Potty trained? Advice Needed

[KatherinesBirds]

I purchased my yellow sided Green Cheek conure back about two months ago. The bird was previously owned by a lady who had to give her up since her new apartment wouldn't allow pets. Petsmart took the bird back and then she came to live with me. She is about 5 months old but has spent most of her life in the pet store.
When I bought the bird, the sales lady said that it seemed like the first owner had "Potty Trained" the bird because she would not poop unless she was in her enclosure which by the way was a glass enclosed cage with corn cob floor. She wasn't sure of this but noticed that the bird would not poop outside of the enclosure. I dismissed that idea right away since I wasn't concerned about it.
Now I must say that this bird will not poop on me or outside of her cage at all. I don't believe that potty training is a good idea since it puts stress on a birds organs trying to hold in what is perfectly normal for a bird to let out any time it needs to. I never potty train.
This bird is taken out 4 or 5 times a day for a period of from 15 minutes to a half hour. She gets very anxious acting and paces back and forth after a half hour and if I am near her cage she reaches out to get to the door or onto the cage and then inside and goes poop. She has never pooped outside of her cage. I usually sit at my desk where her cage is and she never leaves me unless it is to try to get back to her cage to go. I want to take her places which will require a carrier which does not look like her cage. I worry that she will be holding it.
My question is: Are there some birds who just don't want to poop on their owners or am I stuck with a potty trained bird? If so, how can I untrain this bird? I don't want to take her out and put her on a playpen for an hour if she is going to hold it!! Any ideas? I know this sounds strange. Bear with me... her poops are perfectly normal also.

 

[JLcribber]

Don't know of any way to "untrain" anything? Hopefully with time she will grow out of it. You can't unknow anything.

All you can do is reward if/when you catch her doing it elsewhere.

This is exactly the reason they should not be potty trained.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Poor girl, how uncomfortable she must be!One of my birds does not like to poop while on me, and will climb off me to go. She doesn't have to go back to her cage, however, she's perfectly happy to poop in on a table or something. She's so cute, I think she's just likes to be really clean.

Here's something maybe you could try. After she is used to her travel cage and comfortable being in it, you can try putting the travel cage on a table near her regular cage, and when she gets anxious and wants to go, try placing her in the travel cage instead. You can maybe do something similar with a play stand. When she does go somewhere else besides her cage, praise her and give her treats. Hopefully she will learn to poop wherever soon!

 

[KatherinesBirds]

Thank you friend! I like this idea very much! We had the most horrific thunder storm we've been through in the 16 years I've lived here and I had to literally peel her off of my shoulder so I could go to bed. I have a little travel cage that I can put next to her cage. She might go in and that would be a nice transition so when we go out she will.be comfortable.
The other thing is birds don't like messing in their nest generally and the mother birds I have had all catch the poop and drop it outside. Well, most of it anyway. Snuggles loves my long hair and rubs herself dry after a bath on it. She hides in it and takes naps there too. In short, my hair might remind her of the nest!
Anyhow, for those of you who have a bird that won't mess on us, count ourselves lucky I guess!

 

[karen256]

It's fairly common for GCC to potty train themselves to some extent - at least to not poop on their people. Mine seems perfectly comfortable holding it for a half hour or more when she's sitting with me (she has a potty perch she can fly to nearby). They also do not poop when sleeping or napping (so most GCC's routinely hold it for 11-12 hrs at night).

However it is unusual that your GCC will only poop in her cage - it's more common for them to prefer not to go in the cage. I think for the most part you are lucky! However, you should work on teaching her that it's OK to go potty in a carrier or on a stand. Also, can she fly or get back to her cage on her own? You might want to give her a way to return to her cage to go potty and then come back to you on her own.

As for traveling, you said that her original cage was an acrylic cage with corn cob floor. You might try an acrylic carrier and put some kraft paper (something similar in color to the corncob bedding) in the bottom and see if she will accept this. In fact, if this works, you might try brown paper under play areas or other places you want to put her.

 

[cassiesdad]

Milton isn't potty trained...and yet, in the six-plus years he's owned me, he's pooped on me about 8 times...a very few times considering the time he spends on me.
The thing is about every 15 minutes or so, I return him to his cage. I don't say anything to him...and he stretches which stimulates pooping. If he doesn't poop, then I cut the time back to no more than 10 minutes for a return to the cage. By that time, he poops.

If anything, he's trained me. It keeps me aware that there's a 'too on me, and my attention should be on him, and not wander to something else...

 

[2macshan]

My B and G is potty trained for the most part and my scarlet is getting there. I think this behavior is positive and should be easy to shape. Is your bird fully flighted? If it were mine I would pair the pooping with a word. In our house the command is "shi shi." (the dog had dibs on "potty") Anyways, catch him going in his cage and as he does it say the word and give a treat. a clicker would really speed things up. Then once he understands the word means potty, I would have another perch out of his cage for him to do his business on. after about 30 min set him on it and say the cue word. Once he understands he will fly to it or his cage when he has to go. My birds do still have occasional accidents but it's nice to be able to get them to go on command when we take them places.

 

[KatherinesBirds]

Oh, Snuggles is doing what birds do now! Just thought I would update you. She has decided to poop on me! That's just fine. I don't think potty training is good since it does put unnatural strain on their organs. Potty train a child, YES! Not a bird. I've done some reading and I'm not on that same page.

 

[lexalayne]

My Umbrella came to me at 12 and she would still rather die - 15 years later than poop on me - she learned it too well.. She is, however, comfortable going on any kind of bird stand. And after I learned her body language I could tell when she had to go. Before I learned it I'd put her on her stand at least every 1/2 hour in case she had to relieve herself.

 

[KatherinesBirds]

A very intelligent bird indeed! This little conure of mine is just a poop factory and I don't think she even knows when it happens. I had a blue and gold macaw which did the same and she loved me a lot. I've several towels which I wear over my shoulders for just such an episode! I do lift her to my shoulder and off of my hair once in awhile and so far I haven't had a deposit in my hair!!

 

[KatherinesBirds]

I know this is gross but.......maybe my aversion to this type of "potty training" goes back to one trip to the doctors office where I had to drink what seemed like a half a gallon of this pink stuff and the nurse said to me that I had to "hold it" for a long time. Ha, ha, ha!!!

 

[lexalayne]

Yep that is the worst!

 

[KatherinesBirds]

Thanks to all of you who understood that last post that I did!