Poop question.

[ellimaye]

I noticed yesterday that Joey had poop on her foot when I picked her up. I didn't think much of it because her droppings looked normal. Now, today I am wondering if something is wrong because noticed poop hanging off her vent area. I grabbed a napkin to wipe it away and inspect it. It look normal and healthy. As I watch her closely, she expelled another poop that just kinda hung from her vent again. I grabbed another napkin to inspect. Everything look normal except I notice there's hardly any urine (lack of liquid). She's been playing hard all this morning and eating fine. She is drinking also because the level in her water bottle has gone down from last night. There are no noticeable differences in anything else. Just the poop that hung off her. I am keeping an eye on her to see if it happens again. I've read all the poopology stuff and can't find any info on this. She is not straining that I can tell because it had no problem coming out, it just didn't drop to the papers. Any ideas?

 

[srtiels]

Just some quick thoughts...

I'd be suspect of intestinal parasites such as tapeworms. BUT, if so the droppings would have some mucous in them.

How long has she been on the water bottle. If it is going down are your positive that she is drinking it and not it dripping or the bird playing with it and water going to the cage floor? If not, has she been eating alot of dry foods, and what?

Lack of urine would be a concern, especially if she is also showing signs of dehydration.

Has she been nesty lately or laying? If so sometimes pressure of an egg could compress the Ureteral tubes of the kidneys and restrict urine flow.

You might want to have a vet check her.

 

[ellimaye]

Susanne, yes they have mucous. She just had a huge vet visit because a few weeks ago they were bubbly with mucous. The vet looked at them and in her opinion it is because Joey is very hormonal and at the time had just laid an egg. They checked everything. Cultures, gram stains, fecal, blood...it all came back in normal range after a round of Baytril and nolvasan for the yeast. I do not know if they checked for parasites. Never heard it mentioned but I assumed it would have come up in all the other tests? She has pooped twice since and they are very normal looking to me. She is still very hormonal and every time Kris comes in the room she starts up again. We have done everything. Increased her sleep, adding a sprinkle of Acidophilus to her fresh food 2x's a week. I just don't know what else to do. I will be making a call to the vet about the parasites question though.

Note: Just called the Vet and yes they checked for parasites and found nothing. They told me to continue to watch her and to add ACV to her water. If she still is having the issue of it hanging off her vent then I should call again tomorrow. I suspect, after talking with the vet, that it may have hung off her vent due to the mucus and maybe it is because she is so hormonal still.

 

[suncoast]

Does it smell foul? Is it stringy? What has she been eating for the last couple of days?

Ginger

 

[ellimaye]

Ginger, no foul smell. Yes, it is stringy. I think because of the mucous but am not certain. She has pooped fine since that happened though. I don't know what to think.
Eating:
Fresh food: Broccoli, carrots, sweet peas, corn, 2 pecan halves, rotini, organic veggie spirals
Dry food: Harrisons High Potency (Coarse)
Seed Mixture: High safflower mixture. No sunflower seeds.
Treats: 2 unsalted pistachios, 1 unsalted cracker

 

[srtiels]

and nolvasan for the yeast.
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Yikes! Vets are still having people do this...how sad. I used to do this and found that this crap can ultimately affect the immune system: Preventative Treatments - Just Cockatiels! It took a couple of years to get them straightened out.

If there is moucous in the droppings you might want to give probiotics to see if this helps. Also with mucous in the digestive tract nutrient absorption is not going to be optimal. If she like Papaya that will be good. or if you have Prozyme (which is a digestive enzyme) this will help with nutrient absorption.

As to the use of ACv...it is going to change the PH in the GI tract. Then after the ACV you have to give probiotics to restore the PH levels.

 

[ellimaye]

Susanne, where do I find probiotics?

 

[srtiels]

Susanne, where do I find probiotics?

----------------------------------

Do a Google search for: BioPlus
It is a Probiotic blend of probiotics, Vitamins, Minerals, and Garlic extract. Instructions are on the jar for mixing in water or on food.

Or you can get Acidolpholus capsules from most Pharmacy/Drug stores and sprinkle it on any food she will eat. I've also used 1 capsule per quart of water (refrigerate between use) and used as the drinking water.

