Q1 - My J is going through a biting phase. What do I do?
A - From GinnyR:
NEARLY all birds go through a biting stage. The new owner must apply perseverance and stick with a daily schedule of handling the bird. "Pass the parrot" is an excellent game to teach the bird the STEP-UP command, and to go from one person to another without biting. Don't confuse biting with using the beak for balance. If the bird is definitely biting, I yell NO and gently shake my hand to get it off balance. When the bird is not biting, but being nice, I praise and talk to the bird in a sweet voice. Children should always wear at least two thick socks on their hand when handling a bird. Never let a child get their face close to a bird or sit on the shoulder. Most important. Once you start to work with a young biting bird, don't give up. Keep working until the desired behavior is achieved. At this point offer a special treat for the bird.
A - From MarilynN:
Rule #1: If you want to pick up and hold Kiwi you do NOT let him scare you away, you hang in there until the mission is accomplished. You are not allowed to give up!
For us this meant that if Kiwi bit or attempted to bite, the person holding him or trying to pick him up had no option but to see it through. We would tell him "STOP", and occasionally shake our hand slightly to get him off balance so he would stop the biting. My feeling was if we consistently kept holding him even though he was biting, he would eventually catch on that biting got him no wear. If we put him back to the cage it would reinforce that he got what he wanted. He would learn to bite to go back to his cage.
Rule #2: If Kiwi falls accidentally to the floor, (on the good advice of people on this list, we did not purposely drop him) the poor sucker who got bit has to pick him up again.
Again my reasoning is that if he ends up on the floor, you do not want to reinforce the fact that he succeeded in getting away from you, he has to know who is in charge.
Since Kiwi is afraid of very little, we were able to use heavy socks on the kids and my husbands hand without scaring him. This helped a lot, since it took away the fear my family had in handling him. It was obvious that Kiwi could sense apprehension and would react by biting. With the socks on, my family seemed a lot more confident and Kiwi reacted favorably to this. These problems all came so easy to me since I was the hand feeder and was rarely bitten.
Rule #3: Everyone that wants to be part of his life must handle him everyday. We played a lot of pass the bird with Kiwi at the beginning. We have stopped this, but I think it is something that should be continued. We need to get back into this. I've never really tried the evil eye. It probably would work now that Kiwi has feelings and love for us, but at the beginning I don't think it would have worked until an actual bond was formed. I think this takes a while. If a bird isn't bonded to you then I don't think it would matter to him whether he is pleasing you or disappointing you.
As far as setting rules, what I mean about this is that he has to follow certain commands. The most important to me is the "UP" and "DOWN" commands. Kiwi knows that he is expected to step up on my hand when he hears the "UP" command and step down off of me onto wherever I want him to go when I say the "DOWN' command. I have NEVER had a problem getting him back in his cage. There has never been a time when I have not said either "UP" or "DOWN" when moving him from one location to another. He also knows the "STOP" command, which he knows means to stop the activity he is doing. Whether this is chewing on my rings or biting.
Q2 - How can I potty train my J?
A - From Rita:
One of the greatest drawbacks to owning birds is their unfortunate tendency to let nature take its course - right down the back of your favorite shirt. You can, however, potty train your pet bird. The key to this accomplishment is consistency and diligence.
We have been successful in potty training a pet cockatiel and lovebird, despite the fact that some articles say that smaller birds are much more difficult to train. Customers have also had success training with the following method. While some birds learn so well that they actually get on their appointed t-stand to defecate, others are not so well-mannered. To avoid accidents, a bird is placed on a t-stand or held over newspaper and given the learned command, and it does the deed. Quite simple, but it is all a matter of timing.
The key to potty training is timing. Get to know your bird. Some articles tell you not to attempt to potty train young birds as it may be too difficult for them. I however, disagree, and feel that the earlier you start the better. The greatest difference in training a young bird versus an adult is the fact that young birds defecate more frequently. All you have to do is time your bird between droppings, younger birds may be only 5 minutes apart, adults 15 minutes. (Of course the larger the species the greater the amount of time.) As your bird matures the number of minutes between droppings will increase. When nervous or stressed, such as when a baby bird arrives in a new home, defecation may only be a couple of minutes apart.
The first step is to choose a suitable word for the deed. Choose carefully, keeping in mind that whatever word you may find amusing to you now, may come back to haunt you. Never underestimate the talking ability of parrots, who often learn the words you least want them to say. Whatever word you choose, keep it simple, everyone in the family must be consistent in using the same signal. Each time your bird defecates, say the chosen word. Continue to do this for about a month so the bird will learn to associate the word with the act of defecation. Also make note of the exact number of minutes between episodes. When you go to take the bird out of its cage, wait until it is almost ready to go and use the word. Most birds will alert you to this natural act by squatting on their perch or raising their tail, once again, get to know your bird and its mannerisms. After the bird defecates, praise it and allow it to leave the cage or perch. Watch the clock, and a few minutes before the next episode, place the bird gently in its cage or on the portable T-stand, and say the word. Repeat the word when the bird actually defecates and profusely reward it with praise and allow it to leave the perch to play with it once again. A small food treat may be just the reward to help your bird learn. If the bird has an accident, even if it is your fault for not watching the elapsed time, say "no" and the designated word. Put the bird in its cage or on its T-stand. Watch the clock again, and reward the bird when it goes on command by praise or a small treat. You may find it helpful to set the kitchen timer after each episode to help remind you when you need to return the bird to its perch to defecate.
