I can' t believd how easy they pick this up. I have a cockatiel who goes if he sits on my finger over a tissue or the rubbish bin. The funny thing is he will only go if I say 'Do one!' Or 'Quick, do it!'. Even more amusing is it only took about 2 days to get him into the habit and I still am amazed how it just kind if came naturally to him to learn. I time it for about every 15 minutes. Sometimes I ask him to do one and he steps off my finger without a result, so I get him to step back on and repeat the phrase again and he thinks about it and delivers!
I don't have a parrot, just cats, so no parrot for me. But I wanted to tell you I think you are doing a wonderful job of making these video's for those who are thinking about or already own a parrot. You seem most informed and knowledgeable about parrots and I'm glad you take the time to make these video's for people who don't realize the care and work it takes to have one as a companion animal. If I should ever get a parrot I will be fairly well informed after having watched you with your bird. Keep up the good work!
I've had parrots for over 35 years so I know you have given the correct advice for this training. The only thing I always find missing is that all birds trained to potty when asked may take several seconds to work things into place. My cockatoo, Bella, actually is trained to shake her head yes or no when asked to go potty. She never misses the answer so I assume she knows what's up! Please add that a bird may have to go when asked but please be patient as it may not happen immediately.
I never knew this was possible! I was told and always believed that birds do not know or feel when they go. This explains a lot because I have always thought that the crows shit on my car on purpose. They can do a shit dive and let loose and get it directly underneath my side view mirror! Like 2 or 3 inches below it. It HAD to be planned :[
crows and ravens are highly intelligent. They're known to be territorial and mate for life too. They remember humans that are kind and will reward them (bring them shinnies and treasures) On the other side of the coin perhaps they remember a "slight", however unintentional. Ask yourself, did you accidently drive over their road kill that got stuck to your tire? From the bird point of view...you "stole" it's meal! I bet if they see you putting out "offerings" like wild seed, unsalted peanuts etc..I'd bet that they "forgive you" and your car stops being their toilet! It'd be an interesting experiment, if nothing else.
I really enjoy some of your vids. Thank You for sharing successful methods for caring for these wonderful birds. I think you're helping some viewers build & maintain better relationships w/their life-long friends :).
My budgies have *POOP POINT* xD ...When I let them fly,they always poop next to the window,I dont'know how to say it xD...I am from Bosnia and Herzegovina!
I have a friend who taught her bird to go potty in a trash can. The bird will climb down her perch and on to the bottom edge and go right over the trash can whenever she gives the command. Pretty cool vid thanks.
In don't know how to and maybe you're not going to believe this, but my parrot was like self trained, he always looked outside to poop (he had a free access outside area), always when he where playing on my bed, on the carpet or whatever inside the house, he just stopped go outside and do it's thing. It was so amazing... We didn't train him. I guess he just realized at some point that we just don't like when he poop over our think and that's it
Hey I have an african grey. My dad has two. He wants to build an aviary and put all three in there. The thing is, is that I train my bird everyday, he lets the other two birds hang out basically with themselves with minimal exposure to him everyday. So in other words, those two birds are good birds, but at the same time complete assholes to my African grey. Do you agree that there should just be two separate Aviaries, one for mind, one for those two? It's not that I don't want to socialize them. But I don't trust my dad to sit there and train his birds to socialize often with people/the birds.
itchmynipple That's a great question. If all 3 birds were getting along, I would place them all in the same aviary so that they get to socialize and keep each other company. However if the pair are bullying and acting aggressively towards your Grey, I would definitely keep them separate. They still benefit from seeing each other through separate aviaries but this way, you don't run the risk of your grey getting injured.
Haha, my Cockatiel is nothing like Smokey, there's one area in the cage that's just covered in feces, and it's right under the perch where she sleeps. Anyway, thanks, I saw a different video on how to Potty Train birds, but the person one the video, said pretty much the same thing you did but he made it sound much more complicated than it should've
I just wanted to say thank you for these videos. You are a great teacher, and a wonderful source of information for how to relate to my furry or feathered family members. Please keep up the good and informative work!! :)
Thanks for all of these super videos...it will be a few weeks until I bring my baby grey home and it has been almost 20 years since I have handled ant parrot (large and small) and these are helping me feel less nervous over what to do when I bring my new baby home...keep them up!
My African gray is very aggressive, sometimes gets me bytes he talks very Active very independent his name isBabu. Any recommendations? I don't have lots time with him, do you think that's the problems, thanks Kelly from California
Hi there, thank you so much for your videos from the bottom of my heart, they are really helpful. Found your channel a few days ago and loved every single video. Can you help me with an opinion please? I just got myself an african grey just like Smokey. She's 3 months really smart and it's at the age i believe it will be ideal to train her (correct me if im wrong). From day one I got her she loves to be out of her cage and I keep her out as much as I can (7+ hours a day) but at night for example I put her in the cage and thats when mayhem starts. She absolutely hates it and start flipping over her food containers and moving around the cage stressed as hell. I'm obliged to cover its cage with a thin blanket for it to calm down but soon as i uncover it it starts again so I ignore her for a while and after she makes a mess she does calm down (ignoring her kinda helps) but only after a while of making a mess. Hate seeing my bird stressed out but i'm sure letting her out as soon as she starts with the mess would only bring me more of a headache if she believes thats what she needs to do. Can you please give me your view on it and a possible way of "cage training her? Thanks in advance, Fabio (Portugal)
Fabio Barbosa Thank you for being so descriptive in your comment, this helps me to point you in the right direction. From what you described, it sounds like she is (1) very attached to you and (2) is uncomfortable with being away from you in a confined space. Here's my suggestion. While she's out with you on your arm, ask her to step up back into her cage. If she is reluctant, you might have to use her favorite treat to convince her to go into her cage. When she does, reward her lavishly with lots of treats. Then, ask her to step up again and take her out. DO NOT LOCK HER UP. Repeat this step many MANY times!! Now she shouldn't have a problem stepping back in her cage because she's going to expect a treat. But now, close the cage door when she's inside and reward her with a treat through the bars. When she's done with the treat, open the cage and take her back out. As you can see, what we're trying to do here is we're trying to let her know that going back into her cage doesn't mean she's going to be locked up forever. In fact, she's always going to be able to go back out. Keep working on this and increase the duration before rewarding her. Have you seen my video on Diet & Enrichment? If not, be sure to watch that and fill her cage with foraging toys BEFORE you place her back in. If she has something to do while she's in the cage, she'll be more inclined to WANT to go in there. Hope this helps!
