Poopology



Outside of the blood work we do on each parrot we also do a poop test. This is very important as it shows us if the parrot is lacking from something or there is a problem that can be corrected with meds. In most cases we find a problem.

Early signs of illness are often not recognized; however, bird’s survival instincts have made them masters of disguise. In the wild a sick bird will attempt to maintain a normal appearance for as long as possible, so it is not shunned from the flock and become someone’s dinner. By the time any signs of illness are apparent, the bird may have been ill for some time.

While there are definite signs of illness it can still sneak up on you. Little things change over time that can be easily explained. Your bird may become grumpy, and you attribute it to hormones, moulting, or not enough sleep.

You ladies oughta love this one.







Observing the Bird droppings



You know your bird better than anyone. If something about their behavioral is sending red flags, go with your instinct, and consult with your vet. Note any changes you noticed so you don’t forget once you with the vet.

It’s very important to observe bird droppings. Number, volume, color and consistency should be noted. Watch for any decrease in the total number or volume, change of color, increased water content, decrease in feces with increased urates or an increase in urine.

Abnormal droppings



Keep a close eye on any abnormal droppings but don’t become overly alarmed at the odd color ones, as it maybe the result of coloring in foods that have been eaten such as beets or Pellets. A more watery dropping may be attributed to consuming a high water content piece of fruit. But if droppings are consistently not right for 24 hours, you want to consider calling your Vet.

If you are going to the vet, it’s always best to take the freshest sample of poop you can get. Wax paper works well with collecting the fecal matter. Line your cage the night before to catch the morning poop and the most recent as well.

We did a search and came up with this article that we thought could help you further.







Get into the habit of noticing your bird’s droppings



Hopefully your bird is quite healthy right now and this is the perfect time to practice poop observation. Use a plain print newspaper, white paper or wax paper on the floor of your birds cage so you can see the droppings clearly. Once you have an idea what healthy bird droppings look like you’ll have little trouble spotting the signs of illness later.

If you normally use pine shavings, corn cob, pellets or any of those other fancy floor coverings you will find it very difficult to keep an eye on the droppings. I don’t mind that you do use these materials but once a month or so you should switch to paper so you can note any unusual changes in the droppings.

What is all that stuff in the bird droppings?

Bird poop



This is actually quite remarkable in it’s own right because all forms of waste are expelled at once in one tidy little blob. There are 3 parts to that blob and you much learn to tell them apart of this article is to be of any use to you.

Urates



These are the crystalline section of the urine. This part will appear chalky white and has a consistency that isn’t really watery or solid. As close as I can describe the constancy would be good old Elmer’s glue, just not as adhesive.

Urine



This is the clear part and is like water. In fact it’s not much different than anyone other animals pee. Sometimes the Urine and Urates will mix and form a cloudy liquid, don’t be alarmed if you can’t always tell the two areas apart.

The Feces



This is the third part and it’s the only real solid part. It’ll be that tubular shaped section in the middle of the dropping. It may be straight, coiled, of even broken up in to smaller yet still tube shaped pieces.

Ew. This post makes me really, REALLY nauseous.

Gotta do what you gotta do to keep your birdies healthy!

Or you can just not get a bird…





Yeah… They seem pretty darn nasty.

And smelly too.







Normally inconsistent or consistently abnormal?



The one thing to remember with droppings is they will normally be inconsistent when healthy. This is due to the fact that a healthy bird will be eating a rich and varied diet. When ill the droppings will be consistently abnormal.

Color and consistency can indicate health problems.



Always remember that diet, stress and environment will have a natural effect on your birds’ droppings. In times of stress the droppings will naturally be more watery. This is due mostly to the birds fight or flight instinctual response. When in a panic birds will expel any waste in their system prior to taking flight. More Urine and Urates are produced than feces each day. If the stress is ongoing the majority of the droppings will have very little feces in them, if any at all.

You’ll also notice a lot more urine in the droppings if your bird is drinking excessively or eating foods high in water. Lettuce and fruits are very high in water and are the most common cause for watery droppings. Even birds that enjoy bathing frequently may have watery droppings because as they are preening off the bath water they will ingest some of it.

The color of feces may change from time to time depending what your bird has eaten recently. Seeds and green veggies will naturally produce green feces while blueberries and blackberries produce black feces. If you feed your bird a pellet diet the feces will often be the same color as the pellet if they are colored or a rusty color if they are not colored. If you think your birds feces looks wrong keep the diet simple (back to seeds) for a day and re-check. Thankfully the bird’s digestive system works very fast and you’ll have any odd food induced colors worked out of the body fairly quickly.







Urates (the chalky white part)



Green: Liver Disease or Anorexia

Yellow: Liver Disease or Anorexia

Brown: Lead Poisoning

Red: Internal Bleeding (low in the digestive track) or Kidney Disease

Increased Urates: Dehydration and possible kidney problems

Urine (the clear watery part)



Green:

Yellow: Liver Disease

Red: Internal bleeding (low in the digestive track), Lead Poisoning, Kidney Disease

Increased Urine: Drinking a lot, Eating foods high in water or Disease (often bacterial)

Feces (the solid tubular part)



Black or Tar-like: Internal bleeding (high in the digestive track)

Pea Green: Liver Damage

White or Clay color: Pancreas or digestive problems

Lumpy or Undigested food: Incomplete digestion, Giardia, hypermotile intestine.



Always remember to keep an eye out for worm segments in your birds’ droppings.

Diarrhea:



When a bird has Diarrhea the feces will be soft and will not be the typical tubular shape.

Polyuria



Polyuria is harder to spot in finches. With parrots the droppings will be extremely watery yet the feces will be intact. Finches don’t always exhibit the excessively watery droppings. Often the first sign that this illness is in your flock is when your finch drops dead suddenly. This illness is often fatal and has the most profound effect on young chicks.

The few chicks that do survive to adulthood often develop poor feathering and beak malformations. The only way to know if Polyuria is in your flock is with Veterinarians assistance. Polyuria may be caused by viral infection, stress, and kidney disease or poisoning.

Should the droppings smell?



No. Never. Healthy birds’ droppings have no noticeable odor if they are fresh. A fowl smell is often a sign of infection in the digestive track. Most commonly it’ll be a bacterial or yeast infection.

Now if the droppings have been sitting around and stay moist due to bathing birds or humidity then it is possible things will get a little smelly over time. If you clean your birdcage regularly this will not become a problem.

Oh, what to do…



Once you have a fairly good idea what is ailing your bird, you need to begin treatment. In some cases this is as simple as adjusting your birds diet. In other cases treatment with any hope of a cure isn’t possible. However, in extreme cases of kidney, liver failure or internal bleeding your bird may never recover. When in doubt always consult your local avian veterinarian.

When dehydrated, encourage your bird to drink or bathe. If that doesn’t work use foods like lettuce, fruit or even cooked rice to get extra water in to your bird. Do not pry open your birds beak and attempt to force water down its’ throat, this will almost always lead to aspiration and death.

The only time you can attempt this is with a crop tube and even then I do not recommend you put pure water in to the crop. Rather mix up a thin mixture of hand feeding formula so the bird is less likely to regurgitate and aspirate.