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Post by Scratchpost on Aug 2, 2022 2:52:54 GMT -7
Hello, I wasn't sure which thread to post this question. Sorry if this is the wrong one. Aka has a toilet on the side of his cage, and he tells my husband and I he needs to go about 98% of the time (he goes in his cage when he's eating dinner and then carries on eating, or if he is playing with a favourite toy). He is getting older now and doesn't always want to step up on the ladder we give him so he can go to the toilet. I think this is because he wants to get to the toilet himself, but he doesn't know how. He knows where it is and when my husband was at work he would try to aim for the toilet when he went, but he can't get to it at the moment. I want to help him get to the toilet himself when he needs to, but I don't know how to align the toilet and the cage to make this possible. Do any of you have this type of set up? How do your parrots get to their toilet? I have tried putting the toilet (a storage crate lined with newspaper with a log in the middle so he can perch) on top of the cage but he doesn't go there either because he associates the top of his cage as his cage and won't go unless the above reasons. That, and when he misses, which is often because of the elevation, he manages to get it all over the couches. Not ideal. Any advice regarding placement and/or training is welcome. The door to the cage is at the front, there isn't a door/opening on either side to make this possible, and there is quite a height difference between the cage door and toilet. Should I just put the toilet directly in front of his cage with a ladder or something and see what he does? We'll have to rearrange the furniture but that's OK. Thanks.
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Post by Jane on Aug 2, 2022 6:40:49 GMT -7
Mine don't have one, they go in the cage or when they are on their stands but nowhere else. (They don't go when I am holding them or when Monty is in the cat bed). Aka is already toilet trained if he lets you know when he needs to go and he knows where it is so it is more a case of logistics as to how he gets there but I can't really visualise the set up you describe.
Jane
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Post by Scratchpost on Aug 2, 2022 9:43:49 GMT -7
Hi Jane,
Fair enough. I'll see if we can put the toilet in front with a ladder or something. It's a bit difficult to describe the set up haha.
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Post by Haz on Aug 2, 2022 10:55:40 GMT -7
I put newspaper down on the floor below the dropdown portion of her cage door. She sits on the door and does her thing or in her cage.
Haz
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Post by Scratchpost on Aug 11, 2022 8:29:13 GMT -7
Hi Haz, Aka has newspaper at the bottom of his cage as well but he can't see it because of the straw. The newspaper is for my benefit though, much easier to roll it up after catching old hay and the odd droppings Aka does when he is eating or playing.
I wonder if he will use the toilet all the time when he's older. Even if he doesn't, what he does now is better than going in the cage 100% of the time. I have put the toilet in front of his cage, he can climb from his toilet into his cage but still trying to figure out how to do it the other way.
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Post by Haz on Aug 11, 2022 10:49:43 GMT -7
I just change the newspaper every day. I don't use straw or hay or have a separate toilet.
Haz
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Post by Scratchpost on Aug 19, 2022 8:51:48 GMT -7
Thanks Haz,
The straw isn't for the toilet. Its so his cleft foot doesn't fall between the bars at the bottom when he walks around at the bottom to get to the different places in his cage. He climbs on the bars and walks at the bottom at about a 50/50 ratio. I also change the newspaper every day, or every second day if I want to watch his crap and compare it to the day before based on what he has eaten.
There has been an improvement in this though, Aka has figured out how to climb back into his cage from the toilet that I put in the front. He doesn't know how to climb into it, although I suspect he might know how now, but prefers his human taxi to get him there haha.
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Post by Adele on Aug 19, 2022 15:19:17 GMT -7
I kept a perch for Manzi to use for going potty. He was trained and would fly to the perch, go potty, then fly back to whatever it was he was doing. It took quite a long time to train him though. Like diligently watching him and moving him for over a month.
It seems like Aka knows where he is supposed to go, just not how to get there. I bought thick sisel rope (like 1" in diameter) and then attach it to places I want the birds to be able to go. Maybe you can make a path to his toilet from there. Or there are rope perches that can bend and attach to where you want, so then he can use that to get from point A to B.
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Post by Scratchpost on Aug 24, 2022 5:35:36 GMT -7
Hi Adele,
Thanks for that. I will get those ropes when we get more toys (in the next few weeks because he has destroyed all of them haha).
It will be quite easy to attach the ropes from the cage to the toilet because of the bar spacing in the cage.I will tell you how it goes when we get there. Thanks:)
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Post by Scratchpost on Jan 29, 2023 1:01:45 GMT -7
Edit: I couldn't add a photo as a comment so I added it to the main post. We have come up with a solution to the toilet problem. I realised Aka couldn't get to his toilet when it was on the side, even with the rope that we used. He would just start playing with the rope and not go down. He can get to the wooden perch from inside his cage when he uses the yellow perch or comes from the left and uses the area above the latch as leverage. To get back into his cage, he climbs down from the wooded perch to the yellow perch and voila. He was so chuffed with himself when he did it the first time, he knew what it was for immediately. Eating is still "go anywhere" territory, but if I was a parrot and could go and them immediately start eating again, I'd probably do the same.
There is a distinct lack of toys in the picture..... He doesn't like toys near his food bowls because they distract him from eating so most of his toys are on the other side of the cage (and photo). He doesn't only have two toys hahaha.
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Post by Jane on Jan 29, 2023 5:29:17 GMT -7
Re not being able to add a photo, you have to use reply rather than quick reply to do that.
Aka is a clever boy.
At the moment Monty sees all toys (and me) as potential mates, he has got very persistent about this. He is in love with all his toys!
Jane
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Post by Scratchpost on Jan 30, 2023 5:20:47 GMT -7
Hi Jane,
Thank you, I will do that next time.
Thanks. He is, he has also started saying 'close the door' when the bathroom door is open. He's moulting at the moment so we can't clip his wings but that means extra stress for us at home like the bathroom and sliding door etc. My husband and I started saying "Close the door" when we left it open (on purpose) to teach Aka to say it. It took him about a week to associate the door with the phrase and another week to start saying it in English (and not normal parrot sounds). He still gets confused and says it when the door is closed sometimes but he gets it right about 70% of the time so I'm happy with that.
Could it be because you separated them? I think you said Monty and Mitzi were together in the cage before or did I misread/misunderstand?
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Post by Jane on Jan 30, 2023 6:45:39 GMT -7
I think it might be, he has never been like this before. They were together in the same cage for decades (Monty is 31 and Mitzi is 29) but now they are in separate cages which are next to each other. I had to separate them because Monty was having more mobility issues than usual and Mitzi was bullying him.
Jane
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Post by Scratchpost on Feb 1, 2023 0:16:49 GMT -7
Hi Jane,
I'm sorry to hear that. Do you let them out of the cage a little bit so they can still be next to each other like they used to or is the bullying too bad for that?
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Post by Jane on Feb 1, 2023 6:07:55 GMT -7
Monty has a cat bed that he likes to snuggle in. Mitzi is still in a huff and generally won't come out of the cage although I managed to get her to come out the other day and put her on her stand next to Monty. I think she still doesn't understand why I have taken him off her.
Jane
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