Cockatiels make fantastic pets, but one of the hardest things for new bird owners to come to terms with is that their new feathered friend will poop everywhere.
Because they poop every frequently, a single cockatiel can quickly make a mess of your home. Potty training is an effective way to combat the poop mess, but it’s no easy feat.
Read on to learn more about the toileting habits of cockatiels and how to potty train them.
Cockatiel Poop 101
A cockatiel’s droppings aren’t just a pile of waste, as they can tell you a lot about the health of your bird. For example, the color, consistency, and distribution of your pet’s feces can tell you if your cockatiel is healthy, suffering from a disease, or dealing with a parasite infestation.
A bird’s dropping consists of three components: feces, urates, and clear liquid urine. The fecal component is the solid green, black or brown part of the dropping. The color can change depending on your bird’s diet. The urate is typically white or cream and is excreted from the kidneys. The clear liquid (human equivalent of urine) is watery and colorless.
Once you’ve had your cockatiel for some time, you’ll learn what their normal droppings look like. Any deviation from the norm is abnormal; if the waste remains abnormal for longer than a day, a visit to the vet is in order. Abnormal droppings can look like:
- An increase or decrease or increase in droppings
- Changes in color
- Changes in texture
- Bubbly looking droppings
- Increase in watery component
- Presence of blood
- Pea soup consistency
- Undigested seeds in feces
How to Potty Train a Cockatiel
Now that you know more about cockatiel poop, you can approach potty training in an informed manner. Potty training a bird involves many of the same steps as training a dog. You’ll need to:
- Anticipate when your cockatiel needs to poop
- Take your pet to the designated poop spot every time you see it has to go
- Wait until your pet defecates, and then repeat a key phrase every time
- Provide plenty of praise or treats afterward
Let’s take a closer look at how to successfully potty train your bird.
1. Determine Where & How They Poop
Cockatiels, like most birds, have preferred areas where they like to defecate. They also will sometimes exhibit certain behaviors right before they poop. For example, they may take a step back and lift their tail before defecating. Potty training will be much easier if you can determine when it is about to poop by seeing it move to its favorite spot and exhibit its pre-poo behaviors.
When a healthy cockatiel is about to poop, you will notice the following sequence of events:
- If your pet is perched on your finger, they may suddenly feel slightly heavier
- Your cockatiel will likely ruffle their feathers slightly, particularly those near their vent
- Your cockatiel will lift their tail and pass their droppings
- At times (especially in the morning) you might notice your pet “stretching” their wings before they pass droppings
Potty training will be much easier if you can determine when your pet is about to poop by seeing them move to their favorite spot and exhibit their pre-poo behaviors.
2. Decide Where You Want Your Pet to Poop
Before you can begin potty training, decide where you want your cockatiel’s designated poop spot when they’re outside their cage. You might want them to return to the cage to poop or have a special perch set up over the top of a garbage can. Some people put paper plates down on the cage floor for their birds to poop on top of.
Wherever you choose, make sure it’s a place your bird can easily access on their own.
3. Keep a Close Watch
When your cockatiel is outside their cage, observe them closely for signs they have to poop. When you see your pet beginning to exhibit such signs, take them to their designated poop spot. If you don’t recognize any behavioral cues that defecation is about to occur, take them to the poop spot every 15-30 minutes.
It’s also good to use a specific word, such as “go” or “potty” when you take your parrot to the designated spot. Your pet will quickly associate the action of pooping with the verbal cue. It’s best to use a cheerful, happy tone when attempting to train your parrot.
4. Praise & Reward
Whenever you see your bird poop where you want them to, shower them with praise and affection. Parrots that are socialized view interaction with their owners (you) as positive, and therefore, acknowledge their success when it comes to potty training to ensure they perceive the behavior as a positive trait.
For the first few times your cockatiel gets it right on their own, offer them one of their favorite treats as well. However, it is important to not overdo the treats, as this might quickly lead to a bird that demands a treat from you every 20-30 minutes or so. An overabundance of treats can quickly lead to an overweight pet bird.
5. Never Punish
Punishment is never an appropriate response when training any pet to do anything. Patience is key when training your bird and punishing them for having accidents will not do you or your cockatiel any good. In fact, punishment can be detrimental to your relationship and may even make your bird fear you. In addition, scolding can cause stress, leading to behavioral problems.
6. Be Realistic
It is unrealistic to believe that your cockatiel will be potty trained in a few days or weeks. Therefore, before you begin training, be realistic about the timeline and try not to set any specific expectations for your bird. Time and consistency are key in toilet training, so try to avoid putting a clear timeline for the process.
Is Potty Training a Cockatiel Safe?
Some believe that potty training their cockatiel will teach their bird to hold in their poop. However, there doesn’t appear to be any data or research suggesting a bird will hold its waste to the extreme. Birds can learn to control their bowel movements to an extent, but not in the same way a human can. Because cockatiels need to go to the bathroom so frequently, it’s unlikely that they will hold in their waste to the point where it becomes dangerous.
Potty training behavior is natural, believe it or not. It’s something that many animals will unknowingly practice when living in their natural habitats. For example, cockatiels in the wild generally prefer defecating in certain areas under specific conditions as a matter of survival. They also “hold” their excrement in when they’re incubating eggs, so as to not contaminate their clutch with fecal bacteria.
Final Thoughts
Cockatiels can be potty trained, though it requires time and patience. Remember to provide plenty of verbal praise and perhaps a treat when teaching your bird, and never resort to punishment as a reaction toward accidents.
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Featured Image Credit: Pawle,Shutterstock
