# Dealing with poop as a new owner



## katiemw (Jul 15, 2016)

Hi everyone! I'm planning on getting a cockatiel in a few months, and only just learned about the fact that they poop every 10-20 mins, and I'm a little bit scared honestly?

So far I know:
- The poop is odorless
- Its better to let it dry on fabric before cleaning, but wipe off smooth surfaces immediately
- Keep wipes handy 24/7
- Poop-off spray is your friend

I still have some questions, though:
- Whats the best way to avoid poop on your clothes? I'm thinking rags draped over the shoulders + a designated "poop shirt" to wear when handling them
- If it does get on my clothes, should I really wait until its dry to wipe it off? It seems kinda nasty leaving poop on your clothes while wearing it
- Is it really gross? The fact that its wet is the worst factor for me, but a lot of people say it isnt too bad. I also have a bearded dragon and I have a feeling a cockatiel wont be quite as bad haha
- How long till it dries, generally? for reference when cleaning off carpet or curtains

At this point I'm considering covering my entire room/furniture in towels, honestly. But would you guys deem this necessary?


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## Jaguar (Jul 11, 2014)

Poop will happen. 

Sometimes it's dry (little-no urine) and you can just flick it into the trash. Other times it's big and wet and gross (think morning poop) and you're better off just changing your clothes after that.

I put towels in "hot spots" where they like to hang out. This is mostly under playgyms and whatnot. I shake them out and throw them in the wash every few days. 

You can wipe the bulk (feces) off clothes, but I find it's better to let dry on stuff you can't wash like carpet. I run the vacuum over to pick up the bulk and then do minor spot treatment with diluted vinegar. Make sure you have a good vacuum with a HEPA filter if you're going to do this, you don't want to be breathing excessive airborne feces.

Overall it's usually not bad, but sometimes they will really unload. I put fresh sheets on the bed the other day before sitting down with the tiels. Phoenix let out the biggest, grossest wet poop. I didn't see it and stuck my foot in it, smearing it all over the fresh sheets. They had to be washed again. lol


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## shesaravenclaw (Jun 1, 2016)

I honestly don't even really notice the poop. My room mate freaks out lol. You can potty train them... Mine has pretty much potty trained herself. If she's gotta go, she either wanders back to her playgym and goes, or flies and sits on top of her cage. That being said, I still keep paper towels around just in case... Usually of you catch it fast enough, you can just pick it up with a paper towel. Every once in a while something needs to be Shout ed... But she's never pooped in my hair or on my clothes ::knock on wood ::

Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

Yep. There's no denying it. Birds poop. I'm completely immune to it, but then again, I do have quite a few other animals, so poop is something extremely common for me. It's not bad. It's only a big deal if you make it a big deal. 

I don't wear any different clothes when I'm with Jaid. If he poops, I'll just swipe it with my finger. Wet poop, on the other hand, I'll use a napkin or something for that. That's not all that common though. Wet poop happens for a few reasons: drank lots of water, recently scared or just woke up (otherwise known as the morning poop). So don't worry too much. It'll be primarily normal poop. That's easy to care for


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## Lunawolfsong (Mar 31, 2016)

If you have an issue with poop, you could buy a Flightsuit or similar product. These are basically birdie diapers. You'd have to train the bird to accept them, though. I know that when I work for my mom, I have to put Kirby in his flightsuit when I take him with me because she hates it when he poops on her papers. 

I, personally, am a slight germophobe. I don't like the idea of getting poop germs on the couch, my bed, chairs, etc. What I do is I set up Kirby's cage so that he doesn't have any reason to walk on the floor and wash his feet if he does; I wipe down his gym and playground after each use; if he poops on me I simply pick it up and then change that item of clothing and put it in the laundry; if he poops on the floor, couch, or pretty much any other surface I pick it up with a Clorox towelette and give it a light wipe-down (the Clorox towelette has not damaged my couch or carpets in any way), and if he poops on my bed I change the sheets. By doing this, despite being a germophobe I get along owning a poopy bird just fine 

Other than sometimes being warm if he poops on you, it isn't gross at all. 

It dries pretty quickly most of the time. Cockatiel poop is somewhat wet, but if you've ever seen a macaw poop you would believe that a tiel's is bone dry.

Cockatiels have a behavior that is both a blessing and a curse: they will hold in their poop for as long as they can to avoid pooping on someone they like (on the other hand they will go out of their way to try to poop on people they don't like ). This is great, for obvious reasons, one being that it makes potty training easier. But it's also not good, because if they hold it too long it can cause intestinal issues in them. One thing that I do is every so often when I'm hanging out with Kirby I'll set him on his perch and tell him to poop, and when he does I give him a reward and continue playing.


