Kiwi's having very unusual runny droppings. Need advice

[Kiwibird]

Last week Kiwi had a few unusually runny poops for about half a day, was a little lethargic in the morning, but felt better by afternoon and the poop went back to normal for a few days. Thinking it may have been a new kind of seed mix I got him recently that had something in it that disagreed with him, I switched him over to entirely to his grains mix for both feedings. For reference, he was getting seed mix and dried fruit in the morning (he's never really eaten fresh fruit), and the grains with veggies at night (I blend those and sneak them in his grains), as well as "birdie bars" I make myself of organic, bird-safe ingredients and some (healthy) table food. Today he is having the runny poops again. However, he is also having normal poops too. It seems to be he has a runny poop, and then one that is totally normal. He's pooped 7 times (I've been watching), and it has literally been every other poop is normal then abnormal. I have examined all his poops with a loupe and there is no undigested food in it (or any types of worms that I could see under 10x magnification). He is not displaying any other signs of illness either. His eyes are clear, ate a normal amount of food this morning, is not drinking excessively, no respiratory problems and has been up and active all day (shredding up a toy right now). I weighed him this morning, and he is 415 grams, so he is spot on with his typical weight.

To be fair, he has had a LOT more liquid in his diet these past few days because he's been getting the grains 2x a day, but I am still extremely concerned because this is the second time in under a week he's had abnormally runny poop. Naturally, we just got hit with a massive car repair bill last week. We are so broke right now, and I don't know what we are going to do if we have to take him to a vet. Here's some pics of the runny poo and the normal poo, to see what you all think is possibly a cause:

This was the first runny poop he had this morning:

This is a subsequent normal appearing poop he had about an hour later:

 

[SandyBee]

Ah the lovely difference s of poo. I would just keep watching and weighing him first. Especially if his diet has had a little more liquid than usual than its probably that. Also if he's had a shower or bath they can intake some water there which can lead to more watery poo. If any other signs appear than it would be time to look at going to the vet.

 

[MomtoPercy]

I agree with SandyBee. Percy makes majorly slushy poops after a bath LOL! He also eats LOTS of fresh veg and some fruit and his poop is typically much softer than Kiwi's depicted in the 2nd pic.

However, you know your bird (and his poop ) best and if you think there is something amiss or different, chances are you're right. It may be the diet (more water like you mentioned) or something else. Like Sandy said, keep watching closely and if anything changes, bring him to the vet.

Last thing - dried fruit will also cause runny stools. Has he always had dried fruit or is it a new addition to his diet? Watch out for too much sugar in dried fruit.

 

[SandyBee]

I can always tell what Bosley at last by his poop. Also I find Bosley has a morning bomb as he tends to drink some water before sleep time.

 

[Kiwibird]

Last thing - dried fruit will also cause runny stools. Has he always had dried fruit or is it a new addition to his diet? Watch out for too much sugar in dried fruit.

We've fed him dried fruit pretty much since we got him. He's a picky eater about produce. He gets dried mango and papaya every morning, and sometimes freeze-dried berries. We buy a variety that has no added sugar. He also gets daily baths because he goes in the shower with my husband AND typically takes a little bath himself in his dish in the afternoon.

I'm just concerned because I've never seen poops like this come out of him before. He usually has very consistent poops like the bottom picture, and if anything, just a little more clear urine surrounding the green and white if he's had a lot of moisture. These seem to be cloudy and I don't know if he has diarrhea thats mixing with his urine or if his urine is coming out discolored. I'm giving him until tomorrow, and if it's not improving, he's seeing a vet. There's an AV here who can see him and only charges $100 for an exam and fecal analysis.

 

[MikeyTN]

Hope the best for Kiwi if you ended up taking Kiwi to the vet tomorrow.

 

[jenphilly]

We had a similar experience with Loki right after he came home. He had tried to take a bath in his water bowl and it was like he was drowning himself, he ingested ALOT of water. Next day he had scary runny poops, we rushed him to the vet that afternoon... literally I was on the phone with the vet hopping around on one foot pulling boots on to get out the door...

Having too much fluids will cause poops to look like that and then they become more solid. But if it happens day after day I would be worried or you can't know for sure he had alot of fluids or like Loki drank his bath water... I would monitor his fluid intake and then tomorrow if his poops do not look normal, I'd call the vet.

