Parrotlets poop quite a lot—usually every 15-30 minutes. Managing this can be a challenging aspect of owning a parrotlet, as obviously anywhere the parrot goes will very likely end up with poop on it. While there are things you can try to keep its environment clean, these efforts won’t always work.
So, part of owning a parrotlet is being prepared to deal with its poop.
Most parrots poop very frequently, and even as small as parrotlets are, they still produce quite a lot.
While many swear that there are things you can do to manage this easily, it clearly does not take with all parrotlets.
Let’s find out more.
How much do parrotlets poop?
The short answer is a lot.
Parrotlets poop almost constantly, and though it’s in very small amounts, it is extremely frequent.
On average, parrotlets poop around every thirty minutes at the very least, and as much as every fifteen minutes at the very most.
This means that they are going to be pooping where they are any time that they are out of their cage.
It also means that you will need to change the lining of their cage very frequently, as they will dirty it up very quickly.
Your parrotlet may poop slightly more or slightly less than this, but they are going to poop very often no matter what.
There’s nothing you can do to change this.
This is how their metabolisms work—they eat a lot and poop a lot.
If you don’t own a parrotlet yet but are considering getting one, then this is something you definitely want to be aware of.
If you have already got one without realizing this, and are struggling to get to grips with the clean-up involved, then there are things you can do to make it easier on yourself.
But again, it’s important to manage your expectations.
Cleaning up after a parrotlet is an almost never ending job, and you’ve got to be ready for that.
How many times a day will they poop, then?
How many times do parrotlets poop a day?
So, based on the figures above, it probably will not be all that helpful to think about it in these terms.
Pooping like a parrot is not like it is for a dog or cat, where they may do it two, three, four times a day at most.
It’s a near constant thing.
They are constantly expelling waste throughout the day, in very small amounts.
Parrotlets are obviously very small animals, which means, as I said, they have very fast metabolisms.
They eat little and constantly, and they poop little and constantly.
So, again, if you’ve no experience with owning parrots, this is definitely a matter you want to educate yourself on before you make any commitments.
Again, when it comes to dogs and cats, it’s generally quite simple to tell when they want to poop, and you can let them out—or they just use the litter box of their own accord.
But how do you know when a parrotlet wants to poop?
How do you know when a parrotlet wants to poop?
There may be a couple of signs to indicate that your parrotlet is about to poop.
However, this again is not like dogs.
If your dog wants to poop, and it’s well trained, then it will wait and show you it wants to go outside.
Parrots, at least parrotlets for sure, will not do this.
Your parrotlet, for the most part, will show you it wants to poop by pooping.
Given the frequency with which they poop, it’s hardly surprising that they don’t wait to do it.
You might notice them start getting a bit antsy, perhaps climbing down from any perch they are on to go somewhere.
However, there’s really no guarantee of this.
Larger parrots might show more signs of wanting to poop, but small parrots simply poop with too much frequency for this to be a thing they can really do.
You’ll know your parrotlet wants to poop when it poops.
So, can they control it?
Do parrotlets control when they poop?
Parrotlets cannot really control when they poop, no.
Again, given the frequency with which they do, and the small amounts in which they do, it would not be an economical use of active brain or muscle power to control their poops.
They would have to focus on it constantly.
That said, they aren’t completely without agency in the matter.
As I said, they might climb down from where they are or they might go somewhere more appropriate to poop—if you’re lucky.
For the most part, though, your parrotlet will just poop wherever it is.
They don’t think about it or control it, it just happens.
When you poop that much, you really need it to be an almost involuntary act.
So, is it at all possible to “potty train” a parrotlet?
Can you teach a parrotlet where to poop?
The simple answer is no.
Again, if you’re looking into getting a parrotlet and you don’t already own one, then it’s best to go in thinking that your parrotlet is going to poop everywhere.
You’ll have to manage it some other way. Again, you need to manage your expectations, and the vast majority of parrotlets cannot be potty trained.
It’s important to remember in general that, with any parrot, you are not getting a domesticated animal.
Domestic parrots are tamed from birth—they are not a domesticated species.
Dogs, of course, still need to be trained from a young age, but they are astronomically more receptive to such training.
Parrotlets will do their own thing, for the most part. So, no, in most cases, you can’t teach them where to poop.
That said, many parrotlet owners do report that they can train their parrot to poop in a bucket or otherwise designated point in the room.
Others simply follow them around with a bucket while they are playing out of their cage.
Again, just manage your expectations.
How do you manage a parrotlet’s poop?
There are, of course, other ways to manage a parrotlet’s poop.
The simplest way is just to place perches in specific areas, and have those areas surrounded with newspaper.
When they are free flying around the room they will gravitate to these perches, and so most of their poop will end up on the newspapers.
Of course, this effectively means giving up an entire room to them.
They like to perch on things like TVs, and this naturally will end up getting pooped on if they do.
Again, owning a parrot, even a tiny parrotlet, is a big commitment that’s very different from owning any other pet.
Managing their poop is a pretty big job, no matter how you look at it.
Do parrotlets pee?
Parrotlets do pee, but this is not a separate act to their pooping.
Parrots lack a bladder of any kind, and they pass what is called uric acid.
This goes from the kidneys to their cloaca.
This mixes their liquid and solid waste and it is expelled together.
In other words, your parrot poops and pees at the same time.
So, if you weren’t already sure of the level of clean-up involved in owning a parrotlet, this just adds an extra layer to it.
Your parrot not only poops every fifteen minutes, but pees at the same time.
It is not my intention to put you off owning a parrotlet—but this is one aspect you need to be prepared for and have no delusions about.
Do parrotlets poop when they take off?
Parrotlets certainly will sometimes poop when they take off.
They don’t necessarily do this, but the fact is, as I said, that they don’t have a great deal of control over when they poop.
It just happens wherever they happen to be.
So, in this way, they can frequently poop as they are taking off or even while they are flying.
Taking off and flying can sometimes trigger it, but either way, it’s a statistical likelihood—if not a certainty—that they will poop while flying around their room at some point.
One way or another, then, dealing with your parrotlets poop is going to be a big part of owning it.
Despite their size, they’ve got a lot of waste you’re going to need to deal with.
Most parrot owners tend to just accept their fate, and prepare areas where the parrotlet can go, poop where ever, and be easily cleaned afterwards.
There’s no harm in trying to “potty train” your parrotlet, but there’s no guarantee it will work!