Poop question, not sure this is normal?

[frlrubett]

Have owned my Senegal Parrot for 18 years and owned birds for years before that. Never have really researched how to look after a bird because I grew up with Parrots and do not seem to have got things wrong in the past. Know all the big NOs and seem to be doing ok so far.

Since this COVID in Europe I have started to study Parrot keeping a bit more so I can improve my skills and one topic that is covered a LOT is Poop. Have always paid attention to the poop, its not seemed to change expect when he's been eating red fruits and on a few occasions it has been quite "unconsolidated" but I have never been worried as it clears up in 24 hours. I stuck some white paper down today just to check it out of curiosity and have photographed the results.

I feed him on Kaytee exact pellet and small amounts of vegetable and have done for the last five years. A week ago I started giving him a pinch of sunflower seeds as I had to use some up and he seems to LOVE them, normally if he loves something I feel its bad for him! He has recently gone into moult and is 'flirting' quite a bit with me, hormonal. This is all normal.

I attach some pics of poo, is this normal poop? This is taken immediately after it drops. Bird is happy, chirpy, lively and I do not believe he is exhibiting any signs of illness but after reading the "what to look for" the urine part looks a bit yellow?

Might be being extra cautious but if so that is positive so I know that this poop is the normal and deviation from this is a sign of health issues. Thanks for your help.

 

[noodles123]

Without knowing your bird's typical poop, it is hard to say. Yes, their poop can change based on diet. For SOME birds, the yellow urine shown here could be an indicator of problems IF it is not typical...If your bird has been to the vet for blood-work at some point recently and everything checked out, you have less to worry about.

If this is not normal looking and it continues, you probably want to consult a vet-- but it has all 3 parts (urine, urates and feces) which is good, and I don't see any seed chunks or major bubbles (which can both be red flags). All of my questions relate to the yellowish color of the urine (which may or may not be normal for your bird), and the size of the droppings. Also- the fact that it sat on a towel means that the color from the feces could have blended with the poop, but AGAIN- if you haven't ever had blood-work done, you should (for any bird).

^If your bird has never had blood work, EVEN IF POOP IS NORMAL- that is something that should happen every few years (for any bird- even those in PERFECT health)...because they can have long-term issues that go undiscovered without blood-work.

If it continues and it isn't typical, I would take your bird to a good avian vet (just to be safe)--and if it is normal but you haven't taken your bird for testing, I would get testing. Poop can be one of the earliest indicators of trouble, but at the same time, sometimes stress or dietary change can also cause a strange couple of droppings.

 

[Ivan.Vanca]

you have to watch the poops for a longer time.... Occassional poops of such image are normal, this is probably due to diet. You can put the poops on checking on parasities and bacteria.... Watch it for a longer time.

 

[frlrubett]

Without knowing your bird's typical poop, it is hard to say. Yes, their poop can change based on diet. For SOME birds, the yellow urine shown here could be an indicator of problems IF it is not typical...

This is the thing.... I have used newspaper for years as bottom of cage. It was out of curiosity that I used white paper to have a look.

 

[noodles123]

You should look at it daily---very important-- just as you did....

 

[frlrubett]

You should look at it daily---very important-- just as you did....

Yes am closely monitoring this. He does pick out the yellow pellets in his food, leaves the red ones always.

 

[frlrubett]

Attached was this mornings collection of poop, maybe this thread could help someone else so will update things as it progresses. There seems to be less yellow and more clear urine now. I might have an idea about how it seems so yellow, the paper I used yesterday was watercolour paper which seems to wick away the water leaving pigments... in this new pic I put some normal printer paper next to the watercolour paper and did not pick up the yellow urine as much...Silly me potentially.

I have removed the yellow pellets from his food to see if that has a difference and will re evaluate tomorrow. Bird still appear in fine health.

Have enquired about blood work with vet.

Thanks for the help.

 

[frlrubett]

So, might be getting to the bottom of the yellow urine. Ended up removing all the yellow pellets and left the green and the red ones. This was the resulting poo. See pic attached.

 

[noodles123]

I'm wondering if the little flakes. crumbs aren't falling in the wet poop and bleeding in their color after he goes. What kinds of pellets are they ?
If I feed Noodles blackberries her poop gets a purple-ish color, so dye could potentially do that internally, but if the pellets you use are common, maybe other people could tell you whether they have had shared experiences with color changing poop.

The fact that it changed with your pellet adjustment makes me think it is likely pellet related.

I still see some yellowish dried poop, but when poop is dry, you can't really judge it anymore--my bird's pee looks yellowish when dry too sometimes.

 

[frlrubett]

Its Kaytee Exact... I am going to continue monitoring this anyway to see how he goes and when COVID leaves Europe the vet will have him in for blood - thanks for that tip! When I started keeping birds, blood work was not something ever offered!

He also has a new cage (I started another thread about old cage + chewing the powder coat). He usually is very cautious of new cages and toys and today he was out while I was setting up the new cage. He knows the "cage" command so I instructed him and he flew straight over to the new cage and after two minutes went inside for a look around. No issues at all.

 

[noodles123]

He's probably fine--but chewing cages can be worrisome sometimes, so glad he isn't doing that as much

blood is good if he has never had it though-- that way, you can check on his liver etc (but I would say that about blood-work for ANY adult bird who hadn't had it in a few years--every 1-3 years is the recommendation and more if they are sick). I doubt he's sick, but he's probably due for blood if it's been many years.

You should look at the poop daily so you know what is "normal" for him and then you will be more aware when it looks strange.

 

[bigfellasdad]

the poop looks ok to me and as you suggest, the colouring is likely him chewing stuff. Food/drink passes so quickly threw them so its likely in this warm weather that the bird has been drinking plenty.

As for bloods, ive never had enzo done, after things have returned i think ill get that done. The CAV i use didnt seem to put a huge amount of importance on it, although he is the UKs top falconry CAV so i dont know if that leads him to a different attitude...

 

[frlrubett]

Thanks everyone for your help. After observation over quite a few days there is lots of different poo colours, related to the food eaten.

 

[patch]

Don’t worry, I had similar worries when I got my bird. His poop changes with his food. He prefers red and yellow foods so his poop is usually reddish. Despite his color preference, he will choose blueberries over strawberries every time.