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

Lunawolfsong said:


> Cockatiels have a behavior that is both a blessing and a curse: they will hold in their poop for as long as they can to avoid pooping on someone they like (on the other hand they will go out of their way to try to poop on people they don't like ).


I don't find this true. Jaid loves both me and my father, but will poop on both of us. He's just being a bird. 

_However_, speaking of behavior, birds assume a stand when they are about to poop. They tuck into their feet, fluff down and lift their tail. When you see that position, if you aren't keen with bird poop, you can always put a napkin or something underneath them. I've never really done that, but it is something some people do


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## Jaguar (Jul 11, 2014)

My dudes poop on me constantly. They must really hate me lol


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## Lunawolfsong (Mar 31, 2016)

CaliTiels said:


> I don't find this true. Jaid loves both me and my father, but will poop on both of us. He's just being a bird.


Right, sorry, I should have said "some" tiels. Some of them have the awareness of their poop to pay attention to that. But not all. Kirby does it; he's only pooped on me once, twice at the most, both times were because I forgot to give him his potty break. With my mom he will scoot backward on her shoulder so that he poops over her instead of on her. He even does it for my dogs! With my dog Jack, he'll sit on Jack's back for an hour if I let him, and as soon as I pick him up off Jack he'll let one loose, but one time I just happened to be holding him above my puppy Max (who he used to dislike but is now warming up to) he pooped right on Max's shoulders. Poor puppy was so confused :lol:


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## katiemw (Jul 15, 2016)

Thank you everyone! its relieving to know that its pretty dry most of the time/can be flicked off, I figured it was wet and gross every time. I read that some people just wait until their cockatiel does the morning poop to let them out, so I'll probably do that and just deal with all the other poops. I read there can be some dangers with potty training, so I won't try to do that intentionally. I won't complain if they do it themselves though, obviously!


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## Lunawolfsong (Mar 31, 2016)

I didn't think it was possible for a bird to be potty trained (until I read one of the above posts). You CAN teach them to poop on command (what I'm attempting with Kirby), and that's pretty close to potty training. This would mean that the owner would have to be responsible enough to keep track of how often their bird needs to poop.


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## TamaMoo (Jan 12, 2014)

As I am sure you have gathered by now, poop is now your new life.  i keep Kleenex, paper towels, and napkins stashed everywhere around the rooms Joey goes into. I keep a somewhat vigilant watch when he gets off the roof of his cage, but he is mostly content to play with his toys up there. Poos either fall through the bars onto his newspaper, or onto the newspaper that covers his table.


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## shaenne (Apr 19, 2014)

I keep Zoe from pooping on me while she's hanging out with me purely by putting her on a piece of paper towel every 10 minutes or so. I've got her potty trained in the sense that she will wait until I put her on the towel to poop, but if I completely forget to do it, she'll unload on me lol. 

So it's about compromise more than anything. You can keep your bird from pooping on you, but you have to put some effort in as well. It takes a total of 5 seconds (literally) to move her to a paper towel to poop and then put her back on my shoulder!


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

I have two large flight cages with a flat tops. The birds like to hang out on top of the cages, so most of the poop goes into the cage. They also like to sit on the edge of the cage and poop on the floor. That's my major problem. But, I have laminate floor, so it's not too bad to clean up.

Silver almost never poops when he is on me. Emma doesn't like to be on me, so she doesn't poop on me.

What is really amazing about my four birds is that they never see to poop on each other. There is lots of times some birds are in the cage and some are on top. I have had them for a couple of years, and they have not ever gotten poop on each other.


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## TamaMoo (Jan 12, 2014)

dianne said:


> I have two large flight cages with a flat tops. The birds like to hang out on top of the cages, so most of the poop goes into the cage. They also like to sit on the edge of the cage and poop on the floor. That's my major problem. But, I have laminate floor, so it's not too bad to clean up.


Because we have carpet, I am thankful Joey's table (about a foot and a half tall) is wider and longer than his flight cage. Although it isn't as pretty with newspaper on it, cleanup is a breeze.

I was nearly finished working today when I noticed poop on the side of my shoe. He must have dropped me a gift while flying around yesterday. Thanks, kid.


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## littletiel (May 15, 2011)

When I first bought my boy I was so worried! Now it has become normal for me to feel a warm poop roll down my leg and to find poops everywhere!  It's OK - you get used to it.


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## vampiric_conure (Jul 8, 2012)

Poop Shirts become your friend! We used to sell these at our local parrot club. They're essentially half a shirt that lays on your back and the arms hang over your shoulders. If you want something more exciting, you can add toys or pockets. We use these at club meetings and displays and save your good clothes from the evils of 'birdy surprises', LOL. 

Other than that, you do get used to it


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