Diet change (diarrhoea)

Gemster

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Hi, I have changed my caique’s diet from an all seed diet to vegetables in the morning and pellets in the evening. For a few days now she has diarrhoea till she has pellets, i think it is because of the sudden change of diet but it has been going on for a while. On one day I only gave her pellets to rule out if she has any illness but she was fine. Is her poop going to return to normal?
 

charmedbyekkie

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It might help if you attach a pic of the droppings.
In addition, how did you clean the veggies and exactly what veggies did you give?
 
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Gemster

Gemster

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The ingredients include: parsnip, turnip, pepper, sugar snap, mange tout, carrot, broccoli, peas, corn and sweet potato, all cleaned under water. I don't have a photo at the moment but I will try upload soon.
 

Laurasea

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You shouldn't do a quick change like that. The gut flora has developed to digest one type of food, when you switch quickly the gut can't digest the food at first. Leads to problems like you are seeing. Do you offer seeds at all? It's best to have pellets in the cage at all times. You can give probiotics to help with diarrhea. Add to food only never put in water, or you can offer some live culture yogurt with no artificial sweeteners. If the stool doesn't improve best get a vet visit, could be yeast overgrowth, or bacterial infection from switching good so fast....hope your baby gets better quickly.
 
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charmedbyekkie

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Cairo the Ekkie!
Ok! A couple of thoughts.

I agree with Laurasea - shifting too fast could be a factor.

My other thought is that if you're describing it as diarrhoea, perhaps it's really just her not eating at all. Some birds dig through new food, but don't eat it. It's like only knowing PNW American food your whole life, and suddenly I feed you Singaporean food. You're likely going to reject it at first, not even knowing if it's ok to eat. Then you might poke around the food and maybe eat a tiny bit, but the flavours don't jive with you, so you reject it.

Last thought, I understand you clean with water, but don't know the specifics. Some birds are particularly sensitive to pesticides, dirt, etc. I typically soak all our veggies for a few minutes, rinse them, soak them again for a few more minutes, rinse them, soak, rinse, then double check for any dirt particles trapped in, say, leafy greens. Then I finally make the chop.

Final note, fresh food does make bird poop wetter than a mixed wet/dry diet or pure pellet diet.

Ultimately it's hard to say without a photo, but in any case, it's always good to bring your bird to an avian vet any time you have any medical questions. I know our vet is incredibly helpful, taking the time to answer all of our diverse questions. Hopefully your avian vet is too :)
 
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Gemster

Gemster

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Just to be clear, she only has diarrhoea when she has fruit and vegetables and at the moment her droppings are normal so if she has diarrhoea tomorrow I will try and get a photo in the morning.
Since the diet change did cause it, what should be her diet plan at the moment?
If I may add, she has everything normal than her occasional diarrhoea. She whistles and dances, still loves to chase my other birds.
 

Laurasea

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Fruits and veggies do make stool watery, that is normal. It doesn't mean there isn't an issue though. Go very light on the fruit, and always have pellets available.
 
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Gemster

Gemster

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I have a photo to post although I am having trouble posting it. Is there any other way to post?
Also should I continue feeding her the same? Vegetables in the morning and pellets all through the day?
 

Scott

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