Normal Poop or sick?

Kermiekerm

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Feb 13, 2023
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12
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Alexandrine Parrot
Green Cheek Conure
Lorikeet
Fischers Lovebird
Ok, so recently I have noticed a change in my Green Cheek Conure's poops. I'm unsure if this is bad or not as this is my first time dealing with an issue like this. I've been researching about bird poop in hopes to find out whether or not he is healthy or not as his poops have gone more watery and slimy looking. If this is a problem I'm hoping to find out if it's bad or not as soon as possible to prevent it from getting worse.

Yesterday morning in the first few hours he woke up I noticed his poop looked more clumpy and not well shaped as his usual ones.
poop1.jpg


Since I was unsure if he was sick or not I decided to isolate him to prevent him from if he is sick, possibly infecting my other parrots.
Since I didn't have anymore spare cages I had to resort to putting him in a pet carrier, I made sure to give him his usual pellets and a bowl of water and a toy to keep him occupied. I know it's unethical but I do not want to risk the other parrots getting infected if he is sick.

The last poop I documented yesterday was this watery poop before bed.
poop2.jpg


And then there's the poop he did this morning.
poop3.jpg

Please let me know what you all think about if his poops are healthy or not. I'm really worried about him since these aren't the normal poops he usually does. I just wish to be certain whether I should get him checked at the vet or not.
 

texsize

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I No expect on poop.
But I know it can vary in color depending on what was eaten
The brown looks normal if a large part of his food is pellets.
Mine eat Zupreem nut blend and itā€™s brown. Brown brown coming out.

First poop in am can be extra large. The fact that itā€™s not well shaped IDK.

as far as liquid goes the white portion seems small for the amount of solids.

I guess based on the liquid part I would get a blood test and check liver/kidney function.
Just my opinion.
 
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Kermiekerm

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Feb 13, 2023
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Lorikeet
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I No expect on poop.
But I know it can vary in color depending on what was eaten
The brown looks normal if a large part of his food is pellets.
Mine eat Zupreem nut blend and itā€™s brown. Brown brown coming out.

First poop in am can be extra large. The fact that itā€™s not well shaped IDK.

as far as liquid goes the white portion seems small for the amount of solids.

I guess based on the liquid part I would get a blood test and check liver/kidney function.
Just my opinion.
Alright. I'll quickly book him an appointment for sometime during the week. I feel it's best to give him a check up even if he is fine.

He does eat a natural blend of pellets so his poops are usually a light brown like his food. But usually its all in one piece and not liquid. I'll update soon once I get home of how his poops look like just to check if he's gotten better overtime.
 

DonnaBudgie

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Jan 24, 2023
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I No expect on poop.
But I know it can vary in color depending on what was eaten
The brown looks normal if a large part of his food is pellets.
Mine eat Zupreem nut blend and itā€™s brown. Brown brown coming out.

First poop in am can be extra large. The fact that itā€™s not well shaped IDK.

as far as liquid goes the white portion seems small for the amount of solids.

I guess based on the liquid part I would get a blood test and check liver/kidney function.
Just my opinion.
You really should line the cage with white paper towels if you want to evaluate the color and consistency of the poops. That said, the color of these poops looks normal- green to brown with white. The fact that it has a lot of liquid may just be because the bird ate wet food (veggies or moist food like cooked rice or pasta) or drank more water than usual. My understanding of bird droppings is that the bird's urine (the liquid and white part) and the feces (the green/brown part) both come out the same hole at the same time. The wetter the diet the more liquid. If the green/brown part is "formed" (semi-solid), the bird doesn't have diarrhea but if the green/brown part itself is liquid, that's diarrhea and is not normal. If a female bird is laying eggs, has recently laid eggs, is incubating eggs or is about to lay eggs she stores up her poops so she doesn't need to leave the nest box to poop very often. Her poops become alarmingly huge and wet and when she poops she almost looks like she's laying an egg. She squats and wiggles her bum when releasing the load outside her box. Healthy hens don't poop in their box.
I think your bird's poops look pretty normal. Is he eating normally? Kidney disease tend to kill a birds appetite. A bird with real diarrhea probably isn't going to be eating normally either. Is the bird behaving normally? Very sick birds don't behave normally. Is the bird drinking a lot more than usual? I googled bird poop images and found a picture chart that showed what various normal poops look like compared to poop from birds with various illnesses like kidney disease and liver disease. The range of normal appearing poops is pretty broad. Try googling pet bird poop images and try to find a chart like this. Obviously if you are very concerned you should bring your bird to an avian vet.
 
