vent of parrots opening and closing

[lvitali]

i'm sure this not a health problem as I see it in my and other people's parrots and smaller birds - why does the vent of the bird sometimes open and close again and again is it some kind of cleaning thing?

 

[noodles123]

i'm sure this not a health problem as I see it in my and other people's parrots and smaller birds - why does the vent of the bird sometimes open and close again and again is it some kind of cleaning thing?

This is often a sexual thing or sometimes will happen after they have to strain to poop (which should be watched, as frequent straining is not good). Mine sometimes does it briefly right after a normal poop though. If it's happening a lot when not pooping, that is not good, as it can lead to prolapse etc if those muscles are contacting all of the time..and if it is sexual, it also puts your bird at risk for egg binding etc.

 

[lvitali]

i'm sure this not a health problem as I see it in my and other people's parrots and smaller birds - why does the vent of the bird sometimes open and close again and again is it some kind of cleaning thing?

This is often a sexual thing or sometimes will happen after they have to strain to poop (which should be watched, as frequent straining is not good). Mine sometimes does it briefly right after a normal poop though. If it's happening a lot, that is not good, as it can lead to prolapse etc if those muscles are contacting all of the time..and if it is sexual, it also puts your bird at risk for egg binding etc.

just had look and none are doing it now i think just i notice more when it happen, probably recently done a er.... poop? what is this word? do you mean ****? now it deletes my words, this place is so odd

 

[noodles123]

i'm sure this not a health problem as I see it in my and other people's parrots and smaller birds - why does the vent of the bird sometimes open and close again and again is it some kind of cleaning thing?

This is often a sexual thing or sometimes will happen after they have to strain to poop (which should be watched, as frequent straining is not good). Mine sometimes does it briefly right after a normal poop though. If it's happening a lot, that is not good, as it can lead to prolapse etc if those muscles are contacting all of the time..and if it is sexual, it also puts your bird at risk for egg binding etc.

just had look and none are doing it now i think just i notice more when it happen, probably recently done a er.... poop? what is this word? do you mean ****? now it deletes my words, this place is so odd

Lol it will automatically censor if it sees a word it doesn't like (if the word wasn't inappropriate but the computer is censoring, you can use * to break it up---e.g., s*exual or whatever the word was. Look up cloacal pulsing, cloacal winking, "vent pulsing" in parrots etc. It can normal after a poop but if it happens all the time it could be due to egg binding or illness. It can also be due to a calcium deficiency in some instances-- if you don't already, but a cuttle bone in the cage.


Again, right after a poop, it can be normal/related to clearing it.


A sexually aroused bird will also do this when not pooping, and if those muscles get worn out from constant heightened sexual/ hormonal behavior, it can cause problems.

 

[Scott]

I notice this normal vent behavior with parrots of both sexes.

 

[noodles123]

I notice this normal vent behavior with parrots of both sexes.

agreed- just depending on the situation and if it is excessive...Male parrots can have prolapse issues too. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32702957/


It's more common in females due to egg laying, but not restricted to them.


I am NOT saying it is abnormal....I made that pretty clear, I thought.

It is not healthy though, if it is happening all the time outside of pooping....if you notice a trend where it's happening more often than not, that can be concerning and linked to hormones or some other issue...
If you think about humans, it is kind of like a hernia...both genders can get it but it's more common in men...It's overuse of a muscle and stress/pressure etc that can eventually lead to these sorts of things.


Again.....NOT saying it is abnormal, but it can be. Just because a person uses muscles to to lift an object or push out a baby doesn't mean they will get a hernia, but do it often enough and the odds increase with age and excessive use etc. The more a muscle is pulsing and engaged, the more likely issues could occur-- same with overuse injuries in sports etc...