Help! Constipated Male Cockatiel?

[pinkpanther5]

My 16yr old male cockatiel has had noticable dropping changes during the past week and a half. I notice that he is pooping much less than normal although when he poops, the dropping appear to be mostly normal with some being pretty big. He goes for hours without pooping now and its not typical of him. His diet is mostly harrisons lifetime pellets, he never eats seeds or anything else. Behaviour wise he is like his normal self but evidently I think he is constipated? Have you guys experienced this?

 

[onamom]

Oh no! Has he been to the vet? Probably worth getting checked out.

 

[pinkpanther5]

Not yet but I am probably going to go. I saw that he pooped shortly before posted this reply so there is some temp sigh of relief. I just dont want anything drastic to happen before going to the vet. He does seem normal right now but constipated.

 

[Free as a bird]

My 16yr old male cockatiel has had noticable dropping changes during the past week and a half. I notice that he is pooping much less than normal although when he poops, the dropping appear to be mostly normal with some being pretty big. He goes for hours without pooping now and its not typical of him. His diet is mostly harrisons lifetime pellets, he never eats seeds or anything else. Behaviour wise he is like his normal self but evidently I think he is constipated? Have you guys experienced this?

16 years that's an old tiel.
Has he always had a pellet diet?

In the wild cockatiels eat mainly seeds, their beaks are specially design to dehusk seeds. For that reason I feed my tiels mainly seed mix.
Natural, unprocessed and organic.
I try feed them veg, they like rice, bread and potato the most.

 

[pinkpanther5]

He's, always pelleted. Only had organic stuff. 16 with proper care is older but not deathly old in captivity.

 

[Niner10Tango]

I give my cockatiel Roudybush pellets mixed with a cockatiel seed bleed such as Higgins. Higgins does have a probiotic mixed with the seed blend. I also give him carrot/pea mash..

Diet is important. Have you tried introducing like romaine lettuce, cilantro, or even the carrot/pea mash? You can find mash blend in the forums.

My little guy will be 12 years old in October. Sometimes when he gets in his hormonal phases, he will hold his droppings and let one big squirt out. My vet told me that it was normal and some cockatiels just do it when others don't. Has your cockatiel displaying any kind of hormonal behaviors such as rubbing his vent on a perch?

 

[pinkpanther5]

I give my cockatiel Roudybush pellets mixed with a cockatiel seed bleed such as Higgins. Higgins does have a probiotic mixed with the seed blend. I also give him carrot/pea mash..

Diet is important. Have you tried introducing like romaine lettuce, cilantro, or even the carrot/pea mash? You can find mash blend in the forums.

My little guy will be 12 years old in October. Sometimes when he gets in his hormonal phases, he will hold his droppings and let one big squirt out. My vet told me that it was normal and some cockatiels just do it when others don't. Has your cockatiel displaying any kind of hormonal behaviors such as rubbing his vent on a perch?

I tried broccoli 2 days ago but he wouldn't touch it. Evensome flax seeds and he would not touch it. He is trained on harrisons pellets only. I'm going to really go strong and try putting it every vegetable. Maybe chopping it helps?

 

[onamom]

Maybe chopping it helps?

Many of us make "chop" a mixture of chopping up veggies. Here are some recipes: https://www.parrotforums.com/threads/chop-recipes-resource-thread.91664/ Easiest if you make it with a food processor. I make a large batch and freeze it in an ice cube tray. I get out a cube the night before and serve in the morning.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

He's, always pelleted. Only had organic stuff. 16 with proper care is older but not deathly old in captivity.

I had a budgie live to be 13 who never ate anything but budgie seed mix because that's all he would eat, but back then I didn't try hard enough. He finally died of kidney failure. He always had the very best care from top avian vets in Los Angeles. His vet asked if he could necropsy him after he died so he could learn from examining the insides of a such a "geriatric budgie" (his words) and of course I obliged.
I guess the seed vs pellet vs varied diet debate goes on.

 

[Niner10Tango]

I tried broccoli 2 days ago but he wouldn't touch it. Evensome flax seeds and he would not touch it. He is trained on harrisons pellets only. I'm going to really go strong and try putting it every vegetable. Maybe chopping it helps?

Just be careful with some veggies. Start out with peas and romaine lettuce and yes, chopping does help. Iceberg lettuce has no nutritional value. I mix seed with my pellets. I usually will put about 30% pellet and the rest seed. I consider myself very lucky because my bird will eat or try anything. I give the veggies separately in a different bowl. The carrot/pea mash a few times a week. Many cockatiels do have a stubborn streak and will only eat what they are used to. I had a female lutino years ago and she was a seed junky. When it came to pellets, she wouldn't touch it.

