Droppings
Understanding your bird's droppings could save your bird's life
It is true that when a bird becomes sick that their health
can deteriorate quickly. But it's rarely true that when a bird
become sick, it dies suddenly without showing symptoms of
illness. The symptoms are there, we just have to learn how
to recognize them. Changes in the droppings can be a very
early indicator that the bird is sick. Know what normal
droppings look like so you can recognize a change in color,
consistency, order, and/or amount. Use paper at the bottom
of the cage so that the dropping falls flat and clean onto the
paper. This will enable you to recognize any changes in color,
consistency, order, and/or amount. If you are able to notice
this change you could save your bird's life. If you use wood
shavings at the bottom of your cage and you miss a change
in color and consistency in the droppings then you failed your
bird. It is wrong to use wood shavings at the bottom of your
cage so that it looks nice and you do not have to clean the
bottom of your cage as often if it interferes with evaluating
the droppings for signs of health problems.
There are three components to most droppings. Urine consists
of a crystal urine called urates (white chalky material) and
a non-crystal urine called urine (clear water). Sometimes the
2 types of urine are mixed creating a cloudy white urine.
Important changes include color changes and amount.
Green or Yellow Urates
Liver Disease
Anorexia
Brown or Chocolate Urates
Lead Poisoning
Red Urine or Urates
Internal Bleeding
Increased Urates
Dehydration
Increased Urine
Disease
Eating food high in water
Drinking alot
The third part of the droppings is the feces which comes
from the colon and consists of digested food. The color
varies depending on the types of food eaten. Red pellets
and strawberries produce a red colored dropping. (This
does not apply to the urine..) Seed and green vegetables
produce a green dropping. (This does not apply to the
urine.) Blueberries and blackberries produce black droppings.
The feces should be solid and tubular like a worm. It can be
coiled up or uncoiled and it is okay if it is broken into pieces.
Diarrhea is not excessive urine in the droppings. Diarrhea
is the fecal material not holding its tubular shape. Instead it
is the consistency of pudding. Look for blood in the feces. If
the feces is fresh and black in color and there were no
blueberries in the diet then this indicates melena. Melena
is black droppings caused by bleeding high up in the
digestive system. When the blood passes through the lower
digestive system, it is digested turning the red blood into a
black tarry color, staining the feces black. Color which
cannot be explained by the diet should be investigated by
your veterinarian. Don't forget to look for real worms like
tapeworms and roundworms. If you notice black droppings
(indicating internal bleeding) at the bottom of your bird's
cage, stop and go to your veterinarian. If you wait until
the bird is weak, not eating, and fluffed up, then you have
a race against the clock to save the bird's life.
Watch your bird's droppings everyday and learn what they
look like normally. When you notice a change, identify what
portion of the dropping has changed. If you cannot explain
the change by the bird's lifestyle then act immediately and
contact your avian veterinarian.
Last Updated: 9/6/01
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