Potty-Training your Pet Lory

In order to begin potty-training your lory, I recommend that you either make or purchase a perch for your bird. This perch should have attachments for both a food bowl and a water bowl. These containers should be easily removable so cleaning is a simple task. The perch should be situated near a wall which has been covered with plastic, in a location in your house where everyone is likely to be found on a regular basis, such as the kitchen. Do not put any toys on this perch; it should not be a jungle-gym for your bird. Instead, this perch will serve as a "poop station" and a place for your bird to have ready access to food and water.

You must train your bird to stay on the perch before you can begin potty-training her. Since food and water will be located on the perch, this will not be too difficult. However, lories are very curious, so your bird may be more interested in investigating the world than staying on the perch. When the bird leaves the perch, pick her up and place her on the perch again. When she is actually sitting on the perch, praise her. If she jumps off the perch, don't say anything when you scoop her up. Don't pet her. Just gently replace her on the perch and THEN praise her, pet her, and perhaps give her a favored treat. The difference in your attitude will be sufficient for her to realize that she wants to be on her perch because she is rewarded by seeing you transform into an animated and affectionate person when she is there. However, once the bird is on her perch, do not leave or go into another room because she will undoubtedly leave her perch again and come looking for you.

After you have succeeded in training the bird to stay on her perch, you can then begin potty-training her. You must watch the bird in order to determine several things; how frequently does she poop? What behaviors does she exhibit before she poops? (for example, most lories will become nervous and then they will crouch slightly prior to pooping). Make a point of becoming very familiar with these signs so you can consistently predict when she needs to poop.

Once you have learned how to read your bird's body language successfully, you are ready to begin with the actual potty-training. As soon as she poops (while on her perch), praise her and then take her off the perch and play with her for a few minutes. Don't get the bird TOO excited because excitement makes lories poop unexpectedly. Then, when she is nearing the time for her next-scheduled poop, place the bird on the perch and say "poop" or "go potty" or whatever phrase you like. When she poops, praise her, take her from the perch and play with her again. Repeat this until she learns what you expect of her. (This usually takes a few days of consistent work, lasting from 20 minutes to an hour per session, depending upon her state of mind and your patience level).

Once your bird has learned to poop while she is on the perch, she will give you a signal when she has to poop. For example, she might jerk her body slightly, she might get very nervous and run around on your shoulder rather than sitting still, or she might climb down your arm or fly off your shoulder and then poop on the ground. Her methods of clueing you in will depend upon the type of rapport that you develop with your bird, your personalities, and it can also depend upon the situation, too. One of my birds will fly off my shoulder if I am engaged in a conversation with someone. However, if I am alone, she will fidget nervously while sitting on my shoulder.

It will not take long for your lory to realize that she will receive attention and praise by pooping while on the perch -- rather than on you -- so you can then move on to more sophisticated training. I have trained my lories to poop anywhere (especially in a toilet, a trash can, or on a sheet of newspaper placed on the floor) while perched on my hand. I have also trained them to poop when I jiggle the hand that they are perched on, so I don't have to say things aloud such as "go potty" (this can sound silly when your in-laws are sitting there).

Always remember that your lory can learn many behaviors. The number and variety of these "tricks" are limited only by your own imagination and patience.