 

[Kiwibird]

Thanks everyone! I'm still monitoring him. He seems normal- played all morning,took a nap, did a flashy/hormonal zon' dance and now he's playing with his toes (well, thats normal for Kiwi anyways). I have kept him on his perch for about 4 hours, so he has not taken in food or water in that time. However, he is still having watery droppings. I'm going to have to put him back in his cage soon though, because I don't want him to get dehydrated. I just wanted to see if his droppings firmed up if he fasted a few hours, which they didn't. Looks more and more like a visit to the vet is imminent I'm really worried, I would be heartbroken if anything happened to my Kiwi.

 

[jenphilly]

Loki had messy poops about two days so I will keep fingers crossed tomorrow Kiwis look better... keep us posted I'll be hoping for good news.

 

[SandyBee]

You are acting so quickly, please don't worry yourself sick.
A vet will be able to run the tests and find anything that needs to be treated. By acting so early your kiwi bird should be fine. Excessive urination is called polyuria and can be a sign of an infection, but can also occur to diet and stress and increased water intake. In the rescue where we got our bird from was a cockatoo with this and he was fine in all aspects otherwise.

Last year we took our amazon in for sneezing, and I told the vet I hope you tell me I just wasted my money. He said exactly that and it was just the end of winter and dry air. For Kiwi and you I hope it goes the same way. No one likes spending money that they didn't need to but its better than worrying.

 

[Kiwibird]

Maybe I am overreacting a bit. It does make me feel a whole lot better that other bird owners don't necessarily see that color and consistency of poop as a sign he's about ready to keel over. I know I took one look at it this morning and just about cried. Didn't help when I googled it all that came up seemed to be horrific infections or liver/kidney failure. I've had a knot in my stomach all day worrying I would have a bird on deaths door by tonight. I've been going through jewelry and gathering up anything I could haul down to the pawn shop if he was going to need a massive vet bill. But he seems to be totally "fine" except the poop.

He actually seem rather amused all day that I kept rushing over and examining his poo and is ravenously eating his dinner since I made him fast all afternoon. I'm just hoping he's ok in in the morning.

 

[SandyBee]

It's ok, I've had my fair share of worry over poops/ sneezes/ oh he looks tired tonight lol. It's amazing how these little feathered monsters steal our hearts.

The extra green you see in his poop is probably just where the urine has mixed with the feces.

I would continue monitoring and being dilligent as you are. It's probably better not to fast him to get accurate reading just watch what he's eating and drinking. When we got Bosley our DYH amazon I worried like crazy that he had liver/kidney issues. I had a blood panel done, so put my mind at ease. I suggest when you can afford one to get one done to get a baseline. All that being said I don't think you need to panic right now. Look up poopology on the Internet it's one of the better documents out there.

 

[MomtoPercy]

Don't feel silly about being worried about poop - it is a parront's curse . Remember when I rushed Percy to the vet complete with five stool samples, numbered and everything? Just to be told that (a) he's fine and (b) I'm a bit manic!

I do hope it is nothing serious but only a vet can confirm that and speaking from the experience of a hysterical, manic parront - it is such a relief to hear your vet laugh at you

Keep us informed and good luck with the vet.

 

[MomtoPercy]

Oh, one more thing. I've learned that consulting Google will give you heartfailure! The stuff I find on Google, terrify me and convince me that my fid has minutes to live

Much better to ask here where calmer, experienced parronts can offer real life advice

 

[Kiwibird]

Update: His poop seems to have gone back to the normal color overnight, but is still somewhat loose. He's at 417 grams this morning after breakfast and ate like a hog. Still looks and is acting overall healthy, so perhaps I've totally overreacted to this. Still going to be keeping my eye on him all day today. Thanks everyone for not writing me off as nuts during my freakout.

 

[jenphilly]

With birds, its never over reacting.... I am happy to hear things are better and you are a wonderful mom to notice and worry!!

 

[Terry57]

How is Kiwi today? Hoping he is still doing better

 

[Kiwibird]

Thanks for asking. His droppings are becoming more of what I'm used to seeing, with just a little more urine (which I think is due to his dietary changes). That watery pea-soup appearance is what terrified me. Still keeping a close eye on him though, but he seems to be healthy and happy. So long as he continues to act healthy and keeps up his healthy weight, I think once we "recover" a bit from this car bill, I'm going to take him in for a wellness check wether he needs it or not (I think his mommy needs it even if he doesn't lol). If the runny poops return for a third time, I will probably take him on an emergency visit to be safe. He as been on his alternate diet for about 10 days, so that should be time enough to regulate himself to the moisture change.