# Help with Pooping in Water



## ChyGirl (Mar 2, 2012)

I have one female who poops in her water everyday mostly at night and i changer her water everyday sometimes multiple times a day... So heres my question: Is there a way to deter her from pooping in the water or sleeping on it?


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## rashid100 (Oct 3, 2012)

maybe she has a spot where she sleeps right over the water.... u can try changing the location of the water... i also heard tiels get potty trained, maybe u could do that.. i think u say the word POOP anytime u see hem do it and treat them with millet this might train em to go on command...
hope it helps


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Where is the water bowl located? Try moving it out from under whatever perch she's on and see if that helps.


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## Loopy Lou (Jul 26, 2012)

I've moved the water and food bowls to near the top of the cage, it seems to help a lot.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> i also heard tiels get potty trained, maybe u could do that.. i think u say the word POOP and treat them any time they poop this might train em to go on command...
> hope it helps


This is a bad idea...its bad because if you're not there to tell them to poop they'll hold it til you come home to tell them so and it can kill them to do that. So I don't recommend that.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

rashid100 said:


> maybe she has a spot where she sleeps right over the water.... u can try changing the location of the water... i also heard tiels get potty trained, maybe u could do that.. i think u say the word POOP and treat them any time they poop this might train em to go on command...
> hope it helps


I wouldn't try potty training, since you don't want the bird to hold it until you tell it to go. Or strain to go when they don't have to. Both can be really bad!
I agree with moving the water. Maybe it's the location of the dish she likes? Try putting it in a less popular spot and placing a really comfy perch where the water is now.

EDIT: Oops, sorry for the redundancy, was posting at the same time Roxy.


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## rashid100 (Oct 3, 2012)

roxy culver said:


> This is a bad idea...its bad because if you're not there to tell them to poop they'll hold it til you come home to tell them so and it can kill them to do that. So I don't recommend that.


true that... mine isnt potty trained either.


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## Annie (Nov 20, 2009)

Sunny had the same annoying (and disgusting! Bleh!!!) habit for awhile. :wacko: It's not a big deal. I think all I did was move her water to a different spot to change it up on her and she just started sleeping at a different spot.

As to potty training, it's a controversial issue and a constant debate subject amongst serious bird lovers.  The majority of the members on this forum is against it, myself included  . If you want to see past threads and read about the pros and cons on this subject you can just do a search on "potty training". I'd prefer not to get into it here. 

Edit: Whoa!!! While I was typing my response, FIVE people beat me to it so I'm sorry too for the redundancy. I guess I need to either type faster or think faster! :lol:


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## ChyGirl (Mar 2, 2012)

Haha theres a lot of redundancy lol its ok! Its not anywhere near wher she perches to sleep bt i have now put her in what i call the " big cage" with my other 2 females so im hoping that makes a difference! I have the kind of bowls that screw to the sides of the cage along with the ones that come with the cage! 


THANKS EVERYONE FOR THE GREAT FEEDBACK!!!! I will keep everyone informed on how the pooping in water goes!


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

I have covered water bowls because of this problem. I bought them from petco.


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## ChyGirl (Mar 2, 2012)

bjknight93 said:


> I have covered water bowls because of this problem. I bought them from petco.


Ahh i never thot of that before im hoping a change in cages will help stop it for a while if not i will b investing in new water dishes! Giz and Athena used to do it but they have stopped but Bella has done it ever since i bought her about 2-3months ago


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## ChyGirl (Mar 2, 2012)

Thought i would update.. I had thought that moving Bella from a cage alone to a cage with my girls she would stop pooping in the water dishes and Unfortunately it hasnt stopped her looks like they will b getting new covered water dishes and possibly food dishes cuz ive seen some poop appearing in the food but not very often


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## eki (Sep 2, 2010)

I have a water silo because of that. It seems to me, at least in my case, that my tiel really just wanted to sit where the water dish was. Moving the water dish could also be an option


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

I just pick the poop out of the food because all of the soiled food sticks to it.


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## TMz (Aug 7, 2012)

I have this issue with Marley, doesnt matter where I put the dish, she always sits on it and poops in it all day and night every day and night, drives me nuts! once in a while she goes through a phase where she stops for a while, but it never lasts. I will have to look into a covered water dish..never seen one before. what about water bottles? I always see them in the bird isles, but I have never seen anyone use a water bottle for a bird and it seems like it would be awkward?


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## eki (Sep 2, 2010)

The bottle I have has a big enough opening at the bottom so my tiel can stick her beak in. Its not like they're sucking from one like a hamster. When I bought a replacement for the glass one I broke, the lady suggested I keep the water dish in until the tiel learns there is water in the bottle, but I hadn't done that when I got the first bottle. 

I have had this: http://www.petco.com/product/110029....aspx?CoreCat=LN_BirdSupplies_FoodWaterDishes 

and: http://www.petco.com/product/6098/P....aspx?CoreCat=LN_BirdSupplies_FoodWaterDishes

I preferred the glass, because it is easier to clean, and smaller, so I remember to clean it more often.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

I don't recommend water bottles because you can't properly clean the inside and the spout on the bottle. Covered water dishes can be found at petco. They cost about $6.

http://www.petco.com/product/120237....aspx?CoreCat=LN_BirdSupplies_FoodWaterDishes


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## TMz (Aug 7, 2012)

I breed Gerbils I have hundreds of water bottles and a bottle brush, cleaning them is no problem at all I just didn't see how birds could use a bottle lol

Petco does not exist here $6 plus shipping would be a really expensive dish lol


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## eki (Sep 2, 2010)

i found the glass one at a local independent bird store.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

How do you clean the stainless steel spout??