Hi there again, Thank you so much for your more than detailed reply, I really value the way you view parrot training and interaction in general. I will most definitely try your suggestion for the next few weeks and see what results I attain as well as check the video you suggested, much appreciated. Going back to Kika (my parrot's name) she's indeed quite attached to me now but she has been "anti cage" even before she was from the day I brought her home from the pet shop where she was in a cage. I will most definitely try the treating cause that's how I got her to learn how to step up after watching your video introducing smokey to your gf I believe. Thanks for that also. TO ANYONE READING THIS I HIGHLY SUGGEST WATCHING IT WORKS. Once again thank you very much ill await more videos. Cheers.
How do you avoid getting the bird to only go potty when I give the command? I don't want the bird to hold in it's poop and always wait for me to give it the command especially if I'm not around it all the time.
thunder2140 She knows she's free to go whenever she wants when she's in her aviary or cage. It's primarily my room that I want her to go in a particular place so she's trained to fly to her perch that has a small trash bin at the bottom to catch the poop.
Yes, I'd really like to know the answer to "A Big Kanoodle's" question. I've read big warning signs about this type of training because it can cause a bird to start pressing, looking for a praise or a treat or just attention, and damaging its cloaca severly in doing so...
Don't pottytrain IN the cage - let it be a "free flow area". There is that very old story about a budgy that could only leave the cage after he pooped- so he would really force the issue till he almost passed out. The owner never meant that to happen of course, but it still borders on abuse. Poor animal.
I just potty trained mines, by teaching her the command every time she when as I watch and time it and eventually she caught on. I would give her a treat. Now she goes up her cage and take her dump and then climb back down. I didn't have to force her, or even have her hold it, I just waited.
I hate thinking about the birds that have become ornaments. Sooooo many, tooo many. Thank you for doing such wonderful videos!! Most humans can't stand any inconvenience and the first time well that animal is dumped somehow someway and I have to stop thinking about what animals have to go through with MOST humans. They have no idea that there is work and money involved but they also have no idea how precious, life confirming, health benefits up the ying yang it is to earn and know what it is like to have an animal's trust. It is an HONOR. Any animal. Birds are NOT CUDDLY, ha ha ha but your stormy is as cuddly as I could ever imagine. You need to do a video on how to react and act when your bird flies off! Unless, of course, your bird was being babysat by a duffus as long as you can see where your bird flies you follow! I actually cut her wings one day while camping so she could hang with me...10 hours later we are packing up to go and she takes off with only 2 lead feathers each wing...and flew beautifully. I was barefoot and had the sense to grab a bag of peanuts she knew the sound of.and started running (I am barefoot a lot and no big deal and no pain could stop me from running after her)...anyway, hubby shows up and isn't that helpful...she flies to a new spot...we are in the wilderness by the way...8 hours later and almost dark, I am shaking the peanuts and I know she is hungry and by golly! I hear her scream 'CRACKER'...she was in an understory tree that I climbed and by golly I grab her ass no matter what and I was ecstatic beyond words! I hate cutting her wings. She doesn't like to fly at all anymore but we do have workouts. People have to know they most certainly can get their bird back but it takes total focus and forget any appointments that might be in the way. I've helped others catch their birds and as long as you focus and stay as close as you can to where your bird went, you can get your bird back. Just hoping you can make a good video for this issue and don't your dare use Smokey for an example! Talk about clipping wings, obviously you don't which I understand!! But how to do it correctly. How to trim beaks! I see one here on clipping their nils....how about a video on FOODS! I breast fed my babies and chewed up proper food for them to eat, no baby food in jars! No cows or goats or soy milk for my babies! My girl doesn't like cheese, or chicken bones or most things unless we 'try out' by me chewing up a food and passing it to her. Sometimes that works. I worry about GMO seeds! What do you know about that? I do know my dogs got full of huge tumors because they had cheap dog food a few times in kennels when I've never had dogs with tumors. Luckily cats are carnivores and don't eat the GMO corn, beets, or whatever...this is a big big deal. I won't give Betty a CHIP corn chip that doesn't say NON GMO on the package. Dogs only live 10 to 15 years average but my dogs got tumors that were unbelievable. Our parrots will outlive us and food is critical to monitor. If we don't care or know enough not to be insistent on NON GMO we'd better for our parrot's sake!
I have a question, actually. I got my first bird back in October last year. He is a Pacific Parrotlet and my little cuddle bug. Is it usual for parrots to somewhat potty train themselves? I notice that a lot of times, when he has to go, my bird will go to his play stand and go while sitting on the top perch. Then, he'll usually come right back to me for more cuddles. More recently, he's also begun to say "poopy" before he goes. So I'm just wondering if my little guy has somehow managed to semi-potty train himself. I praise him whenever he goes while on that perch on his play stand, and if he goes somewhere else, I immediately stop what I'm doing with him and clean it up, so maybe I did something right without knowing it? (Note that I NEVER yell at or "discipline" him, especially not for something like that. The most I'll do is put him in his cage if he gets bitey, along with the "gentle beak" method, which seems to work okay.) Of course, he doesn't do this 100% of the time, but you get the idea. Thanks!
BeautifulWaterWeaver I think some parrots, in a sense, do potty train themselves. If you observe breeding cockatiels, they will usually hold it until they are outside of their nest box before going. In the wild, some birds will not defecate close to where they roost at night because they don't want to attract the attention of predators. These instincts are still intact in pet birds today!
