TOILET TRAINING

This photo was taken at the Vet and isn't what her current collar looks like.

Okay, I know this topic isn't a favorite for people, but for the owner of a bird that likes to be around us throughout the house, it is a critical topic. Diapers are out of the question. When I first had Beignet come to live with us we began toilet training. When she would go we would tell her good girl, DROP! Now that she has been with us 5 1/2 years, the message has sunk in. I will ask if she needs to drop before she leaves her cage and most of the time she either will, or will try very hard. Either way she gets a verbal reward. I've taught her that there appropriate places to Drop and they include anything porcelain (not the kitchen sink) or on her perches or in her house. Currently I would rate her 95% toilet trained. It is so nice when your pet knows proper toilet manners.

Beignet doesn't like us to watch, so I back up and give her a moment and then I hear the tell tale sign, a dropping sound in her house. She is such a well behaved girl.

Today was bath day and I had to take her collar off. We have built a removable collar that doesn't constantly have to be rebuilt. She is an angel when I'm taking it off, and very well behaved when it has to go back on. I have the process down now so that I can do it by myself. Beignet LOVES her bath so we gave her time to preen her feathers before and after her bath. She was so happy, and didn't complain too bad when it was time to wear the collar again. She has finally accepted that this is a way of life and has become a happy bird again.

Our only problem with the collar is that it is a bit heavy and it uses her energy to wear it. She is woefully thin and we are eager to get it off her and get her fattened up. Despite her grueling year in a collar and with four surgeries, she is a light in our life.