This method is simple and works well. Most birds will learn to go potty on command, and what a great way to impress the veterinarian for a fecal exam! Once again, the key steps are: 1. Choose a simple word or phrase, that is only used for that purpose. 2. Be consistent - all family members who play with the bird need to participate. If one person tries to potty train the bird while it is out of the cage, and another household member just lets it defecate where it pleases, the bird will become confused. 3. Carefully monitor the time. It is better to place the bird on the perch a few minutes earlier to avoid accidents. Our birds learned what was expected of them as soon as they are placed on their portable T-stand.
Good luck with this method of potty training. If successful, you will certainly impress all your visiting friends who think pet birds are messy, and your favorite clothes will maintain their good condition. (Hint: while in training donning an older shirt over your good clothes is a good idea.)
A - From Richie:
First: Every time Scott and I saw Rusty poop outside his cage (usually on us or the sofa) we said "Poopie, go poopie, poopie!" then "good bird!" when he was done. We established positive association with performing the action of pooping on his own and the word poopie.
Second: He always preferred not to go in his cage all night and always went on ME in the morning while I was getting water for both birds. So as he did it ON me next to the kitchen sink I said the poopie words again. Then a few weeks later I held him over the sink in the morning, told him to go, and miracle of miracles he did it on command in the kitchen sink! I asked him to go in the kitchen sink for one week as I repeated the same words. Then keeping the same time schedule, first thing in the a.m. I moved him into the bathroom over the toilet the next week and he went perfectly the first time (and ever since). He now goes anytime he is asked to in a toilet and at anyone's house.
We did *not* want him totally dependent on us for permission to go, so we never encouraged him to hold it if he was in his cage or anywhere else. Rusty will make an honest effort to go on command any time we ask him when he is out of his cage. We never scold him for accidents, because if we remember to take him to the toilet or hold a napkin under his butt and request it, he will always go. We make it *our* responsibility to remember, because if he is left home alone, or someone has to bird sit for us it would be terrible if he held it in and became sick or in uncomfortable because the new person (or nobody) did not give him permission to go. He always trys to be a good bird.
A - Marilyn W:
A friend of mine has a CAG & she is the one to thank for our "potty bucket" which her husband made for me similar to the one she has. This is just a rectangular Rubbermaid plastic washtub. On it he mounted a perch....the ends should not extend too much over the edge. I put a stack of newspaper in the bottom.
Jardy does not poop in his cage over night. So the first thing he has to do in the morning is poop. He used to go right away so we'd have the bucket in one hand when we opened the door so we could put him on it immediately. He will not use the bucket when it's sitting on the floor....so we have to put it on the counter or on the table. We use the command word doodle....pick any word you choose & use it consistently when you put him on the bucket. As soon as he goes, praise & take him off & give him some attention or a healthy treat.
The first thing you need to do is get him to understand what the bucket is for so you want to put him there when you know he has to go.
You need to keep track of the intervals between poops so you can put him there much as you would take a small puppy outside....on a regular basis.
The training is a partnership....you have a job to do too. (G)
Jardy doesn't poop in his cage during the day either so again it's a trip to the potty bucket as soon as he comes out of his cage.
I like the bucket because I can put him down & not stand there waiting & he can do his business without sitting on an impatient finger.
My friend's CAG is put on her bucket the moment she comes out of the cage & she can't get shoulder time with her buddy til she goes....so she will potty even if it's only a little bit.
Jardy isn't perfect & neither am I. He makes his messes....and I clean them up. And a few years ago before Jardy, I would have thought a poop that big was totally gross. Now it's just a fact of life.
I have a friend with 2 maroon belly conures & she's very disciplined about watching her bird's body language & being very aware of how much time has passed & she never gets pooped on. And her birds are so good about their potty training that they will do little tiny poops just to do something when she holds them over a newspaper.
Until you get the hang of this (both of you), you may want to try keeping that strategic area over a neutral spot rather than the spots that upset you when they get pooped on.
Most of this is just common sense....like putting him on the bucket as soon as you see your bird start stretching after a snooze. Jardy is not a shoulder bird so we don't get poops there.
Q3 - Is it dangerous to potty train using a verbal cue? It's possible that some parrots are so eager to please that they will "hold it" until given the verbal cue, which is a problem if bird is somewhere (e.g. birdsitters) where the cue isn't given for an extended period.
A - From Rita:
When potty training, I think one has to use common sense and not be too rigid in training. I never "get on their case" if birds poop in their cage or on a playpen. I just watch them and work on potty training when they are on my person or the furniture.
Also, a veterinarian recently wrote (I read it somewhere) that birds will defecate when they absolutely have to - no matter how well potty trained.
Q4 - What do I do when my J shows signs of reaching sexual maturity?
A - From Jean (paraphrased)
Do not stroke her back or anywhere she may construe as sex.<g> Do not give her a sleep hut or tent or anything that could be a nest.
Q5 - How long will this breeding behavior continue?
A - From Jean:
In weeks I don't know. Seems like maybe just a couple then they give it up for a few months, maybe 4-6, then do it again for a "couple" of weeks then off again. I have never really noticed it becoming a habit or an obsession.
Q6 - Can the gender of a Jardine be determined from the type of breeding behavior it displays?
A - From ScottL:
Absolutely. If it lays eggs, it is definitely female.
Q7 - What is the most important thing to teach my J?
A - From GinnyR:
That you will not hurt him/her, that it is loved. It takes time for a bird to learn to trust you.
© 1998, 1999 African Parrot Society
Last update: October 02, 2005