Potty training?

So I was thinking of potty training my new conure, but then I heard that birds will hold it and not go in their cage which could be bad for them? Thoughts?

I would love to encourage him to go in designated spots, but not at the risk of his health....

Hey, really glad you did the research on the pros and cons.

Yes, birds holding it in (or even forcing it out) is a big concern with potty training.

What we tried to do it enable him to go to the right places.

For potty training, you should be doing what's called capturing (see a link here about it
https ://www.exoticdirect.co.uk/news/how-train-bird-using-positive-reinforcement). It's really parrot-initiated training where you build positively off of their actions. Example: if your bird shakes before going poo, then you quickly shift them to their poop perch and praise when they go poo there. It was also going to happen (they needed to relieve themselves), you just built off of it and made it a success.

We have 2 set places for pooping in the house - his cage door and his training perch (both are in different rooms) - and our little guy is fully-flighted, so he'll just fly there.

Now, like any training, YOU the human have to be consistent. What worked for us was spending one weekend when we had the time to keep a close eye on him. The moment he gave his body shake or his poop squat, we swoop him up and put him on his poop perch, then gave our cue word as he went, then praised and treated. He learned within a day.

When we go on walks outside, his body cues are always listened to, but in addition to that, if he doesn't give a cue but it's been about 15 minutes, we'll put him on a perch and tell him the cue word. At that point he'll either go or he won't - we don't force him either way. If he doesn't go, we just continue on our way. If he does, then treat if you're still at the beginning stages of potty training so he solidifies that association.


It's really about following the individual bird's cues. If you follow his cues, you'll be ok.

Now, we don't praise every time he poos because he will honestly try to keep forcing poo out for us. On the other hand, other birds will hold it in constantly until they hear the cue word. Just follow your bird's lead and keep adjusting to keep things as natural as possible. Just in the right locations.

Thank you for all of your info! I am new to conures... well really I’ve only had budgies and I think this is going to be a little different. I am definitely going to have to think about this one. What if one of his poop spots is inside of his his cage too?

Even better if you include the cage one as part of his training.

Just make sure to watch if he's the type of bird to force one for treats or to hold it in for a cue word. I feel like potty training is one of those grey areas where being strict, like you would for recall training, doesn't work. You sometimes have to not give treats consistently or sometimes not give cue words consistently just so they keep a more natural response.

Thank you for the tips. I guess we will play it by ear and keep It laid back for sure. I’d much rather clean poop than make my lil guy uncomfortable or worse! I will keep researching! Thank you for the link.

I got my grey (I miss you Tonto) as a weaned baby. I wasn’t concerned about potty training, but for whatever reason, when he stepped up to be taken out of the cage, I would keep him there and repeat...

“Make a doody! Make a doody!”

And damn, the bird squatted down and did it the very first time, and just about every time after that.

This was good enough for me...it bought me some doody-free time...and I never did anything to discourage him from crapping anywhere else he wanted to. To me, it’s such a minor issue, especially since it’s so easy to clean up.

However, I usually wear a denim jacket (I have a Goodwill collection of them!) with my Archie, for both shouldering him and a little protection from “playful” bites and sharp nails. He can crap on that all he wants, but incredibly, he hasn’t yet.

I never read anything about potty training, but I have to guess that on-demand pooping...with praise...is the most sensible method, giving you that window of non-bathroom activity.

There is a basic "timing" thing, of how long after they eat, to keep in mind (10 to 20 minutes) and their body language at the time. THEN, there is the desired place! Again, here is "TIMED" activities. If you feed at a given time, they will POOP at a fairly determinate time. jh