Poopy Problems

[jdlilfan]

My TAG has been developing some strange potty habits lately. She seems to not want to poop in her cage, she only wants to poop on her playstand. That's a huge problem! I live with my mom & dad and all 3 of us work full-time so the birds are by themselves for a while during the day and we obviously cannot leave her out unattended on the playstand. Not sure why she's developed this odd habit of pooping. I've read things about how African Greys in particular are sometimes cautious of where they poop and that they don't want to poop underneath where they sleep. No clue why she just NOW started doing this. She's a rehome and an older bird.

I'm currently out-of-town for the next week and a half for work and my parents have her by themselves and they're about to go nuts. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[maggy]

She may have been trained to poop outside of her cage by her former owners. I really don't have much idea about helping her, but maybe whenever she lets rip in her cgae you could praise her, that might get her into the habit of pooping IN the cage. You could also make sure her cage is kept spotless, some birds feel yucky being so closely confined with their own droppings.

[chinniechantel]

My bird has figured out how to poop outside of his cage when he is inside of the cage! He gets on a certain perch, and sticks his butt as far as he can to the side of the cage and gets a little momentum going and poops outside of the cage! Sneaky bird. I agree that keeping the cage spotless may help and also praising her when she goes inside the cage.

[maggy]

OO chinniechantel, you own a grub! A clever grub though!