Kirby eating his poo

[sharonkirby]

does any ones bird ever eat their own poo? Kirby has been doing this now for a couple months on and off, not daily but now and then, his dried poo, i give him egg shells for extra calcium so I don't understand this and also his beak has been growing faster and i have had it trimmed a couple of times since august of this year.

 

[Corkscr.ew]

My bird did that. I didn’t think it was much of a problem, since he didn’t do it frequently. Maybe it would help to clean more frequently or keep him off the floor, but there isn’t really much to be done.

 

[sharonkirby]

My bird did that. I didn’t think it was much of a problem, since he didn’t do it frequently. Maybe it would help to clean more frequently or keep him off the floor, but there isn’t really much to be done.

I just feel like hes lacking something, he eats chop and Harrisons pellets. Hardly any seeds now, just once in a while.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

It sounds like he eats a great diet so it's probably just a "bad" habit. Animals often eat their own poop or other animals' poop, especially dogs. It only sounds gross to us but not to them. Bird poop won't hurt them unless it the poop from a sick bird. Scientists say that certain foods can't be properly digested, but the organisms in the gut do digest these foods so eating their poop allows them to "re-eat" the food in a more digestible form. I'm not saying that all animals that eat their own poop are lacking in the nutrients they get from their poop but evolution has resulted in most animals being willing to sample some.

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

From what I've read, birds generally don't eat their own poop in the wild. They do it in captivity because it's easier to get to. My Yvons will eat his poop even if I try to remove it. Captive birds be weird that way.

 

[Corkscr.ew]

From what I've read, birds generally don't eat their own poop in the wild. They do it in captivity because it's easier to get to. My Yvons will eat his poop even if I try to remove it. Captive birds be weird that way.

Yep. It's because wild birds are never forced to be in contact with their poop. Wild animals in captivity sometimes do very strange things.