You really are an observant person. I wonder how many other bird trainers know that this could be done. I wish that I could train wild birds not to potty on my car!
This is a plus with our bird every time he wants to use the bathroom he will yank on our shirt to let us know we will put them on his cage door he will use the bathroom and then he will hop back on her shoulder again
My Amazon was potty trained by previous owner. We had no idea but observed that he would not poop on us or on the couch. He'd start saying "go bye bye" so we'd take him to his cage and he'd stay on his door and poop. We sticky figured out that his favorite place to do it was right off the edge of his open cage door, so we put puppy training pads down to keep the mess of the floor.
Is it a good thing to place my Grey's cage in My Room at night so we could sleep around the same time and wake up around the same time? Would it make him feel like I'm part of his flock more? and get him to trust me more... Specially when i first get him?
Oh Yes, mine is about 16 and picked it up all bij himself (and he lived in a cage @someone else for the first 15 years of his life!!). He used to crap all over me for the first 2-3 months or so, noticed I did not like it and now just flies of- poops somewhere else: perch or cage- and comes back to me if he still feels like it. (I am dutch so "go potty" sounds ridicilous ;) these are -mostly - adult birds not small children ) wingNpaws is very good at breaking down how to train your bird, I have a different approach. (Smokey is is wonderfull bird- he does a great job with her!) Just be positive whenever your bird does something wonderfull (like *not* poop on you)-- that always works. The risk of training a bird to poop on demand is that you screw up his/her system if they force it too much (and most of them will try to be wonderfull birds) so I would *never* pottytrain IN the cage, only outside. So mine poops whenever nature calls, just not on me ... it's that easy ;)
Ivan Ramirez I only cue her to go when she's in my room, on me, or on furniture. When she's in her cage or stand, she knows its perfectly fine to go whenever.
I absolutely love your videos! While I do not own an African Grey I do have a Blue Headed Pionus by the name of Peter. I was told he was 8 years old when he was given to me but after tracking down his Adoption file I found he is actually 11. He is very gentle for the most part but he has moments where I am unsure how he is going to behave. He talks a little and still flies. I give him a lot of attention, well cuz he is so darn adorable. He has been a part of my family for almost 1 year and will be for as long as he lives. I am still researching the best ways to care for him diet wise especially. I can say that I have found a great deal of help in your videos so I thank you for sharing your knowledge. I look forward to more videos.
Sondra JK Thanks for the positive feedback Sondra! There's a lot of confusion when it comes to bird diets and a lot of controversy about what's best to feed our birds. Ultimately, you're going to have to make the judgement call based on all the research you gather. I feed Smokey Roudybush pellets, keeping in mind that there has been very little research on the nutritional needs of parrots; let alone African Greys. Because of this, I don't have complete trust in pellets so I supplement her food with fruits, veggies, and small quantities of seeds and nuts. This is, however, just what I feed Smokey and I'm not claiming that this is what everyone should feed their birds. Anyways, thanks for watching! Be sure to check back on Monday for a new video :)
She always waits until I open her cage in the morning to take her main poop for the day. I've been using a paper towel 'target' and she dag gummit knows that that paper is to poop on. She knows!! But I am finding she misses on purpose...I only get wiggy and excited when she hits it...never thought to put much work into this!
Just a question do you clip your birds wings so it don’t fly around crazy if not how do you train so it don’t fly around the house I just noticed you bird sits and behaves very well thanks
hey ,if anyone else wants to discover parrot training books try Dalz Parrot Tips Discovery (just google it ) ? Ive heard some amazing things about it and my friend got amazing success with it.
Do you have a training video on how to train them not to fly away what's the best method for training them to stay around your home and not fly away if they can fly very good like smokey do you think he might never fly away because he knows how to fly let me know I'm interested in teaching my parrot and not having to trim its wings
Hi there! What about Toucans? They go VERY often! You wipe one up...by the time you throw out the tissue they go again! Is it a losing battle to try to potty train a toucan?
Cateringcowboy Toucans have a very high metabolisme, and are also harder to train than parrots, if I'm not mistaken. I'm not so sure about potty training them though.
so without even trying and avoiding contact to the point of informing it all together my brother's grey seems to have bonded with me, and now won't have anything to do with anyone else not mean to them just avoids them, for me to ignore him and not socailist him now seems cruel any advice
I found a stranded baby robin in my apartment stairwell once and took him in. Of course he tried to get away at first and I had to cup him with the foot tub (just a square tub) I would keep him in, and quickly gained his trust after feeding him some small bread pieces dipped in water, and (I think) within hours was able to hold him on my finger. Anyway, I started to catch on that when he shook his tail he was about to go, I started keeping a washcloth (used only for that) on my shoulder and would just hold him over that washcloth whenever he shook his tail. I went to Starbucks and ordered a latte to go with him on my shoulder one time, and I kid you not, he stayed on my shoulder the whole time! Lol It was Memorial Day weekend, that Sunday, when I found him so it wouldn't be until that Tuesday when I could go to the local pet shelter and pass him over to more capable hands. The little thing was singing along as I was singing _Too Late to Turn Back Now_ in the car as I was driving him to the shelter! I went straight to Starbucks after that because otherwise I just wanted to cry after handing him over.
Ur videos are really helpful and I like them but ur videos are super boring so maybe have some background music and talk louder or something like for him to see
While you're speaking is Smoky saying in the background "whatcha talking about?" It sounds like it which made me laugh so much that I had to replay the beginning of the video several times before I heard everything you were saying! BYW, thank you so very much!!!!It's wonderful what you're doing to help others do their best by their birds... which most people definitely want ... but are sadly uninformed and the bird suffers as a result...
Samantha Deborah African grey parrots are easily the most intelligent breed of parrot. They require hours every day of one on one attention, and are not for beginner bird owners. They range from $1,000- well over 2,000. Hope this helps.
