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My linnie (Carlos)- strange morning behavior

jbarkan

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Jill Barkan
hello to my fellow bird lovers,
I have Carlos for about 1 month, and he is 3 months old (I believe)-
anyway, I play with him after work-- he kisses me, runs all over my blanket, plays on my chest and shoulders and is extremely lovable.

Every morning, I wake him up- take the cover off the cage-- and he wants to be held.
There is only 1 problem, everytime I take him out in the morning,
he jumps on my shoulder, poops, gives me kisses and then runs to eat his food?
How can I stop him from pooping on me in the morning?
anyway to potty train a Bird to use the cage?
 

Lady Jane

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Leave him in the cage until he poops or put a paper towel on your shoulder. They can be potty trained.
 

jbarkan

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I tried this mornng,but he will not perch on the paper towel on my shoulder! he then pooped on the table instead.
and if I leave him in the cage, he screams until I pick him up...
which is why i did not get 2 birds... If you take them out of the cage--- they poop all over.
One is enough for me-- so I can give him freedom and not have a complete mess and have some shirts not completely destroyed.
But I do adore him, regardless of his bathroom habits.
 

Milo

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Potty training can be potentially dangerous for birds, some will hold it to the point that they risk a prolapse when they finally do go. It's not something that a lot of people here recommend. Can you just have him perch on your hand in the cage and wait until he goes?

Part of having birds is living with poop, you might try having a designated "bird shirt"?
 

jbarkan

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interesting... could he be waiting for me to pick him up, before going? esp. in the morning?
Thank you.
 

wyrinth

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When I open the cage door both my linnies run to come out but I just stand there waiting expectantly and eventually they go...you might have to wait 5minutes just staring at your bird :). Also, I use a hand towel around my shoulders held with a clothespin (love those things). Not only does it protect my clothes, but it also gives the birds a good surface to grip. :D
 

Melissa Marie

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The way I've had the most success is to open the cage, let my linnie hop on my hand, but not move out of the cage until he has a poop. The trick is to be silent and immobile while he's on your hand, and then get really excited and reward him with a treat immediately after he poops, THEN proceed with your morning routine. It takes some time and practice, but eventually Beaker caught on that pooping in the cage = getting to come out to play.

I also use the "towel-and-a-clip" approach if I plan to have him sit on my shoulder. Beaker in particular LOVES fleece, so I cut a few shoulder-sized pieces from a swatch I got at a fabric store, and he loves it. Good luck!
 

Joelle

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My linnies go in a sleep cage and i uncover them about 10 min before lettin them out, so they go a bit in the cage. But then lots more follows when they are out.

Any tips on how to get a hand shy linnie- who steps onto a perch in my hand- to perch on my shoulder?
 

jbarkan

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I have actually trained Carlos to poop when I say " go poopy". Then I let h run on my shoulder and play with me! He is extremely bright. He stands on my cell phone when I try to use it! He already attacked the screen saver! Love h!
 

Melissa Marie

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My linnies go in a sleep cage and i uncover them about 10 min before lettin them out, so they go a bit in the cage. But then lots more follows when they are out.

Any tips on how to get a hand shy linnie- who steps onto a perch in my hand- to perch on my shoulder?
How long have you had him? Is he tame otherwise? (i.e. not afraid of you) If he's nervous about you, I would avoid putting him on your shoulder until you guys develop your bond. Otherwise allowing him to perch on your shoulder could have some problems:

1) getting him off your shoulder safely [if he doesn't trust you or your hands, he may get defensive and bite, or try to flee and potentially hurt himself)
2) a shoulder is a power position for a bird. They like to be up high and in charge. If he doesn't trust you or recognize your authority, there's always the possibility he may use proximity to your tender bits (ears, eyes, nose, lips, etc) to try to establish himself and take charge [this would also make him very difficult to control and train]

If that's the case, I would recommend spending lots of time with taming and training techniques to try to earn his trust. One way is to use a dowel for "step up" training (hold the dowel and work on getting him to step up on the other end. Use a clicker to mark a successful step, then reward him after). As he becomes more confident and receptive to perching on the end of the dowel, gradually move your hand up the dowel every few "step ups". Eventually, as the space for him to perch gets smaller, he'll get more used to your hand. Eventually, you can offer the dowel with your finger under the piece he perches on, then tilt it slightly to get him on your finger. This may take a few days (or maybe even a week or two) of practice, but eventually with this system he should become receptive to perching on your hand.

After that, you can work on more involved hand taming, rewarding him whenever he doesn't shy away (and then letting him rest or play if he becomes uncomfortable). I usually start talking softly, and then use the the word "relax" as I bring a finger sloooooolwy over to a foot, chest, wing, etc. Watch the body language, stop if his eyes start pinning, wings starts flipping, etc. But reward him every time he sits without flinching while your hand is near. Slowly, systematically, reward and repeat every time he's calm while your hand is near. This will help a LOT with hand tameness. I used the same technique with Beaker, and now when I tell him "relax" he will let me pick him up from behind and rest in my hand if I need to look at his feet, and also let me open and prod his wings. It took me about 2-3 months using this bit of hand taming to get to that point (and he came to me hand-fed). I'm using the same techniques with my budgie, who was aviary bred, with success (though it's taking significantly longer!)

More than anything it takes time, patience, and sensitivity. A great resource for hand taming techniques is The Parrot Wizard on youtube if you'd like to see videos of either of the approaches I described :)

Now, if he's tame otherwise, just nervous around hands, and you're confident in your ability to control him, you could try to get him to perch on a dowel, then lift him up and offer your shoulder to perch. If he accepts that, then you should use the dowel to get him back down again. This won't do much to make him less hand shy, but he may be willing to sit with you on your shoulder.

I hope that helps! Good luck!
 

Joelle

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@Melissa Marie Thanks this is helpful advice. My guys are not hand-tame and still shy though they take sunflower seeds from my hands and are getting a bit more comfortable around me. I think I'll hold off on the shoulder then and focus on these other things. They step up on a stick for millet and let me move them outside the cage most of the time so I'll keep doing that and start rewarding when they tolerate my hand being close.
Good luck with your budgie! :)
 

jbarkan

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He is extremely tame. lets me kiss him and loves when I pet him under his beak!
 
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