Poop!!

[Steve.ry]

Hi guys,

I am i guess relatively new to Lovebirds, but for those that have tamed birds and allow them to fly around your homes, can you share some info on bird pooping.
I intend, after reading Linda's posts to co-parent my 2 babies, so when I have their trust enough I hope to have them able to fly in my home. But can you train them to poop in one place or do they just do it where they want. I am worried about a mess on this and that or on my shoulders.

Any tips please.

Steve

[linda040899]

I hear what you are saying! General rule of thumb is that birds poop roughly every 20 minutes or so. Some say they can actually be trained to poop on command and I've also heard that they can be trained to poop in only certain places. I, myself, use small hand towels as protection for my shoulders. Those towels can actually be sewn together to create a cape. I tend to use dark colors and stay away from red. If I have a place that I don't want them to go, I place something red there. It's usually a pretty good deterrent.....

[Steve.ry]

Thanks Linda, good ideas for later on. The parents of my young are too scared to get too close to me so there is no chance of them flying indoors. The 2 babies though I hope will be friendly enough to fly inside.

[linda040899]

You are very welcome for the suggestions. Babies come out of the nest at about age 6 weeks and they can already fly. They need to be able to take off and land expertly before you clip any flight feathers, if that is in your plans. Babies are fearless and if they are not allowed to learn to fly well, they will never learn to fly well.

[Steve.ry]

I don't think I would clip them, I never really thought about that to be honest.

[linda040899]

The only reason I might clip flight feathers would be for safety and I only clip a few on each wing. I would say 99% of my birds are fully flighted and I like it that way. Flight feather trimming is a very personal choice and it always has to be what's best for the individual bird. My greatest fear is having one fly out an open door. Once outside, it's a whole different world and captive bred birds have no idea how to survive. I always recommend training your birds to fly to you on command, if possible.