My African Grey poops when I ask him to before I clean his cage and before he comes out. He will follow up by saying 'Have you done a poo' OR ' Have you had a shit' 😱😂. I've had my boy from a 14 week old baby. He is 13 years old now. It was easy to potty train him and I started to train him immediately after I bought him.
You have very useful videos, I am a first time owner of African Grey, I have Pickie from when he was 4weeks, he is 4 months now and he bonded just with me even if my bf feed him aswell when he was bby, I still need to send his back feather for DNA to find the exact sex, I have a feeling he is a boy..he loves girls :)) . Now I have a question...if I'm not home he don't like to go out of his cage he is quiet ,but how I arrive home and he sees me he gets crazy,flying all over to catch me and I can't do my home things he is always flying on me ,on my head ,or playing with my toes... if I put him In the cage he starts scratching the bottom I guess to go out.. sometimes I put him new toys with treats and he stays for a while...but I wish to teach him not to fly on me when I'm busy... Thank you and keep posting lovely videos. Pickie loves watching Smokie :)
Hi! I recently got a 3 month old male African Grey from a breeder. Urm... He poops a lot. sometimes twice or thrice in the space of 20 minutes. He is still getting used to his cage as we bought a really big one and he is alone, and he is still a little off balance and unstable both on a perch and on our hands or arms. (He also is still on porridge. The breeder suggested we continue feeding him porridge over seeds) What I wanted to ask was, will this potty training method work on him at such a young age, or should I wait till he is a little older? Also, I just watched the bathe your parrot video, and since he is on porridge, i feed him with a syringe and he gets quite messed on his neck and crop area from all the head bucking. I tried misting and he really hates it. He makes a lot of noise and backs away from the mist. How should I let him know bathing is ok? He is really dirty and the only thing he lets me clean is his beak when there is porridge or fruit on it. Thank you so much in advance, he joined our family for 4 days now and I don't want to do things that will make him become an aggressive bird or dislike the things he shouldn't. (I unfortunately didn't know I was getting a bird so I didn't have the chance to research before I got him.)
I acquired a 14 yr old female cockatoo a couple years ago, she has always been so affectionate and gentle, but recently she has taken to biting. We have been going through a lot of changes, we moved to another state, I wasn't able to bring her large cage, and she's exposed to much more noise and strangers (including other pets) and I can't tell why she's doing it. I watched your segment about reason why a bird bites but it appears to me she's stressed and angry when she bites because she tries to attack others (dog, grandchildren, friends) and when I try to get her before she hurts someone she turns on me. She inflicts some serious trauma (permanant nerve damage, pain, and needing to get sutured). I can't remain calm when it feels like I just slammed my thumb in a car door and I'm bleeding profusely. How do I deal with her anger, she only become more angry an violent when I try to calm down. PS your advice and insight are exceptional.
Hi, hope you’re well. I have a baby african grey and he is 4months old. I would like to potty train him and i know you have a video on UA-cam about it but he doesn’t have a particular treat as he eats sunflower seeds all the time. I was hoping if you could direct me in the right direction of how to go about this as he doesn’t quite understand the command that is being given to him. Thank you in advance :)
"You have to be consistent."
Smokie: "Ok."
Who doesn't have a parrot but still watched this
Me, but did you get it now. I'm going to get bird, atleast after 3 years.
I did but I’m thinking of buying a African Grey
USE C0DE yeah same if I can’t get an african grey I will get a cockatiel
@@Rommy456 No
I'm on the verge to convincing my mom to let me choose a parriot but she just hates most of them loud🥲
I can' t believd how easy they pick this up. I have a cockatiel who goes if he sits on my finger over a tissue or the rubbish bin. The funny thing is he will only go if I say 'Do one!' Or 'Quick, do it!'.
Even more amusing is it only took about 2 days to get him into the habit and I still am amazed how it just kind if came naturally to him to learn. I time it for about every 15 minutes. Sometimes I ask him to do one and he steps off my finger without a result, so I get him to step back on and repeat the phrase again and he thinks about it and delivers!
nancee Lowcarb That's amazing! Thanks for sharing :)
nancee Lowcarb I think "Quick, do it" is the best command for a bird XD
That's good to know. I am most likely getting one.
My pet cockatiel knows to crap when she is positioned over the garbage can in the living room.
I trained my green cheek to "go poops" on command lol I have no idea how I did it
It's been 5 years how are you today?
Your bird is adorable! ❤️
Thanks! I think so too :)
kanare
I love You Tube's with all content and no jabbering about other stuff. Thank you!
I don't have a parrot, just cats, so no parrot for me. But I wanted to tell you I think you are doing a wonderful job of making these video's for those who are thinking about or already own a parrot. You seem most informed and knowledgeable about parrots and I'm glad you take the time to make these video's for people who don't realize the care and work it takes to have one as a companion animal. If I should ever get a parrot I will be fairly well informed after having watched you with your bird. Keep up the good work!
I potty trained my two cats before, went to my toilet
I love watching when birds preen their feathers or shake their tail feathers. It's calming to me. Is that weird lol?
Nope :D It's a nice and calming experience for them, so share the fun
I also like watching them fluff their feathers while enjoying a shower
Rachel Mayrhofer 🙂
Soy Lopez07 i love seeing birds ruffle feathees
Thanks I will be getting a African grey soon and I am researching a lot of things before
The potato people Do you still have him?
I've had parrots for over 35 years so I know you have given the correct advice for this training. The only thing I always find missing is that all birds trained to potty when asked may take several seconds to work things into place. My cockatoo, Bella, actually is trained to shake her head yes or no when asked to go potty. She never misses the answer so I assume she knows what's up! Please add that a bird may have to go when asked but please be patient as it may not happen immediately.
Wow how did you train her to say yes or no?
