Pooping when she lands

[loud_lola]

My sun always poops when she lands on things. Is that normal?

A little background, she's about 10 months old and her wings were clipped when I got her but since then they have grown back. She only fly's very short distances, and if she does fly into the other room I usually have to bring her back within 15-20 ft of her cage and she fly's off my finger to her cage.

It's just this annoying behav that she has to poop every time she lands. When I get home I know she has been flying because I see poop on the table or fruit basket

I don't mind that she fly's around but is this something that goes along with having a bird with unclipped wings?

 

[Kalidasa]

She's young, so she gonna poop alot more than an older bird. Clipped or not she's going to poop as much as she needs to, because she's a bird.

 

[lquan]

I think your Sun is bit different than most birds. Birds usually poop the moment before they take flight, especially when something scares them. It is natural for them to loose all they weight they can so they can escape faster. My 10 months conure is the same; poops before taking flight when she get scared. I also notice that she poops less frequent as she grows older. However, mine is potty trained, she poops upon landing in designated areas only.

 

[BoomBoom]

When my sun conure was 3-6 months old and would attempt to fly (he came clipped from the breeder), he would also sometimes poop where he landed. I was advised by someone at this forum that as he gets older, he will have better control of his cloaca during landing. And he did!

To help him get used to pooping at the right time, let him poop before you think he might take off. Does he know the poop command? That is probably one of the most useful trick to teach our birds. Have a poop perch and take him there every 15 minutes to poop. Say 'POOP!' or whatever verbal cue you prefer, as he is pooping. He will associate the word with the action eventually. Verbally praise or give scratches when he does it. Don't reward with food though because you don't want him holding his poop in just to get food.

I commend you for allowing your bird to fly. When he gets older and his flight feathers grow in, he will have more control of his body in flight and during landing. The fact that he is clipped might be contributing to his lack of coordination and therefore puts a lot pressure on his bottom when he lands. Your bird is still learning to fly, he will get better at holding it in. Train him early in the poop command and learning designated poop areas and everything will be fine. Slowly but surely, take it a day at a time. Good luck and don't worry~!

 

[Megapixel]

My experience is completely different than lquan's but I know why.
My birds poop when they land. Not every time, not even most of the time, but if a poop happens it's far more likely that it will occur when the bird lands rather than just before take-off. My birds are not flighted and therefore they generally don't even attempt to fly except when startled.