Watery Poop

[Aussie Ben]

Watery Cockatiel Droppings

Firstly, I am going to try and get buddy to the avian vet to get her properly checked up in the next few days, but I wanted to see if anyone here could shed some light on my concern.

My 7 year old Tiel, Buddy (female) has had runny poop for a little while now (month or so) She went to the avian spe******t a few weeks ago and he seemed to think she was in pretty good shape. The only thing he suggested is that she loses 10-15 grams which she has now. He also looked at the droppings but didn’t seem too concerned with the consistency. It’s hard to tell if it’s getting any worse, but one thing I have noticed is she is drinking a lot of water each day. I give her fresh water in the morning, but sometimes I’m having to change her little water bowl before she goes to bed as well because its nearly empty! Other than the poop everything else seems normal, she’s vocal and fairly active and has a good appetite. She has been flying a little more than usual (to help lose the weight). Other than the poop thing, everything seems normal.

Just so you know, Buddy came down with hepatitis and paralysis two years ago and we nearly lost her. She recovered after a week or so in special care, but obviously she is not as strong as she used to be, so I am just a little worried about her. Any help appreciated, cheers

 

[caliopi]

I hope Buddy feels better soon! Puffin had runnier poop for a few days when he was around 5mths old but the vet said it may have been related to me giving him egg for the first time. He was back to normal within days. I hope all is well with Buddy!

 

[Aussie Ben]

Thanks for the kind words. I gave her another looking over and decided she was worse than i originally thought, so I rang the vet and managed to get an appointment this avo. He's keeping my baby in overnight for observation and tests if needed. He's not sure at this stage but there are a few possibilities - Vitamin A deficiency (although from his physical exam this is not likely), Diabetes or Kidney problems. There is a possibility that it is something that will pass, but as they droppings have been going for a while, it is likely it is some sort of infection. She did drop around 7 grams in 24hrs, so that alone is cause for concern. I hope she will be okay, she's my brave little fighter. Its lonely here with one bird missing.

 

[Mel]

awww your poor little baby. It's so stressful when they aren't well, you feel so helpless. My prayers are with her that it's something treatable and she recovers quickly.... we'll all be watching this space for news

 

[Aussie Ben]

Thanks Mel, I will keep you guys updated

 

[HRH Di]

I'm so sorry! I hope everything goes well. Keep us updated, please.

 

[Bobby34231]

Buddy is in our prayers here as well Ben, keep us posted

Bob.

 

[antoinette]

Oh Ben, poor Buddy and you my dear.....
You did the correct thing taking Buddy to the vet.
Keeping her there, she will have all the medical attention available.
Buddy is a real fighter.
Praying she is home soon, healthy and back with Daddy.

 

[Spiritbird]

Hi AB The watery poop may be caused to excess water intake. Now on the other hand excess water intake can be a sign of several things. Too much fruit, infection, kidney disease, diabetes or a virus. Good thing you have a vet appt. Please let us know what the results are. Thanks

 

[Birdamor]

I don't know whether you are talking about diarrhea (too soft stools) or polyuria (excessive urination) because, in reality, both conditions could be referred to as 'watery poop'. I assume it's the latter because the vet was not that concerned when he saw her before and he would have been if it had been diarrhea (it's a symptom of several bad diseases so it's always a cause for major concern). Polyuria, on the other hand, could be a temporary thing caused by something as simple as a change in diet but, when it is, it usually resolves itself in a matter of a couple of days.

I assume he did blood work on her - do you know what, exactly, he found in the blood work? Because although CBCs do not really tell much about kidney or liver function, the combination of all the values can give you a pretty good idea of what is going on - at least, enough to point in a general direction of where the problem is so other, more specific tests can be ordered.

And you say she had hepatitis in the past? Was that vibrionic hepatitis? Because that's the only kind I know that happens to birds but I never heard of pet parrots getting it (it's a chicken disease) and it's pretty serious. Was her liver tested after she got better to see if its function was impaired? Was she put on liver meds?

 

[Aussie Ben]

Thanks everyone for the thoughts, I will be getting a call this morning to find out how she is.

Birdamor - He will be doing a blood test if he deems it necessary. He said there is significant risk in doing the blood work because of her size, health and the amount of blood they have to extract. Before he makes that decision he wants to observe her for himself and take a close look at the droppings, to rule out any obvious problems before we put her in harms way.