I never knew this was possible! I was told and always believed that birds do not know or feel when they go. This explains a lot because I have always thought that the crows shit on my car on purpose. They can do a shit dive and let loose and get it directly underneath my side view mirror! Like 2 or 3 inches below it. It HAD to be planned :[
crows and ravens are highly intelligent. They're known to be territorial and mate for life too. They remember humans that are kind and will reward them (bring them shinnies and treasures) On the other side of the coin perhaps they remember a "slight", however unintentional. Ask yourself, did you accidently drive over their road kill that got stuck to your tire? From the bird point of view...you "stole" it's meal! I bet if they see you putting out "offerings" like wild seed, unsalted peanuts etc..I'd bet that they "forgive you" and your car stops being their toilet! It'd be an interesting experiment, if nothing else.
"What talking about ? " 00:55 She is so funny and pretty
I really enjoy some of your vids. Thank You for sharing successful methods for caring for these wonderful birds. I think you're helping some viewers build & maintain better relationships w/their life-long friends :).
If I understand that my bird is going to poop, then I have to get him on my finger and go him on a supposed 'bathroom' area, before he poop?
My budgies have *POOP POINT* xD ...When I let them fly,they always poop next to the window,I dont'know how to say it xD...I am from Bosnia and Herzegovina!
I have a friend who taught her bird to go potty in a trash can. The bird will climb down her perch and on to the bottom edge and go right over the trash can whenever she gives the command. Pretty cool vid thanks.
Tiffany Zayat Thanks for sharing!
In don't know how to and maybe you're not going to believe this, but my parrot was like self trained, he always looked outside to poop (he had a free access outside area), always when he where playing on my bed, on the carpet or whatever inside the house, he just stopped go outside and do it's thing. It was so amazing... We didn't train him. I guess he just realized at some point that we just don't like when he poop over our think and that's it
Hey I have an african grey. My dad has two. He wants to build an aviary and put all three in there. The thing is, is that I train my bird everyday, he lets the other two birds hang out basically with themselves with minimal exposure to him everyday. So in other words, those two birds are good birds, but at the same time complete assholes to my African grey. Do you agree that there should just be two separate Aviaries, one for mind, one for those two? It's not that I don't want to socialize them. But I don't trust my dad to sit there and train his birds to socialize often with people/the birds.
itchmynipple That's a great question. If all 3 birds were getting along, I would place them all in the same aviary so that they get to socialize and keep each other company. However if the pair are bullying and acting aggressively towards your Grey, I would definitely keep them separate. They still benefit from seeing each other through separate aviaries but this way, you don't run the risk of your grey getting injured.
alright cool thanks for responding, I have more questions, ill post them to the related video when I get a chance.
Haha, my Cockatiel is nothing like Smokey, there's one area in the cage that's just covered in feces, and it's right under the perch where she sleeps. Anyway, thanks, I saw a different video on how to Potty Train birds, but the person one the video, said pretty much the same thing you did but he made it sound much more complicated than it should've
I just wanted to say thank you for these videos. You are a great teacher, and a wonderful source of information for how to relate to my furry or feathered family members. Please keep up the good and informative work!! :)
Rewarding a Bird for taking a dump... XDDDD
Smokey is so awesome. What a sweetie pie.
Are female parrots usually less aggressive than males, in general?
Thanks for all of these super videos...it will be a few weeks until I bring my baby grey home and it has been almost 20 years since I have handled ant parrot (large and small) and these are helping me feel less nervous over what to do when I bring my new baby home...keep them up!
my parrot was potty trained in the egg I think lmao he never poops on me nor on the bed if he's playing with me he always go in the corner to poop
I like the idea of being able to command your bird to take a dump
I love your videos
Smokey is wicked and so well behaved.
Your videos have helped me loads as my African Grey is coming home next weekend
My African gray is very aggressive, sometimes gets me bytes he talks very Active very independent his name isBabu. Any recommendations? I don't have lots time with him, do you think that's the problems, thanks Kelly from California
Hi there, thank you so much for your videos from the bottom of my heart, they are really helpful. Found your channel a few days ago and loved every single video. Can you help me with an opinion please?
I just got myself an african grey just like Smokey. She's 3 months really smart and it's at the age i believe it will be ideal to train her (correct me if im wrong). From day one I got her she loves to be out of her cage and I keep her out as much as I can (7+ hours a day) but at night for example I put her in the cage and thats when mayhem starts. She absolutely hates it and start flipping over her food containers and moving around the cage stressed as hell. I'm obliged to cover its cage with a thin blanket for it to calm down but soon as i uncover it it starts again so I ignore her for a while and after she makes a mess she does calm down (ignoring her kinda helps) but only after a while of making a mess.
Hate seeing my bird stressed out but i'm sure letting her out as soon as she starts with the mess would only bring me more of a headache if she believes thats what she needs to do. Can you please give me your view on it and a possible way of "cage training her?
Thanks in advance,
Fabio (Portugal)
Fabio Barbosa Thank you for being so descriptive in your comment, this helps me to point you in the right direction. From what you described, it sounds like she is (1) very attached to you and (2) is uncomfortable with being away from you in a confined space. Here's my suggestion. While she's out with you on your arm, ask her to step up back into her cage. If she is reluctant, you might have to use her favorite treat to convince her to go into her cage. When she does, reward her lavishly with lots of treats. Then, ask her to step up again and take her out. DO NOT LOCK HER UP. Repeat this step many MANY times!! Now she shouldn't have a problem stepping back in her cage because she's going to expect a treat. But now, close the cage door when she's inside and reward her with a treat through the bars. When she's done with the treat, open the cage and take her back out.
As you can see, what we're trying to do here is we're trying to let her know that going back into her cage doesn't mean she's going to be locked up forever. In fact, she's always going to be able to go back out. Keep working on this and increase the duration before rewarding her. Have you seen my video on Diet & Enrichment? If not, be sure to watch that and fill her cage with foraging toys BEFORE you place her back in. If she has something to do while she's in the cage, she'll be more inclined to WANT to go in there. Hope this helps!
Hi there again,
Thank you so much for your more than detailed reply, I really value the way you view parrot training and interaction in general. I will most definitely try your suggestion for the next few weeks and see what results I attain as well as check the video you suggested, much appreciated. Going back to Kika (my parrot's name) she's indeed quite attached to me now but she has been "anti cage" even before she was from the day I brought her home from the pet shop where she was in a cage. I will most definitely try the treating cause that's how I got her to learn how to step up after watching your video introducing smokey to your gf I believe. Thanks for that also. TO ANYONE READING THIS I HIGHLY SUGGEST WATCHING IT WORKS. Once again thank you very much ill await more videos. Cheers.
*Don't look at me* xD
Excellent information!
Thanks! (Can't wait for my little baby Cockatiel)!!!!!!
Lily Tate
Why am I watching this I don't even own a bird
U should
you're so bird smart
At what age can I start to train my new baby bird?
How do you avoid getting the bird to only go potty when I give the command? I don't want the bird to hold in it's poop and always wait for me to give it the command especially if I'm not around it all the time.
thunder2140 She knows she's free to go whenever she wants when she's in her aviary or cage. It's primarily my room that I want her to go in a particular place so she's trained to fly to her perch that has a small trash bin at the bottom to catch the poop.
Yes, I'd really like to know the answer to "A Big Kanoodle's" question. I've read big warning signs about this type of training because it can cause a bird to start pressing, looking for a praise or a treat or just attention, and damaging its cloaca severly in doing so...
Don't pottytrain IN the cage - let it be a "free flow area". There is that very old story about a budgy that could only leave the cage after he pooped- so he would really force the issue till he almost passed out. The owner never meant that to happen of course, but it still borders on abuse. Poor animal.
I have spent months studying potty training methods and found a great resource at Sues Trainer Tactics (google it if you're interested)
I just potty trained mines, by teaching her the command every time she when as I watch and time it and eventually she caught on. I would give her a treat. Now she goes up her cage and take her dump and then climb back down. I didn't have to force her, or even have her hold it, I just waited.
Thank you. We are adopting a gray this weekend. I appreciate your videos and experience. You can tell the bird trusts and loves you.
Good work
0:43 I think your bird lost a foot
I hate thinking about the birds that have become ornaments. Sooooo many, tooo many. Thank you for doing such wonderful videos!! Most humans can't stand any inconvenience and the first time well that animal is dumped somehow someway and I have to stop thinking about what animals have to go through with MOST humans. They have no idea that there is work and money involved but they also have no idea how precious, life confirming, health benefits up the ying yang it is to earn and know what it is like to have an animal's trust. It is an HONOR. Any animal. Birds are NOT CUDDLY, ha ha ha but your stormy is as cuddly as I could ever imagine. You need to do a video on how to react and act when your bird flies off! Unless, of course, your bird was being babysat by a duffus as long as you can see where your bird flies you follow! I actually cut her wings one day while camping so she could hang with me...10 hours later we are packing up to go and she takes off with only 2 lead feathers each wing...and flew beautifully. I was barefoot and had the sense to grab a bag of peanuts she knew the sound of.and started running (I am barefoot a lot and no big deal and no pain could stop me from running after her)...anyway, hubby shows up and isn't that helpful...she flies to a new spot...we are in the wilderness by the way...8 hours later and almost dark, I am shaking the peanuts and I know she is hungry and by golly! I hear her scream 'CRACKER'...she was in an understory tree that I climbed and by golly I grab her ass no matter what and I was ecstatic beyond words! I hate cutting her wings. She doesn't like to fly at all anymore but we do have workouts. People have to know they most certainly can get their bird back but it takes total focus and forget any appointments that might be in the way. I've helped others catch their birds and as long as you focus and stay as close as you can to where your bird went, you can get your bird back. Just hoping you can make a good video for this issue and don't your dare use Smokey for an example! Talk about clipping wings, obviously you don't which I understand!! But how to do it correctly. How to trim beaks! I see one here on clipping their nils....how about a video on FOODS! I breast fed my babies and chewed up proper food for them to eat, no baby food in jars! No cows or goats or soy milk for my babies! My girl doesn't like cheese, or chicken bones or most things unless we 'try out' by me chewing up a food and passing it to her. Sometimes that works. I worry about GMO seeds! What do you know about that? I do know my dogs got full of huge tumors because they had cheap dog food a few times in kennels when I've never had dogs with tumors. Luckily cats are carnivores and don't eat the GMO corn, beets, or whatever...this is a big big deal. I won't give Betty a CHIP corn chip that doesn't say NON GMO on the package. Dogs only live 10 to 15 years average but my dogs got tumors that were unbelievable. Our parrots will outlive us and food is critical to monitor. If we don't care or know enough not to be insistent on NON GMO we'd better for our parrot's sake!
I just read that I called your Smokey...Stormy. How funny. My first horse was Smokey...
You should be teaching in a school for real people about how not to poop on your own country.
Joe Magnets
I have a question, actually.
I got my first bird back in October last year. He is a Pacific Parrotlet and my little cuddle bug. Is it usual for parrots to somewhat potty train themselves? I notice that a lot of times, when he has to go, my bird will go to his play stand and go while sitting on the top perch. Then, he'll usually come right back to me for more cuddles. More recently, he's also begun to say "poopy" before he goes. So I'm just wondering if my little guy has somehow managed to semi-potty train himself.
I praise him whenever he goes while on that perch on his play stand, and if he goes somewhere else, I immediately stop what I'm doing with him and clean it up, so maybe I did something right without knowing it? (Note that I NEVER yell at or "discipline" him, especially not for something like that. The most I'll do is put him in his cage if he gets bitey, along with the "gentle beak" method, which seems to work okay.) Of course, he doesn't do this 100% of the time, but you get the idea.
Thanks!
BeautifulWaterWeaver I think some parrots, in a sense, do potty train themselves. If you observe breeding cockatiels, they will usually hold it until they are outside of their nest box before going. In the wild, some birds will not defecate close to where they roost at night because they don't want to attract the attention of predators. These instincts are still intact in pet birds today!
