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Time and time again, I have new owners ask me about potty training their new Conure.  Now, while this may SEEM like a great idea to you, please know that there are dangers and repercussions that could seriously harm your Conure. 

First, poop is the birdie-barometer of health.  We look at all the poop every single day to be sure of health.  Conures, like all birds, will disguise health problems often until it is fatal.  Looking at poop, though gross to some, can tell you how your bird is feeling. 

Birds are small animals, who eat a diet that is mainly fuel and easily digested.  Birds have a much higher metabolism than mammals. Their normal body temperature is over 100 degrees farenheit and food passes through the digestive track of a parrot in about 30 minutes. After eating, food is stored in the crop and is gradually passed into the rest of the digestive tract. For this reason, birds will poop periodically for 2-3 hours after eating.   A small bird can "go" every 5-15 minutes.  The stools are made up or urates and feces.  So, with every "mess" they urinate and defecate. 

Now let's get to the danger.  A Conure is an intelligent animal.  BUT, may not fully understand what you are asking of them.  So, if you give "birdie" a command of "go potty" and reward for the bird "making" (a reward being a treat or attention), the bird learns that on command he/she needs to "mess" and then will get rewarded.  BUT, what we forget is that these small animals should only "hold it" for no more than 15 minutes, and that they need to have the freedom of thought to do it in their cage with no commands.  Most birds will NOT distinguish this with a command.  So, what you are really teaching is that the bird will only "go" on command, and will actually STOP going by itself.  This could harm and even kill the bird by backing up the digestive system and urinary tract. 

The only correct way to successfully train your Conure to potty where he should it to keep an eye out for the "signs of potty" and keep your baby fully flighted. 

You will notice that the bird will squat and sometimes raise its wings and back up a bit before going. They will also crouch a bit and lift up the tail to facilitate pooping.  Observe your bird and get to know what behaviors it performs when getting ready to poop. Catching the bird as it begins these behaviors, is the time to intervene and train the bird on where to go potty.

If you want your bird to go only in it's cage, then when you notice these signs, take your bird and place them in the cage.  Do this time after time, and most birds will get the hint and fly back to their cage to potty. 

The best advice is to NOT give a verbal command.  The bird will associate going back into the cage to potty with being a good thing and will fly back to the cage to mess.


~~~~~~~Conure Queen~~~~~~~~
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