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Kermiekerm

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You really should line the cage with white paper towels if you want to evaluate the color and consistency of the poops. That said, the color of these poops looks normal- green to brown with white. The fact that it has a lot of liquid may just be because the bird ate wet food (veggies or moist food like cooked rice or pasta) or drank more water than usual. My understanding of bird droppings is that the bird's urine (the liquid and white part) and the feces (the green/brown part) both come out the same hole at the same time. The wetter the diet the more liquid. If the green/brown part is "formed" (semi-solid), the bird doesn't have diarrhea but if the green/brown part itself is liquid, that's diarrhea and is not normal. If a female bird is laying eggs, has recently laid eggs, is incubating eggs or is about to lay eggs she stores up her poops so she doesn't need to leave the nest box to poop very often. Her poops become alarmingly huge and wet and when she poops she almost looks like she's laying an egg. She squats and wiggles her bum when releasing the load outside her box. Healthy hens don't poop in their box.
I think your bird's poops look pretty normal. Is he eating normally? Kidney disease tend to kill a birds appetite. A bird with real diarrhea probably isn't going to be eating normally either. Is the bird behaving normally? Very sick birds don't behave normally. Is the bird drinking a lot more than usual? I googled bird poop images and found a picture chart that showed what various normal poops look like compared to poop from birds with various illnesses like kidney disease and liver disease. The range of normal appearing poops is pretty broad. Try googling pet bird poop images and try to find a chart like this. Obviously if you are very concerned you should bring your bird to an avian vet.
I've been giving him sprouts and pellets lately and adding veggies only when I have some available. I give him fruits when he's in the aviary so he doesn't mess my walls with fruit juice but as he was inside at the time of those pictures I hadn't given him fruit that day. He was drinking and eating normal amounts as he would every other day and it's just his poops completely changed although I hadn't changed up his diet. His poops with that exact diet tend to be semi-solid, but some of the poops I hadn't taken a picture of were just liquid. I'll definitely get him checked at the vet most likely tomorrow just to make sure he's not suffering anything severe.

His behaviours have changed a bit. He used to be really cuddly and friendly but now he's highly aggressive and throws tantrums every time I try putting my hand near him. I'm unsure if that's related though since I did think that was just hormones but I could be wrong.
 

DonnaBudgie

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You really should line the cage with white paper towels if you want to evaluate the color and consistency of the poops. That said, the color of these poops looks normal- green to brown with white. The fact that it has a lot of liquid may just be because the bird ate wet food (veggies or moist food like cooked rice or pasta) or drank more water than usual. My understanding of bird droppings is that the bird's urine (the liquid and white part) and the feces (the green/brown part) both come out the same hole at the same time. The wetter the diet the more liquid. If the green/brown part is "formed" (semi-solid), the bird doesn't have diarrhea but if the green/brown part itself is liquid, that's diarrhea and is not normal. If a female bird is laying eggs, has recently laid eggs, is incubating eggs or is about to lay eggs she stores up her poops so she doesn't need to leave the nest box to poop very often. Her poops become alarmingly huge and wet and when she poops she almost looks like she's laying an egg. She squats and wiggles her bum when releasing the load outside her box. Healthy hens don't poop in their box.
I think your bird's poops look pretty normal. Is he eating normally? Kidney disease tend to kill a birds appetite. A bird with real diarrhea probably isn't going to be eating normally either. Is the bird behaving normally? Very sick birds don't behave normally. Is the bird drinking a lot more than usual? I googled bird poop images and found a picture chart that showed what various normal poops look like compared to poop from birds with various illnesses like kidney disease and liver disease. The range of normal appearing poops is pretty broad. Try googling pet bird poop images and try to find a chart like this. Obviously if you are very concerned you should bring your bird to an avian vet.
I read that the color of the liquid urine part (the wet ring on the paper towel) is very important- that's why you MUST collect the droppings on white paper towels. Healthy bird urine is clear and almost colorless. The urate portion should be chalky white or off-white. Any yellow or greenish or brownish tint to the urine part is not normal and can indicate kidney or liver disease. Obviously bloody looking urine or feces is NOT NORMAL, unless the reddish tint is from something in the birds diet like berries or from a food coloring or ingredient in a pelleted diet. Bird poop shouldn't have a bad odor. A birds digestive system is very rapid and unlike in mammals the food passes through too quickly to ferment and develop a foul odor. Stinky fresh parrot poop is NOT normal. If your bird is not living in an outdoor aviary where it can be be exposed to wild birds and wild animals, and isn't exposed tookay!er pets including other birds that can possibly carry parasites, a pet parrot is not likely to get a parasitic infection. At vet can look at the poop under a microscope to identify parasitic infections. Put some white paper towels in the cage tray. Take out the grate if you can so the poops don't get distorted or stick to the grate and catch his poops for a couple days. Take photos of the fresh poops and make a food and water diary. Put the labeled poopy paper towels in zip lock bags and store them in the fridge so you can bring them to the vet if you're still concerned. A vet can tell a lot about a bird's health from it's poops. Include in the diary any observations of the bird's behavior, too. I hope your birdie is okay
 