You really are an observant person. I wonder how many other bird trainers know that this could be done. I wish that I could train wild birds not to potty on my car!
Do parrots communicate that they have to go if they need too?
This is a plus with our bird every time he wants to use the bathroom he will yank on our shirt to let us know we will put them on his cage door he will use the bathroom and then he will hop back on her shoulder again
Every comment: lOL I watched this but I don’t have a bird😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
The birds like “ why is this guy watching me poop”
My Amazon was potty trained by previous owner. We had no idea but observed that he would not poop on us or on the couch. He'd start saying "go bye bye" so we'd take him to his cage and he'd stay on his door and poop.
We sticky figured out that his favorite place to do it was right off the edge of his open cage door, so we put puppy training pads down to keep the mess of the floor.
Is it a good thing to place my Grey's cage in My Room at night so we could sleep around the same time and wake up around the same time?
Would it make him feel like I'm part of his flock more? and get him to trust me more... Specially when i first get him?
How about smokey and my african grey named rocky meet
My African Grey is not potty trained. My grandparents have had her for at least 15 years. Is it still possible to train her?
+12adwhetsel yes
Oh Yes, mine is about 16 and picked it up all bij himself (and he lived in a cage @someone else for the first 15 years of his life!!).
He used to crap all over me for the first 2-3 months or so, noticed I did not like it and now just flies of- poops somewhere else: perch or cage- and comes back to me if he still feels like it.
(I am dutch so "go potty" sounds ridicilous ;) these are -mostly - adult birds not small children )
wingNpaws is very good at breaking down how to train your bird, I have a different approach. (Smokey is is wonderfull bird- he does a great job with her!)
Just be positive whenever your bird does something wonderfull (like *not* poop on you)-- that always works.
The risk of training a bird to poop on demand is that you screw up his/her system if they force it too much (and most of them will try to be wonderfull birds) so I would *never* pottytrain IN the cage, only outside.
So mine poops whenever nature calls, just not on me ... it's that easy ;)
thanks for the info but how do I let the bird know that it is not mandatory to poop on command when I'm not home just to avoid any bladder problems
Ivan Ramirez I only cue her to go when she's in my room, on me, or on furniture. When she's in her cage or stand, she knows its perfectly fine to go whenever.
Will my parrot tend to hold until i have given the command 'go potty' ? Or will he knows where and will go by their own?
He will not go on their own according to this video they will pop on u 😂
Great video! Thanks for the info. How would you address when the bird poops out of command in the wrong place? Say your shoulder?
Very clearheaded explanation. You are a good teacher.
wow, thank you
I am new to your channel and I am amazed by your knowledge. Thanks for sharing it.
I absolutely love your videos! While I do not own an African Grey I do have a Blue Headed Pionus by the name of Peter. I was told he was 8 years old when he was given to me but after tracking down his Adoption file I found he is actually 11. He is very gentle for the most part but he has moments where I am unsure how he is going to behave. He talks a little and still flies. I give him a lot of attention, well cuz he is so darn adorable. He has been a part of my family for almost 1 year and will be for as long as he lives. I am still researching the best ways to care for him diet wise especially. I can say that I have found a great deal of help in your videos so I thank you for sharing your knowledge. I look forward to more videos.
Sondra JK Thanks for the positive feedback Sondra! There's a lot of confusion when it comes to bird diets and a lot of controversy about what's best to feed our birds. Ultimately, you're going to have to make the judgement call based on all the research you gather. I feed Smokey Roudybush pellets, keeping in mind that there has been very little research on the nutritional needs of parrots; let alone African Greys. Because of this, I don't have complete trust in pellets so I supplement her food with fruits, veggies, and small quantities of seeds and nuts. This is, however, just what I feed Smokey and I'm not claiming that this is what everyone should feed their birds. Anyways, thanks for watching! Be sure to check back on Monday for a new video :)
this was so helpful i have a eclectus parrot that is potty trained now THANK YOU SO MUCH😄💕
She always waits until I open her cage in the morning to take her main poop for the day. I've been using a paper towel 'target' and she dag gummit knows that that paper is to poop on. She knows!! But I am finding she misses on purpose...I only get wiggy and excited when she hits it...never thought to put much work into this!
U derserve a sub
What do you think about a parrot who seem to save up his poop until he can let go when he's on my shoulder. FYI, we are bonded very well.
dose this take like a month to complete
Thanks for sharing your tips. I will try your way can't wait to bring my bird home ! ❤️
Just a question do you clip your birds wings so it don’t fly around crazy if not how do you train so it don’t fly around the house I just noticed you bird sits and behaves very well thanks
What kind of things does your bird say she seems to be trying to talk while you're talking.
hey ,if anyone else wants to discover parrot training books try Dalz Parrot Tips Discovery (just google it ) ? Ive heard some amazing things about it and my friend got amazing success with it.
I just got an African grey a fee days ago and I'll be trying this out
awesome ,,thanx dude 10000 times fot this video,otherwise after sometimes i would have become a shit cleaner contractor in my home.
At what age should I start potty training.. my grey is 5 months.. hand-fed. Learning to come on hand yet..
Ok, I have a smart budgie. Can they be potty trained?
So basically you train it exactly how you would potty train a dog 😂
cute bird ,and he likes to interrupt you.
How does this work when you are outside with her? Do you have to keep reminding her to poop? Will she just hold it in until you give her the command?
Do you have a training video on how to train them not to fly away what's the best method for training them to stay around your home and not fly away if they can fly very good like smokey do you think he might never fly away because he knows how to fly let me know I'm interested in teaching my parrot and not having to trim its wings
Hi there! What about Toucans? They go VERY often! You wipe one up...by the time you throw out the tissue they go again! Is it a losing battle to try to potty train a toucan?
Cateringcowboy Toucans have a very high metabolisme, and are also harder to train than parrots, if I'm not mistaken. I'm not so sure about potty training them though.
