African grey sick?

[scoman123]

Hi,

So on monday i noticed that one of his poops was black and very runny, after this his poops were very small & mostly white with a very small amount of dark green, after that some got to normal size but were a bright darker green, the after just keeping him on pellets the next day his poops were brown and normal looking.

Today however I have noticed that there were a few bigger ones which were just mush and no shape very runny.

His behaviour is normal and acting like his happy self, eating and drinking as usual. He is fed on harrisons pellets mostly and some vegetables although he is very picky.

I have posted some pictures below any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[LordTriggs]

I'd vote a vet visit to be honest for a quick check up. That first one looks definitely off to me and the others look a bit off too with the small stringy bits of poop

 

[SailBoat]

Yes, a Vet visit is a good choice whenever there is a rapid change in the colouration, mix and amount of liquid.

Remember, that what is going into the Parrot also greatly effects what is coming out. Targeting a diet defined for your specific Parrot species is very important. What one would choose to feed a Grey should be different then an Amazon in its percentages. Coloured pellets can have you at your Vet's Clinic as for no good reason, other than your Parrot elects to have all Red pellets one day and all Blue the next. Hence, I stay away from coloured pellets.

Assure that you are providing a diet defined for your Grey and that pellets are a part of the diet, but not the majority of the diet. Fresh foods need to be the largest segment with a well balanced dry base.

 

[EllenD]

The first thing you need to ask yourself when this happens with his droppings is "What has he eaten in the last 24-36 hours? Anything different?" If the answer is yes, then what was it that he ate? Was is something with a large water content, such as a piece of fresh fruit, or a large portion of fresh veggies? That alone would explain runnier than usual droppings...And as stated by Sailboat, if the pellets that he eats are colored/fruit pellets, then that can really cause a huge issue, as they do sometimes do strange things while eating that we aren't aware of, such as choosing to only eat blue pellets one day, which would definitely change the color of his droppings. So sticking to neutral-colored pellets, or "Natural" pellets instead of fruit pellets is a good way to ensure that you aren't running him to the Avian Vet for no reason all the time.

The next questions you need to ask yourself is "Is he acting any differently? Is he acting sick or off?" If he is at all lethargic/sleeping more than usual, staying fluffed-up for long periods of time, staying at the bottom of his cage, not playing or doing his normal, daily things that he usually does, if he's suddenly being much quieter than normal, if he suddenly refuses food or water, if any of these signs/symptoms appear along with the dropping changes, then this is immediate call for a trip to a Certified Avian Vet for at least a Fecal Culture to be done...

If his behavior/attitude/activity levels are all normal and nothing is different at all besides the color and/or consistency of his droppings, you can choose to wait 12-24 hours to see if his droppings normalize, and if they do then you know it was just something he ate...OR you can always be better safe than sorry and take him to his Avian Vet immediately for Fecal Cultures to ensure that he is not suffering from a GI Tract infection of some sort...It's always better to be safe than sorry in my opinion, however, if he's acting completely normally and the droppings are the only thing going on, I'd probably wait for 12 hours to see if they normalize, and if not then off to his Certified Avian Vet immediately...

 

[scoman123]

Hi, thanks for all the help. His pellets are not coloured ones and he hadn't eaten anything unusual, I took him to the vet as it had been going on for around 72 hours.

He also hadn't been to the vet in over a year and did need his nails trimming so we thought it would be a good idea to take him anyway. The vet said he looks brilliant, a good weight, feathers are good and beak looks brilliant & his breathing and chest is good although we did opt for a faeces test just to check nothing is wrong that we can't see and should get the results back in a week.

The good news is the insurance will pay for it so we've basically paid £35.00 for a check up and nail trimming which I don't think is bad at all.

 

[EllenD]

Hi, thanks for all the help. His pellets are not coloured ones and he hadn't eaten anything unusual, I took him to the vet as it had been going on for around 72 hours.

He also hadn't been to the vet in over a year and did need his nails trimming so we thought it would be a good idea to take him anyway. The vet said he looks brilliant, a good weight, feathers are good and beak looks brilliant & his breathing and chest is good although we did opt for a faeces test just to check nothing is wrong that we can't see and should get the results back in a week.

The good news is the insurance will pay for it so we've basically paid £35.00 for a check up and nail trimming which I don't think is bad at all.

That's good to hear...And I must say that those of us in the US are insanely jealous of you guys in the UK with "Pet Health Insurance" that is actually worth a damn, as that does not exist in our country...

 

[LordTriggs]

eh insurance here is 50/50 sometimes they pay out fine other times they drag their heels hard. We also seem to only have like 1 insurer for parrots

 

[Lidia]

Hello ! how is your parrot? tests ready?

 

[Tami2]

Great news, but I wasn’t worried. B/c you said he was acting fine. But, when unsure it’s always a good idea to get to the Vet.

Levi’s poop always reflects what he’s eaten or not. A lot of pellets it’s on the brown/beige side. Beets it’s purplish red, when he eats a lot of greens it’s greenish and so on.
When he drinks a lot & isn’t eating well it’s watery. (Also fruit yields watery stool) When he eats well he poops a lot and large. When he busy playing and not eating much it’s small. So, I’ll offer him something more desirable to get him to eat better.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, his poop lets me know what’s going on w/ him. I use it as a gauge.
It’s the same w/ us. What goes in gets digested and than the waste product comes out. If you eat a lot of red beets you know what I mean.

I’m glad he’s got you looking out for him & he is well. . . :heart: