.

As with the other post I replied to- how did you get him to associate that spot with being ok rather than just when you ask? I'm a little confused aaaaah

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Vilatus · Apr 10, 2018

clark_conure said:
oh also....enjoy....

This is my birds. This is them. The little feathery ****s. If they weren't so cute they'd be in trouble lmao

Also a meme for a meme

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GaleriaGila · Apr 10, 2018

Precious photos!

Good input, and good stories...

The Rb almost always poops on his perches (he's flighted and that's just what he prefers). I tried to kick it up a notch a while back, with hand-held potty training...

May I tell a funny story?

This is the sad tale of how the Rickeybird was toilet-trained for about an hour, back around 1990. I think he was maybe 6. I was reading Bird Talk, by then, and decided that I would try out some of the techniques. So I began taking the Rbird over a paper every 10 minutes or so and holding him there until he pooped, at which time I said "Boo-boo!" in a happy voice. Soon, I could take him to the paper say Boo-boo and he'd poop. As hoped for, as the day wore on, HE began to say Boo-boo and then poop when I held him over the target. He and I were both delighted, and we practiced and practiced. Sadly, it wasn't even an hour before he began saying Boo-boo every 30 seconds and then flying away when I headed for the paper. I accepted defeat graciously. To this day, he will sometimes yell Boo-boo ten or fifteen times within a minute or so. *sigh*

Sunnyclover · Apr 10, 2018

Ziel said:
Sunnyclover said:

You said your bird is mostly potty trained but then I got confused because you are describing a bird who isn't potty trained. Here are some things I hope can help. My 2 conures are potty trained almost perfectly. I just started by placing them on a spot that I wanted them to go potty around the time I thought they needed to go and said "go poopy" and tapped their tail with a double tap motion (video on my youtube channel linked to my Signature) and they went and I gave them a tiny piece of treat. I did this for about 24 hours and at that point they were potty trained and I still give them a treat each morning for doing their morning poo in the toilet (yes I said toilet) because it's good of them to wait and not go in the sleep cage. I can go say the words "go potty" and do the tail tap and they will go anywhere I tell them is okay. Like when I go with them on a car ride I just hold a napkin under them and they will just go. Of course of I wait too long an accident could happen but I am really vigilant about it so that rarely happens. And they don't hold it forever or wait until I say they can go or any of that nonsense, they go when they need to go but in the appropriate spots or they sort of let on that they need to go in their own special way.

Click to expand...

So sorry for not replying, I'm not getting notifications from tapatalk suddenly!

This is basically what I did with my bird as well. See, I feel like I don't receive any warning (besides maybe getting a little squirmy if cuddling) when my tiel has to poo. He'll go basically anywhere I ask like yours, but also if he wants to he'll just let it go on me or furniture. How did you get them to associate certain spots with being ok to poo, rather than just on command???

I apologize if I missed anything, I'm a little sleepy.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Well when they would poop on me or an undesirable location I would show them the poop, made sure they knew what I was upset about and tell them "no poop here" then I would point to one or more locations I wanted them to poop and say "good boys poopy here" then back to the poop and repeat "no poopy here" then I would put them down for a good 5 minutes. After a while tthey got it or it became habit to only poop in the wanted areas because that's where I ask them to go. Either or it works. But to be fair I did hear from several people cockatiels are harder to potty train..not sure how true that is but it might be coming into play here.

Potty training question

Vilatus

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