What if you say go poo and she goes but in 15 minutes time she needs to go again but thou didn't say go poo. Will she just do it on the floor
so without even trying and avoiding contact to the point of informing it all together my brother's grey seems to have bonded with me, and now won't have anything to do with anyone else not mean to them just avoids them, for me to ignore him and not socailist him now seems cruel any advice
I have a budgie and it poops like every 10mins
Would potty training a bird make the bird go potty on cue only and the bird end up holding and causing health issues?
In which age did you potty trained smokey ???
Great vid but maybe Smoky needs some flee spray.. so shes not scratchy so much.
I've got a 7 week baby rn, do I start potty training after she has completed weening?
smokey is so amazing I wish my bird is like that
I had aferican grey for 17 years now she talks a few tricks chases the dog but shits all over.
No matter when I take my grey out of her cage she poops within seconds. What do I do??
wingsNPaws: Ur bird POOPOO PEEPEE
Smokey: I T C H E E S C R A T C H
She was itchy today lol
I found a stranded baby robin in my apartment stairwell once and took him in. Of course he tried to get away at first and I had to cup him with the foot tub (just a square tub) I would keep him in, and quickly gained his trust after feeding him some small bread pieces dipped in water, and (I think) within hours was able to hold him on my finger. Anyway, I started to catch on that when he shook his tail he was about to go, I started keeping a washcloth (used only for that) on my shoulder and would just hold him over that washcloth whenever he shook his tail. I went to Starbucks and ordered a latte to go with him on my shoulder one time, and I kid you not, he stayed on my shoulder the whole time! Lol
It was Memorial Day weekend, that Sunday, when I found him so it wouldn't be until that Tuesday when I could go to the local pet shelter and pass him over to more capable hands. The little thing was singing along as I was singing _Too Late to Turn Back Now_ in the car as I was driving him to the shelter! I went straight to Starbucks after that because otherwise I just wanted to cry after handing him over.
Birds are meant to poop on humans. If id be a bird id enjoy too much 😌
But what if it never potty's until I don't say go potty
can i start this method even though my grey is only 3 mnths old?
Well explained by the owner!. LOL 🦜👍
Ur videos are really helpful and I like them but ur videos are super boring so maybe have some background music and talk louder or something like for him to see
While you're speaking is Smoky saying in the background "whatcha talking about?" It sounds like it which made me laugh so much that I had to replay the beginning of the video several times before I heard everything you were saying!
BYW, thank you so very much!!!!It's wonderful what you're doing to help others do their best by their birds... which most people definitely want ... but are sadly uninformed and the bird suffers as a result...
How much is the price of your bird.
Samantha Deborah African grey parrots are easily the most intelligent breed of parrot. They require hours every day of one on one attention, and are not for beginner bird owners. They range from $1,000- well over 2,000. Hope this helps.
@@parrotly4221 thank you soo much this helped alot
@@parrotly4221 i dont agree they that you said it not for first time owners. Because peoplw say and they had it, and they are famous
My African Grey poops when I ask him to before I clean his cage and before he comes out. He will follow up by saying 'Have you done a poo' OR ' Have you had a shit' 😱😂. I've had my boy from a 14 week old baby. He is 13 years old now. It was easy to potty train him and I started to train him immediately after I bought him.
You have very useful videos, I am a first time owner of African Grey, I have Pickie from when he was 4weeks, he is 4 months now and he bonded just with me even if my bf feed him aswell when he was bby, I still need to send his back feather for DNA to find the exact sex, I have a feeling he is a boy..he loves girls :)) .
Now I have a question...if I'm not home he don't like to go out of his cage he is quiet ,but how I arrive home and he sees me he gets crazy,flying all over to catch me and I can't do my home things he is always flying on me ,on my head ,or playing with my toes... if I put him In the cage he starts scratching the bottom I guess to go out.. sometimes I put him new toys with treats and he stays for a while...but I wish to teach him not to fly on me when I'm busy...
Thank you and keep posting lovely videos.
Pickie loves watching Smokie :)
Hi! I recently got a 3 month old male African Grey from a breeder. Urm... He poops a lot. sometimes twice or thrice in the space of 20 minutes. He is still getting used to his cage as we bought a really big one and he is alone, and he is still a little off balance and unstable both on a perch and on our hands or arms. (He also is still on porridge. The breeder suggested we continue feeding him porridge over seeds)
What I wanted to ask was, will this potty training method work on him at such a young age, or should I wait till he is a little older?
Also, I just watched the bathe your parrot video, and since he is on porridge, i feed him with a syringe and he gets quite messed on his neck and crop area from all the head bucking. I tried misting and he really hates it. He makes a lot of noise and backs away from the mist. How should I let him know bathing is ok? He is really dirty and the only thing he lets me clean is his beak when there is porridge or fruit on it.
Thank you so much in advance, he joined our family for 4 days now and I don't want to do things that will make him become an aggressive bird or dislike the things he shouldn't.
(I unfortunately didn't know I was getting a bird so I didn't have the chance to research before I got him.)
I acquired a 14 yr old female cockatoo a couple years ago, she has always been so affectionate and gentle, but recently she has taken to biting. We have been going through a lot of changes, we moved to another state, I wasn't able to bring her large cage, and she's exposed to much more noise and strangers (including other pets) and I can't tell why she's doing it. I watched your segment about reason why a bird bites but it appears to me she's stressed and angry when she bites because she tries to attack others (dog, grandchildren, friends) and when I try to get her before she hurts someone she turns on me. She inflicts some serious trauma (permanant nerve damage, pain, and needing to get sutured). I can't remain calm when it feels like I just slammed my thumb in a car door and I'm bleeding profusely. How do I deal with her anger, she only become more angry an violent when I try to calm down. PS your advice and insight are exceptional.
Hi, hope you’re well. I have a baby african grey and he is 4months old. I would like to potty train him and i know you have a video on UA-cam about it but he doesn’t have a particular treat as he eats sunflower seeds all the time. I was hoping if you could direct me in the right direction of how to go about this as he doesn’t quite understand the command that is being given to him. Thank you in advance :)