Many birds prefer to poop from a height, from atop their perch or from the top edge of the cage so that the droppings fall down and away. If you notice such a bird beginning to climb, it is indicative that the bird is readying to defecate. Whatever be the peculiarities, study them in detail so that you can intervene and potty train the bird. Now, decide who will do the training. Is it going to be one individual or more? Whoever does the training, it is imperative for him or her to be committed, be consistent and have patience. Next, decide when and where you are to allow the bird to defecate in the cage, on its perch, or in a wastebasket or whatever be the mode or means of disposal. It is worth understanding how best to train your pet to act, act as you want it to. All About Training A bird will behave in a very specific way when it is ready to poop. Study what these behavioral patterns are when the bird is inside and outside the cage. When you notice such behavior, be ready to implement potty training. The command must be a simple word or phrase and you must know completely that your bird will soon mimic the expression or expressions. So, you need to be cautious in coining the expression. A simple command like "Go" or "Go potty" should serve the purpose. You should be aware that, in time, the bird will pick up the word or phrase and mimic it. You may initiate your teaching while the bird is in the cage. Look for the usual signs that say the bird wants to poop. When you notice these signs, take the bird to the specifically assigned place and command it to "Go" or "Go potty". When it does, praise it lavishly. You may also caress or pet the bird. Continue this and over a period of time the bird will become so All About Training conditioned that it may actually alert you when it wants to go potty. Not everyone agrees that potty training is in the best interest of the bird. They say it is unnatural that the bird should wait for a command before it defecates. Its for you to decide whether you want to potty train your bird or not. Remember, not all birds pick up this training. Let's attribute it to "chance". If we can't put our finger on a specific reason why a Cockatoo mimics human speech, "chance" is as good an explanation as any. An important factor to remember is that there is no "one size fits all" solution to animal and bird training. The basic methods described here are general methods, which you may have to work on to better suit you and your pet. Some Cockatoo owners just want a companion bird. And suddenly one day their bird pleasantly surprises them by saying Teaching Your Cockatoo To Talk All About Training a few words. Yet, other owners set out to teach their Cockatoos a couple of words, only to find that they've created a real chatterbox. A few have poured their hearts and tons of effort to get their bird to talk, only to find that they have an adamant mute. Cockatoos, in general, are not great talkers. Some species talk even less than others. But, there are quite a few instances of spontaneous talkers. For instance the Palm, Sulphur-crested, Umbrella and Little Corella Cockatoos talk less. Cockatiels, Rose-breasted and Goffin Cockatoos talk a little more. Cockatiels are the most talkative of the Cockatoo family. This again will differ with individual specimen within a species. Male Cockatoos are better talkers than females. Some specimens are so astute that they mimic sounds they hear in their environment. Some birds have been known to mimic the ringing of phones and sounds of other household appliances and the honking of vehicles. |