As to what she had last time, someone here may have more knowledge on this than I do, because I have fairly limited medical knowledge (and it was a long time ago), but - when she was sick with what they called 'hepatitis' - the avian vet (who is very experience with Australian birds) said many Australian parrots - don't quote me, but I think he said 9/10 (I think namely cockatoos) have whatever it is that causes the disease hiding in their system (I think he said in the liver) and it takes something (can't remember what) to trigger it. It is vary rare that it happens, but it does in the right conditions. I think it had something to do with a mostly seed (and veg) diet that she was on at that stage. Anyway she spent over a week in animal hospital where they medicated her. As for the paralysis, she could not walk, fly, feed herself or keep her balance. I think the vet said hepatitis especially in birds can affect the sciatic nerve (I assume from inflammation of the liver or something) which caused the paralysis. So naturally as they medicated her, she was able to walk better and better. And your not wrong about it being serious, Buddy is very lucky to be alive and I was blessed enough to have parents that were willing to assist me with the vet bill. This did happen two years ago but mentally, I honestly think she is still recovering from the trauma - physically, she is not too bad (excluding last few weeks), although she just seems to be...I spose the best way to describe it is 'fragile'.

I have good faith in the two avian vets that are looking after her at the clinic - after all they have saved her life before and I believe whatever the severity of the situation is, they will do whats best for her, regardless of the outcome. Fingers crossed its not too serious and she will be okay.

 

[SharonC]

I hope the news is good...Buddy is a very lucky bird to have someone who is willing to do what needs to be done.

 

[Spiritbird]

Hi AB I am saying a bird prayer for you and so glad your vets are looking after him.

 

[Aussie Ben]

Well I got a call and went down to collect my little Buddy. She’s gonna be okay . I feel so blessed to have such a fantastic vet. Over the last 24 hrs, Buddy has had a vitamin A injection, a subcutaneous fluid injection and been under close observation. She has pepped right up and she is not lethargic anymore (she started to get lethargic yesterday avo). They took samples of her droppings and looked at them closely. They found a small trace of blood but this is not uncommon and after taking a very close look at it, they were not concerned. They were also able to rule out diabetes. He said it was good that I bought her in as she does appear to have an infection, so she will be on antibiotics for the next week (via syringe). Her droppings are getting better, but if any dramatic changes occur in her health or weight over the next week or so, he wants me to bring her back. But he said apart from the infection she really is in good shape all things considered, and should start to improve with the prescribed medication. I am so relieved, its like a ton of bricks of my shoulders.

Silly little thing kept herself a bit longer than needed as she kept refusing to take a poop on the plastic they used for the poop sample. She just kept moving either side of the cage lol. Funny, she likes to go on everything in my house

I have completely sterilized Buddy's cage, perches and toys to make sure if the infection was caused by something in there it would be destroyed.

Thank you all for your kind words, prayers and help. I feel so silly being worried about her, but I am glad I took her down for treatment, hopefully it has prevented the problem from developing further. I know she is so vulnerable becuause of her history, so if she ever shows any of the common signs of illness I get so worried. I'm just glad to have her home, safe and warm, chirping away. One thing that helped me when she was away was Eddie immitating her calls, it truly is uncanny and sounds just like her I think Eddie missed Buddy, because he was extremely stressed today. They always talk to each other, back and forth all the time.

 

[SharonC]

That's great news!!!

 

[Mel]

Thats FANTASTIC news. I was dying to get home to check if she was OK. Will still keep her in our prayers until she's off the meds and 100%.

 

[Bobby34231]

Great news Ben, never feel silly about caring so much for your feathered family, thats the nice thing about this forum, your among like thinking people (Bird Brains), dont think you'll ever hear " for Gods sakes its only a bird" here

Bob

 

[Aussie Ben]

Thanks everyone, I am so happy and I will sleep better tonight (and so will my fids). I am a little nervous about giving the syringe medication. My vet walked me through it, but I know buddy doesn't like syringes much, so we will see what happens. I will keep you all posted

 

[antoinette]

So glad to hear things have improved with Buddy, our prayers are being answered.
Sure you will manage with the syringe, you have been a star so far.
Keeping our fingers crossed for a speedy recovery

 

[antoinette]

Hey Ben, how is it going with Buddy and the syringe?
Must get the med's in .....I would not like to put a syringe near Buddy's beak
Just look at the size of it "joking" you can do it
Let us know okay