DonnaBudgie

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I've been giving him sprouts and pellets lately and adding veggies only when I have some available. I give him fruits when he's in the aviary so he doesn't mess my walls with fruit juice but as he was inside at the time of those pictures I hadn't given him fruit that day. He was drinking and eating normal amounts as he would every other day and it's just his poops completely changed although I hadn't changed up his diet. His poops with that exact diet tend to be semi-solid, but some of the poops I hadn't taken a picture of were just liquid. I'll definitely get him checked at the vet most likely tomorrow just to make sure he's not suffering anything severe.

His behaviours have changed a bit. He used to be really cuddly and friendly but now he's highly aggressive and throws tantrums every time I try putting my hand near him. I'm unsure if that's related though since I did think that was just hormones but I could be wrong.
You know your own bird best. Time to see the doctor!
 
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Kermiekerm

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Feb 13, 2023
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12
Parrots
Alexandrine Parrot
Green Cheek Conure
Lorikeet
Fischers Lovebird
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I read that the color of the liquid urine part (the wet ring on the paper towel) is very important- that's why you MUST collect the droppings on white paper towels. Healthy bird urine is clear and almost colorless. The urate portion should be chalky white or off-white. Any yellow or greenish or brownish tint to the urine part is not normal and can indicate kidney or liver disease. Obviously bloody looking urine or feces is NOT NORMAL, unless the reddish tint is from something in the birds diet like berries or from a food coloring or ingredient in a pelleted diet. Bird poop shouldn't have a bad odor. A birds digestive system is very rapid and unlike in mammals the food passes through too quickly to ferment and develop a foul odor. Stinky fresh parrot poop is NOT normal. If your bird is not living in an outdoor aviary where it can be be exposed to wild birds and wild animals, and isn't exposed tookay!er pets including other birds that can possibly carry parasites, a pet parrot is not likely to get a parasitic infection. At vet can look at the poop under a microscope to identify parasitic infections. Put some white paper towels in the cage tray. Take out the grate if you can so the poops don't get distorted or stick to the grate and catch his poops for a couple days. Take photos of the fresh poops and make a food and water diary. Put the labeled poopy paper towels in zip lock bags and store them in the fridge so you can bring them to the vet if you're still concerned. A vet can tell a lot about a bird's health from it's poops. Include in the diary any observations of the bird's behavior, too. I hope your birdie is okay
I replaced the newspaper in the cage with white paper towels. Once I change it again I should be able to post it here as an update to see if overtime his poops go back to normal then put it in a zip lock bag to show it to a vet. He will be visiting the vet sometime this week just to check if his health is okay
 
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Kermiekerm

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Feb 13, 2023
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Alexandrine Parrot
Green Cheek Conure
Lorikeet
Fischers Lovebird
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I almost forgot to update. We took our conure to the avian veterinarian in our area. He's completely healthy. Turns out sometimes parrots just poop weirdly at times but this usually is only for one day. Because he's got a diet with all sorts of foods such as sometimes fruits, a few nuts, pellets, greens and veggies he'll sometimes just have an odd day where he does odd poops. He did have a massive normal morning poop followed with just his normal poops for the rest of the week and so on, which makes me think he did have a bit of trouble pooping for the day. Fortunately though, he's a healthy goblin and as I type this he is eating his greens.
 

Terry57

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What a great update, I'm so glad that he's healthy! I'm so glad you took him in, I know that eased your mind.
 

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