New Eclectus parrot parents

We have 5 months old Eckie male/female,is it normal for the male to eat their dry poop at the bottom of the cage? Feed back please

It's called coprophagia and in companion birds it usually indicates a deficiency of some sort in the bird's diet.....if your bird has not been seen bi an avian veterinarian recently, it would probably be a wise decision that you made an appointment for him, to determine the cause of the poop eating.....

Good luck.....

Cages should be kept clean enough that they don't really have access to their droppings. Is there a grate keeping them from walking around on the paper or whatever you are using to line the bottom of the cage? I have 25 plus years of experience with parrots and no I have never seen or heard of a well fed parrot eating their feces on purpose or on a regular basis. Accidentally, off a toy or pooping in their dish and getting into it that way yes, it happens but a bird should not be actively trying to eat their own droppings.

Eclectus are absolutely voracious eaters, most will out eat a macaw, not kidding. My smallest is my female Jillie and she can pack food away like you wouldn't believe! Their fresh food dishes are literally heaped in the morning and most days they eat everything! At 5 months old they really eat a lot so make sure there is plenty of fresh food available and keep the cage clean enough where he cannot access that stuff.

This is the reason I encouraged you to have the male and female in separate cages at this age in an earlier post you made. You really need to be able to monitor how much they are each eating. Females will sometimes keep the boy away from the food or force them to the bottom of the cage. I know you said "they get along" but you are not watching them 100% of the time. I would really hate to think that this boy is eating poop because the female is not allowing him to eat enough!

I agree that there is probably something missing in the diet. Are you aware that Eckies have a unique digestive tract and need about 70% fresh food like veggies, sprouts, and fruits? I have a friend who has an Eckie who gets a very upset tummy on too much dry food and will scream until he feels better (requires a change in diet and probiotics to fix it). Please do take him to the vet and get him seen, look specifically into the diet issue.

I have seen females of many species keep the males from eating, what Labell says has a lot of merit to it. If you absolutely feel you cannot separate them, try putting multiple food dishes, far apart, in the cage so while the female eats the male can eat without being chased.

I don't like to use the grates, but if you don't use them you really have to be on top of the cage cleaning every single day. I personally find the grate to add to the cleaning, and I like my birds to be able to go pick up the favorite bits of food that get dropped. One thing I do however is to make sure the "main perch" or wherever there is the most poop, is not near the dish, so the food doesnt drop onto poo.

Thanks everyone they sure keep me on my toes,their cage is big,wide & high with a grate constantly keeping an eye on them it's a good thing me & husband work at home. Theres 6 food bowls,2 water dish that I change 2 times a day & change the pads at the bottom pan every 2-3 days.We're taking derictions as we go,the Avian vet. checked their weight & a whole physical test the result is healthy the Avian vet. wants us to convert the bird's diet to Roudybush dry food to keep them healthy.We're waiting for the power washer we order so we can clean the grate & the whole cage.They sure eat a lot & poop a lot high maintenance but a joy to be a part of our family.They love their shower everyday & spreads their wings when the blow dryer is on to dry.