HELP with CAG who wont poop in cage

[Dhigh1532]

Hi,
I got an African Gray in January- at 3 months old.
I noticed he was not pooping in his cage. The breeder told me he had to learn to. She said don’t let him out until he does. He knows “bombs away”, so I started telling him that and waited. He will go HOURS & screech a lot before he finally gives in.
Problem is i can’t do this every day if I am not home.
Some days I am gone from 8:00 - 3 or 4 and he still has not gone.
Im afraid this is not good for him.
What do you do to make him know its ok to poop in his cage?
Today he didnt go until I let him out at 4:30 pm.
Should I just ignore it and let him go when I do get home?
I have had a lot of birds but never this problem

 

[Shezbug]

Curious how large your cage is.

Holding on too long and pooping on command are both very likely to cause health problems for your bird.

 

[Kassiani]

Hopefully other Grey owners will have some experience to share!

 

[SunTruth]

I do not own a bird such as yours but my family has a senegal parrot. Some weeks ago I noticed he was not pooping in his cage. The thing is that I do not know if it has always been like this (he is with us for some month now) or if he suddenly started not pooping in his cage.

Anyway what we do now is that in the morning we let him out of the cage for like 30 minutes or something (well it depends when we have to leave for work). This way he poops (usually something big) and there is enough time for him pooping then going back in cage. The thing that led me to notice that he was not pooping in his cage was that he stated to bite his feet. So well I do not know if it was related at 100%, but now he stopped biting since he has time outside of the cage in the morning. My point here is that I think if a bird is holding his poop too long it can create problems.

Now for the reason why he does not want to poop in the cage I do not know, but as @Shezbug suggested it might be related to the size of the cage.

 

[Snowghost]

I would agree, I wouldn't think its healthy. I did have a pair of breeding Cockatiels when they were in the nest box, the bird would not poop, and man when they did it was huge. I didn't stress, figured it was part of laying on eggs.

It bothers me that the breeder informed you that he had to "learn" to poo in cage and kept him inside until he did. To me that's a red flag, we don't force a parrot to do anything like that. Does he scream to be let out? This does not sit well with me. Are colors and texture of poo normal? How much exercise does he get?

Is he on a regular routine? Morning and evening times, breakfast, clean cage, out of cage for play time?

What kind of diet is he on?

Paco will bomb away he doesn't care and he was cage bound for years of his life before I got him.

If all seems normal I would see a vet. Please keep us updated!

Hugs,

Terri

 

[Dhigh1532]

Thanks for your response.
I feed him chop every morning around 8:30 unless I have to leave earlier.

YES he screams to get out - but not only just to poop.
He started this screeching after I went on vacation and he didn’t get let out while I was gone. I am working on this problem also

Now, if I leave the room, he screetches

He pooped in his cage when I was gone on vacation.

He will go, most of the time, if I tell him to “ go bombs away” if I stand by his cage and wait.

He is on Roudybush pellets , limited seed and done nuts.

 

[Dhigh1532]

Curious how large your cage is.

Holding on too long and pooping on command are both very likely to cause health problems for your bird.

He has a very large cage.
He just waits on me to tell him to
go and I need to stop that behavior

 

[Dhigh1532]

I would agree, I wouldn't think its healthy. I did have a pair of breeding Cockatiels when they were in the nest box, the bird would not poop, and man when they did it was huge. I didn't stress, figured it was part of laying on eggs.

It bothers me that the breeder informed you that he had to "learn" to poo in cage and kept him inside until he did. To me that's a red flag, we don't force a parrot to do anything like that. Does he scream to be let out? This does not sit well with me. Are colors and texture of poo normal? How much exercise does he get?

Is he on a regular routine? Morning and evening times, breakfast, clean cage, out of cage for play time?

What kind of diet is he on?

Paco will bomb away he doesn't care and he was cage bound for years of his life before I got him.

If all seems normal I would see a vet. Please keep us updated!

Hugs,

Terri

I sent a reply
but it didnt post under yours

 

[Dhigh1532]

I do not own a bird such as yours but my family has a senegal parrot. Some weeks ago I noticed he was not pooping in his cage. The thing is that I do not know if it has always been like this (he is with us for some month now) or if he suddenly started not pooping in his cage.

Anyway what we do now is that in the morning we let him out of the cage for like 30 minutes or something (well it depends when we have to leave for work). This way he poops (usually something big) and there is enough time for him pooping then going back in cage. The thing that led me to notice that he was not pooping in his cage was that he stated to bite his feet. So well I do not know if it was related at 100%, but now he stopped biting since he has time outside of the cage in the morning. My point here is that I think if a bird is holding his poop too long it can create problems.

Now for the reason why he does not want to poop in the cage I do not know, but as @Shezbug suggested it might be related to the size of the cage.

yes! I agree its not healthy - i am trying to figure out how to stop this. There are some days I can not let him out until later and holding it that long worries me

 

[Dhigh1532]

Hopefully other Grey owners will have some experience to share!

I certainly hope so - this is getting very worrisome

 

[tka]

He has a very large cage.
He just waits on me to tell him to
go and I need to stop that behavior

Can you give measurements?

 

[Dhigh1532]

Can you give measurements?

 

[Coco's Dad]

I wouldn’t worry too much. First off, my bird holds it from the time he goes to sleep until he wakes up. That’s a pretty long time and I don’t think there are any issues. But boy is that first one a doozy…He also waits until he is let out of his sleeping cage to do it, unless I am really lazy and don’t get up. Then it’s like clockwork after that, about every 15 minutes. His other cages are open season and he has no issue going in them. Second, these birds are creatures of habit and if you upset the routine (schedule), they lose their minds which in turn will cause you to lose yours. You have a really young bird. I have no idea how old my bird is, though I’m guessing on the younger side due to his activity, and any major change in routine will set him off, either anger, or feather chewing, or following me everywhere I go. I imagine it’s magnified even more in a really young bird that’s trying to figures things out. If you remain calm, your bird MIGHT remain calm, and things will work themselves out eventually….maybe.