 

[Niner10Tango]

I had a budgie live to be 13 who never ate anything but budgie seed mix because that's all he would eat, but back then I didn't try hard enough. He finally died of kidney failure. He always had the very best care from top avian vets in Los Angeles. His vet asked if he could necropsy him after he died so he could learn from examining the insides of a such a "geriatric budgie" (his words) and of course I obliged.
I guess the seed vs pellet vs varied diet debate goes on.

Your so right about the seed vs. pellet debate. My vet even told me that birds in a way are like people. They have their own personalities and when it comes to the diet, they know what they like and don't like.

It's amazing that you had a budgie that lived 13 years. You are a great caregiver.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Your so right about the seed vs. pellet debate. My vet even told me that birds in a way are like people. They have their own personalities and when it comes to the diet, they know what they like and don't like.

It's amazing that you had a budgie that lived 13 years. You are a great caregiver.

I probably spent $5,000 on medical care for that one special budgie and that was from 1987-2000- it would cost twice that today! During his 13 year, lifetime he suffered a fractured wing, a testicular tumor, and kidney failure that he took three years to die from. In and out of the vet hospital for days at a time undergoing various treatments necessary to keep him alive. Fortunately, at the time I made quite a bit of money so I never hesitated and it didn't put me in to debt.
It's amazing the level of care a certified avian vet in a major metro area in the US can provide if money is no object.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Not yet but I am probably going to go. I saw that he pooped shortly before posted this reply so there is some temp sigh of relief. I just dont want anything drastic to happen before going to the vet. He does seem normal right now but constipated.

Are his poops dry?

 

[pinkpanther5]

Are his poops dry?

Yes they are quite dry. I posted a pic in another thread but I will post it here too:

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Yes they are quite dry. I posted a pic in another thread but I will post it here too:

I already commented on these poops in the other thread. They don't look too dry to me but it's hard to tell without touching them. If they're soft, they probably aren't too dry. If he doesn't eat wet food his poops will be drier. If he only eats pellets his poops will be drier. If he doesn't drink much water they'll be drier. Do you ever see him drinking? Cockatiels are adapted to dry climates in the wild so their kidneys are good at conserving water. Same with budgies.

 

[Free as a bird]

I probably spent $5,000 on medical care for that one special budgie and that was from 1987-2000- it would cost twice that today! During his 13 year, lifetime he suffered a fractured wing, a testicular tumor, and kidney failure that he took three years to die from. In and out of the vet hospital for days at a time undergoing various treatments necessary to keep him alive. Fortunately, at the time I made quite a bit of money so I never hesitated and it didn't put me in to debt.
It's amazing the level of care a certified avian vet in a major metro area in the US can provide if money is no object.

That budgie was a fighter. It's a shame the vet costs so much but. I took one of my tiels in recently. The vet looked at it for 10 minutes and charged me an amount that takes me over 3 hours to make. The vet found nothing wrong anyway which is what I suspected. It's really turned me off vets, I simply can't afford them 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[Free as a bird]

He's, always pelleted. Only had organic stuff. 16 with proper care is older but not deathly old in captivity.

I wouldn't call pellets organic. They're certainly not natural or unprocessed.
Have you tried giving him some seed?
Maybe needs more fibre in his diet

 

[mybluebirb]

My 16yr old male cockatiel has had noticable dropping changes during the past week and a half. I notice that he is pooping much less than normal although when he poops, the dropping appear to be mostly normal with some being pretty big. He goes for hours without pooping now and its not typical of him. His diet is mostly harrisons lifetime pellets, he never eats seeds or anything else. Behaviour wise he is like his normal self but evidently I think he is constipated? Have you guys experienced this?

yes! I actually experienced this with my parrot recently! I was worried because her weight was a little higher than usual and I thought she might be having another infertile egg (which I didn’t want to happen). Have you weighed him? I advise weighing him often and writing the weight and date down to keep track My parrot eats the same pellets as yours!
When my parrot was constipated her tummy was rounder than usual, I couldn’t feel her keel bone properly and her droppings were different (like the ones in your pic) hence why I thought she was going to have another egg, so I took her to the vet. Thankfully it was all good and by the time I came back and weighed her again her weight was back to normal! She nervous pooped it all out cos she hates the vet and wasn’t constipated anymore lol PHEW