Can Pigeons Be Potty Trained?

Potty training your pigeon is essential to keep your place clean and not to wash it every time it defecates.

Can Pigeons Be Potty Trained? You can potty train your pigeons by giving toilet training, using pigeon pants, and using the praise and scold method. They will not poop inside the house, and it will keep your place free from foul odor and germs. 

These birds can quickly learn these skills because of their great learning ability. 

How to potty train a pigeon?

Many people do not know that they can teach their pigeons and potty training is one of these things. Here are easy methods that you can use

Use Pigeon pants

You can make your pigeons wear pants as an initial step to train them. You must change and wash these pants every time they defecate.

When they always wear these pants, they think pooping only in one place is beneficial in their training. 

Using these pants is the easiest method to stop them from passing stool everywhere in the house. It is a pant made up of soft fiber containing a diaper in it.

You can buy these pants in several designs in standard size from any pet store according to your budget. 

You feel comfortable living with them when you make them wear these pants. It becomes easy to clean your house in a daily routine once a day and not to clean it repeatedly.

It is tough to remove the waste and thoroughly wash the carpet once it passes stool on it.

But putting up these pants also saves your carpet because it is tough to wash and remove the stains from the carpet daily. 

Soft fabric pants are most convenient for them because they feel comfortable wearing them.

Make sure the fabric does not have any stretchy material if you are not using cotton because it will slip from its position every time they move. 

You can use your old and clean shirt to make these pants because they do not develop irritation to the pigeon’s feathers.

In addition, you can beautify these pants by using ribbons of different colors. Use these attractive ribbons to make shoulder straps for birds to hold the pants, just like the belly belts.

Toilet training

Another easy way to teach them not to poop everywhere in your house is to make them toilet trained.

For example, if you do not want them to wear pants, then you can teach them with some extra effort to defecate in the bathroom. 

Observe the frequency of its pooping and estimate a range of time. Check if it is pooping more frequently after eating specific food because some food digest more quickly.

 Try to notice their body language before defecation when you notice the frequency of their pooping. For example, some of them bend their body in a specific way, so it is a clear indicator for you to understand. 

It will be easy for you to potty train them once you understand this sign. Set the alarm after recognizing its pooping routine. Set the timer to 8 minutes if it defecates every 12 minutes, and bring it into the toilet every 8 minutes. 

Use a board of rectangular shape and smooth to sit it onto this board. Pick this board and carefully place it on the commode in your toilet. Hold the pigeon in your hands and gently place it onto the board so that its tail does not touch the board. 

Command it to poop, and you will see it passing the stool according to your instruction. Once it clearly understands this activity, it will become alert before passing stool on any other place. 

Praise and scold method

You can make this a fun-based activity so that you and your bird both enjoy this process. Then, praise it by giving some extra food or snacks every time it does this activity on its own.

You have to show patience during this process because it can take longer in the case of some pigeons.

You can also scold them by specific vocal commands, hand movements, and gestures if they are not doing this activity according to your instructions. 

Do not make this process scary for them because they will not learn this training in fear.  

Why would you potty train a pigeon?

Potty training for your pigeon is essential to keep your place clean and free of smell. You become confident in binging it everywhere inside the house, even in front of guests, without fear of their defecation. 

To keep them inside

They frequently poop because they mostly consume a liquid or nectar-based diet. You feel embarrassed when they poop in front of your guests, so you can not introduce them to your guests. 

It is essential for their free movement in the house, even in front of the guests. When they understand, they will not poop everywhere in the house, and you can bring them even in your bedrooms.  

To keep the place clean

They eat continuously, and they cannot store enough food in their stomach. Moreover, they digest the food faster due to their high metabolic rate, so they have a natural urge to defecate after eating enough food.

These are the main reasons they frequently pass the stool everywhere in your house. When you make them potty train, it becomes easy for you to clean your house only once and in one place. 

Avoid smell and germs

Bad odor in your house affects the mood and quality of your work. Pigeons frequently poop, and their droppings contain a lot of bad smells.

You have to spray your house with air fresheners many times a day to reduce this smell which is an extra burden on your budget.

It is essential for you to train them to reduce this odor and to make you comfortable. Moreover, it is a good way to keep those family members safe who are allergic due to their germ-carrying droppings. 

Can all pigeons be potty trained?

These are intelligent birds, and they understand your instructions with little practice. Even they are used by the army to send messages due to their intelligence. 

You cannot teach all of their kinds to poop in a specific place; only those can be trained who are present by birth in your place. You can teach only those who are hand tamed and live like a family in your house.

Some of them learn this process quickly compared to others; it depends on your patience and consistency.

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