He will not hold his poop until he bursts. Physiologically that is impossible. He will go in his cage while you are away. What size cage does he live in? If it is too small, that will contribute to this behavior. His cage should be at least 20 x 24.
Dr B
Jun 26, 2010
bird poop by: Linda
Work with him now on this issue or he could have problems later when boarded. Birds are creatures of habit, and so you'll need to keep changing things around a bit. Nothing drastic, just make sure you leave him in cage for a while in the am. Once he eats, he should poop in a while whether in or out of cage. You could try giving him a little bit of fruit or veggie in his dish in the morning. Fruit/veggies can be no more than 10-15% of total diet, so small pieces will work.
Also, your bird needs to be eating the majority of his diet in organic, high quality pellets, and I recommend Harrison's. Tracie carries several out here, and get the organic to keep from filling your bird with dyes, pesticides and fertilizer plus preservatives. Organic pellets have to be taken out of bag and warmed up to room temp before feeding, so keep packages in refrigerator. Here is a link on how to change over seed eaters to pellets written by an Avian Vet:
So, continue to work with your bird, so he becomes more flexible in his attitudes. What's happened here is that his schedule has been rigid, and he's become used to it. He will come around in time if you keep working with him.I also doubt if he'll blow up either. A little checkup with an Avian vet will tell you if he has any infections that could be causing this. I always recommend a trip to Avian Vet BEFORE starting to change a bird's diet or schedule just to make sure bird is healthy to begin with.
Thanks for writing, Linda
Jun 26, 2010
bird poop by: Amy
Birds in the wild will actually sleep in a tree and not poop for several hours at a time so as not to give away the fact that they are up there. Giving away their location by their droppings on the ground leaves them vulnerable to animals that would prey on them. Your bird is just doing what is instinctual to him. He probably lets loose with a large poop when you take him from his cage, right? I have a mini macaw that does the same thing. You can take advantage of that situation, and when you remove him from his cage, hold him over a garbage can and say "poop" or "potty" and when he goes, repeat the word and praise him for it. Our 2 mini macaws go on command into the trash, or onto newspaper on the floor. It saves us a lot of soiled clothes. So, not to worry - your bird will go when he's ready!