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## TMz (Aug 7, 2012)

No bird stores here either lol I buy 99% of my bird supplies in mass quantities twice a year from birdsafestore.com but I don't need to do another order for a few months yet. Are the Lixit bottles ok? I can get those locally..


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## TMz (Aug 7, 2012)

bjknight93 said:


> How do you clean the stainless steel spout??


My bottle brush has 2 brushes a big one for the bottle and a small one tucked inside the handle for the spout.


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## eki (Sep 2, 2010)

TMz said:


> No bird stores here either lol I buy 99% of my bird supplies in mass quantities twice a year from birdsafestore.com but I don't need to do another order for a few months yet. Are the Lixit bottles ok? I can get those locally..


might be a bit harder for the bird, but I can see it working. I don't really know though.

sidebar: went to the bird safe store website just now. I want everything there! (I was planning on putting together a bird first aid kit, so maybe I'll do it from there)


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## Ghosth (Jun 25, 2012)

I use 2 silo's for water, plus a bird bath outside their cage that gets changed frequently.

However cage placement can be vital. Once you figure out where they are sleeping, spending most of their time, "nothing" goes under that in a spreading cone down to the cage floor. Not food, water, toys, nothing.

In fact my food and water silo's are set high, with the perch too close for them to turn their tails around comfortably to help prevent them pooping in it.

Outside the cage I have a wild bird feeder filled with Tiel mix set inside a large cardboard flat on a shelf. This is their foraging space and they do seem to love picking through it. Every so often I'll dump everything on the box take it outside and dribble it into another container letting the wind blow the hulls away. And if I lose some millet, well the wild sparrows are happy.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

My biggest issue with water bottles and this is for ANY animal that uses them, not only birds, is that the ball in the spout gets stuck in the up position and then the water all comes spilling out, leaving the bird with no water. This hasn't happened often with other animals of mine, but they don't push the ball up as far as a tiel's beak would. I just change the water as it gets dirty, I have stainless steel bowls so they're easy to clean. I just take it as part of owning birds.


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## TMz (Aug 7, 2012)

Lol that happens all the time with the Gerbils, they either chew the bottle draining ill the water or theycstuff the spout with bedding. Never thought much of it, just check daily and change as needed, not like a bowl is an option for properly housed gerbils! 

My main issue with Marley pooping in her dish is that I work 10 hours a day or more. I change it every night but there is a good chance they have no clean water all day. She isn't sitting on perches and pooping in the dish, she is making a point to go from wherever she is to the dish, sit on the edge, poop in it and leave. I tried sticking a lixit bottle above there water dish last night, do we shall see how that goes.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

If you change the water before and after work, she'll have clean water. Tiels really don't drink that much water anyways.


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## TMz (Aug 7, 2012)

if she has clean water before I go to work, and water filled with poop when I get home, then obviously she doesnt have clean water all day lol. this isnt a sleeping thing for her, she and Toi sleep on either side of the ladder swing, which is nowhere near the water, nightime poop in the dish is generally an evening thing..after dinner, before bed. all day the cage is open, they go where they please, Toi poops wherever, Marley goes back, poops in the water dish and heads back to hang out, you'd think she was potty trained lol, when I get home the water is seriously more poop then water, its really really gross. till I saw this thread I had always just taken it for what it was, didnt know there were any other options side from the lixit bottles, and I didnt think a bird could drink from those even though they are sold for birds(I come from Gerbils...99% of the stuff out there sold for "Gerbils" is anything from usless to downright dangerous) so I just hoped they were not drinking much of that goop!

should clarify, I know they are getting clean water before and after work, but they are free fly in my oom all day, I imagine they would get thirsty sometime in that 10 hours of flying and playing , especially Toi, Marley only flys to go from spot to spot, but Toi flys all over just for the sake of flying.


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## bassamgaillany (Nov 16, 2012)

No idea 
__________


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## SunnyNShandy (May 24, 2012)

I have multiple water bowls in my cages for this reason. They poop in the plastic ones they sleep on, which I change every morning and after work and still have other water sources and food sources if need be. I also have multiple seed/pellet dishes too. I know my guys are new, but I want them to eat/drink, etc.


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## MildlyAnnoyedBird (Jun 10, 2011)

I use those bowls with "hoods" -- they're round, with clear plastic tops. I get the "medium" size for 'tiels, and that way they can't stick their butts in there, because their tailfeathers get in the way 

It's worked so far. CC used to ALWAYS poop in her water, and I was CONSTANTLY changing it and afraid she'd get sick. Now, never!

It's this one:

http://c.shld.net/rpx/i/s/pi/mp/725...pg&d=db21275eaf32c00ae97af054291c6b950a5aa14d

I've seen it in most stores I go to. It's a life saver here.

ETA: Oh yeah, and if for some reason you can't do that, I'd try just making a hood of some kind. Placing it somewhere they have to lean to get the water, or where they have to duck their heads under a perch, etc, will discourage sitting right on it. Sometimes putting it WAAAY up at the top of the cage works, so long as they realize it's there.


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## ChyGirl (Mar 2, 2012)

Thanks everyone has some good ideas! Will be looking into covered water dishes because i change both of the water dishes every morning before i leave for work and sometimes i have to change it when i get home but not every time its weird! And i know for a fact she doesnt sleep on the perch very often because i leave the front of the cage uncovered so i can see them and have seen her asleep on the water bowl which sits right next to the water dish and shes sound asleep on the dish and my other girls sleep on the perches!


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