jBurn801

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Sep 13, 2021
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Budgerigar
I noticed this morning that one of my budgies is pooping white and he's pooping more often than usual.

I cleaned the cage and I've been watching him all day.
He's been acting normal (singing, preening, eating, drinking, and playing). I've been observing his poop color throughout the day and a couple of hours ago it had some color to it but within the last hour or so it's turning to a solid white with a tint of yellow.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I don't have any avian vets around me unfortunately. Only a vet tech who has parrots herself. They will prescribe medicine for him if he needs it though. I'll try to attach a photo or two of what I've been observing.
 

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MrLaurieKeats

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Fang the cockatiel, Valentino the budgie (aka Fang’s wingman)
Welcome to the forums - I'm sorry that it is under these worrying circumstances however!

Is there any chance at all of getting him to an avian vet? Even perhaps by phone or online video consultation? Unfortunately none of us here (to the best of my knowledge anyway) are really qualified to give definitive medical advice. I don't know where in the world you are located, but the following link may help you to find an avian vet in your vicinity...


Birds are unfortunately very good at masking symptoms of illness, but poop is one thing they cannot hide! Keep him calm and warm in the meantime as maintaining body temperature takes a lot of energy if a bird is ill. This link might be handy to give you some tips on care and support for your budgie in the immediate term...


Hoping you can get some help for your little one soon - please keep us posted!
 
OP
jBurn801

jBurn801

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Sep 13, 2021
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Budgerigar
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Welcome to the forums - I'm sorry that it is under these worrying circumstances however!

Is there any chance at all of getting him to an avian vet? Even perhaps by phone or online video consultation? Unfortunately none of us here (to the best of my knowledge anyway) are really qualified to give definitive medical advice. I don't know where in the world you are located, but the following link may help you to find an avian vet in your vicinity...


Birds are unfortunately very good at masking symptoms of illness, but poop is one thing they cannot hide! Keep him calm and warm in the meantime as maintaining body temperature takes a lot of energy if a bird is ill. This link might be handy to give you some tips on care and support for your budgie in the immediate term...


Hoping you can get some help for your little one soon - please keep us posted!
Thank you. I found a place online that will do what they can over the phone but I'm currently waiting for them to actually contact me.

In the meantime I'm going to go get a full spectrum light to assist with vitamin D. The cage does get natural sunlight but I read somewhere that the windows filter out most of light that provides vitamin D.
I also turned off the air conditioner in case he is cold.
He's in a big aviary with my other two budgies and I've been thinking about taking him out and putting him in a flight cage so that he can rest peacefully. On the other hand I don't want him to be sad or lonely, especially since he doesn't act sick at all. He's just as active and playful as he always has been, he eats and drinks with no problems.

Thanks again for the response and I'll keep the post updated as soon as I have more information to relay
 

wrench13

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THe thing with windows is true. With air conditioning - the thing to avoid is the cold draft from the AC should not blow on him directly, but keeping a room AC'd is not in itself bad. With poops - if his poops have changed radically from the past , then there is reason for concern. If this is what they have always looked like , no problem.
 

LaManuka

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Good to know that you've been able to contact a vet :)

Regarding the provision of supplemental lighting, this is a discussion that is often had here. Many folks go and invest in lamps designed for reptiles to use with their birds but this can be problematic. While they are terrific for reptiles, they're not so great for birds and overexposure can cause sunburn, cataracts and blindness. They can also interfere with sleep cycles and metabolism as their light is constant rather than brightening or dimming like sunlight does naturally. I am by no means an expert on the subject but my good friend "Sailboat" is much more well versed on the topic...

Save your money for important things like bird toy!
STANDARD, LED daylight (or full spectrum) light bulbs is all you need!!!

This wonderful standard product, is a buy at any big box store or lighting store and they have them. It is important to look at average life of the bulb. The longer the stated life the more cost effective that bulb will be longterm.

Remember to not exceed the 'maximum' light bulb wattage of your light fixture, whether ceiling mounted or a simple lamp. Although the surface of the bulb of an LED light is bit cooler, the base is a bit hotter!

Consider having your ceiling lighting switch, upgraded to a 'dimmer' style as this will allow you to place the maximum light bulb for your fixture and you can reduce the overall brightness of the room as needed and as the day begins to end. The downside of LED Daylight bulbs is that whether it is 10:00 hours or 22:00 hours, you and your birds see it at 10:00 hours. Long story short, turn them back as nighttime arrives.

The overly expensive light are for reptiles not birds and can cause sunburn and loss of sight.

Or, for a much deeper dive into the subject...


Hoping that vet has contacted you by now and that your little guy will be ok!
 
OP
jBurn801

jBurn801

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Sep 13, 2021
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Budgerigar
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Thanks everyone for the help. I got him a full spectrum light bulb and hung the light fixture about 4 feet over the aviary. They seem to enjoy it. The threads from Sailboat were helpful.

Unfortunately the Vet that I ended up talking to said he'd have to refer me to someone else and that they'd contact me later but they have yet to get in touch with me.

I've been watching Little Bird all day and he still seems perfectly fine. The color of the feces has been getting a little darker throughout the day. I've been cleaning the cage multiple times and comparing the color with pictures I've taken.

I'm about to put the birds to bed and I'll check if anything has changed first thing in the morning.

If it continues to get worse I'm going to call a avian vet that is about 5-6 hours away from me and go from there.

Thanks again to each and every one of you.
 

Skarila

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✻RIP -Sunny the budgie
In this case, is there any chance just to send some dropping samples for tests/screening (whatever the right word is)? In this case the bird won't be stressed further from any vet visits, if the bird is not showing any signs of illness, then usually the samples of their dropping is taken and sent for the microbiological screening. Also I usually just drop by the samples to our vet for follow up or when I'm suspecting something.
I hope your birdie will be okay!
 
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jBurn801

jBurn801

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Sep 13, 2021
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Budgerigar
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Hey everyone, sorry for not responding sooner, it's been hectic around here lately. I thought I'd update everyone on Little Birds.

We have a aviary in a park around here where people can pay to go visit all sorts of birds so I went there and talked to some of the staff members. They looked at the pictures and asked about his diet or if he'd been scared or encountered trauma recently (which he hasn't).
They advised me to keep a eye on him and not give him so many greens for a couple days and see if the color of the poop went back to normal and it did!! He seems to be all better now.

I'm guessing it was a combo of me giving him to many green veggies and him eating them a little too much. I would constantly be putting in Kale, Romaine Lettuce, Bay Leaf, Dandelion, Spinach. I'd put them in one at a time all throughout the day. I'm not sure if that's the actual cause of it or not but he seems all better now.

In any case I want to thank you all for your help and suggestions. Just wanted to let you all know that he's all better now. 😌
 

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