I do this as a followup for about a week after any antibiotic treatments or water treatments.

 

[ellimaye]

Currently, I am sprinkling a half a capsule of the Acidophilus over her fresh food 2x's a week to help keep her levels balanced. (Per Dr.s instructions)

Should I be doing the Acidophilus right now? At the same time as the ACV? Or stop until after I treat her with ACV?

I guess I need to call the Vet tomorrow and ask. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Bokkapooh]

There is something wrong with her if she has poop hanging off her vent, this is NOT healthy and is a huge sign for concern, JHMO and you need a second avian vet's opinion and tests done at another clinic

 

[ellimaye]

There is something wrong with her if she has poop hanging off her vent, this is NOT healthy and is a huge sign for concern, JHMO and you need a second avian vet's opinion and tests done at another clinic

Mercedez, I am worried about it too. It hasn't happend since early yesterday. She is pooping normally today. I did call my vet here and they agreed that it's probably her hormones and due to the mucous. I am keeping a close eye on all her droppings. I hope it was just the 2 times. One question, I recently started her on Harrisons. She is on the high potency formula right now because it's new to her. She eats it like crazy! Could this cause a change in droppings and if so what?

 

[WingedVictory]

Good morning and try and relax.

Your bird seems to being doing fine. The ACV will change the PH and the GI tract and help restore normal flora. The probiotics mentioned a couple times a week would also help. I feel the real problem here is the diet being changed to Harrisons. When feeding any type of pellet the bird needs a lot more water and she may not have this task synchronized yet. Do this experiment, crush a Harrisons pellet and add a teaspoon of water. Now wait 10 minutes and you will see the mixture start to look like dried cake dough. This may be the reason you are not seeing any water in her poop, she needs to adjust her water intake. Bring this up to the vet next time you talk with him..........

Keep an eye on her water intake.

gary

 

[ellimaye]

Gary, thankyou so much. Everything you said is what I felt might be going on, but it sure feels good to hear someone else mention it. She really dives into the harrisons like it's going out of style. I might have to offer her less than the recommended 2 Tablespoons. I have been watching her water intake for about 3 days now. It seems she is only drinking about 1.5 oz a day from her water buddy bottle. I have added a bowl of water on her playstand which I do not think she is drinking out of at all. She also has a water bottle in her sleep cage but the level in it doesn't ever go down. I don't think she drinks at night at all since we started completely covering her. We are trying to prevent her from laying another egg, so we have increased her sleep time as well. It doesn't seem to be helping as of yet though. Thankyou so much for your input! I will be calling the Vet again Monday to talk to them about it too, but until then I am going to relax and enjoy her per your advice!

 

[Chicklette]

Here is a great link on poop.

Splat-n-Retro's Parrot Pages

 

[Sadieladie1994]

From all that is written my guess is not enough fluid. Mucous is always in the GI track but with fluids it is liquified. Harrison pellets are DRY and she may not have made adjustments to her fluid intake with this change. If she doesn't drink more water then add wet type fruit and veggies ie, papaya, cantalope, blueberries are wonderful foods. Apples are fun but go for organic which is not hi on the pesticide/fertilized side normal apples are and Fugi are the better tasting. Veggies with higher water content are squashes which are moist.

I did not suggest citrus as you are feeding pellets. Standard pellets have iron and citrus binds the iron and can increase iron in the bird (not a good thing). If you have done it no sweat as it is an accumulative thing.

Good luck and I am sure she will do fine.

Peggy

 

[ortegah]

I had the same thing with Petrie and the vet said that it was because she was hormonal as well. All of her tests came back fine and it soon went away

 

[ellimaye]

Peggy, I had not thought about adding squash to her fresh veggies! That's a great idea! I agree about the Fuji apples tasting better and I will have to add them back. I had taken away all the sweet stuff because I read where that can cause aggression. I don't know if it was sound info though because everyone I ask about that has never heard that. I did not know that about the citrus so I will be avoiding that for sure. Thanks for your input!

Heather, I think the Harrisons mixed with her hormones must be it. Glad to know someone else experienced it too. Thanks for writing!