Urgent Really Dark Poop

[ZoeyFredrik]

Okay. Quick question. Sam's poop is really dark. Nearly black. The urates are white, but the poop itself is very dark. While I was out earlier my Mom gave them some pomegranate. It has been a while since they had them, but Sam could have easily stashed one in his main food dish and recently ate it.

Sam has pooped blood before, a long time ago. I know it was dark, black. But I cannot remember what the urates looked like. Sam does have bleeding issues, so that is to why I am concerned.

Does anyone have any idea if what I am describing is normal, or possibly blood? Sam is currently on my shoulder acting completely normal.

I am going to try and get a picture of his next poop. Although I am hoping it will be more normal looking than the last one.

 

[Greycloud]

I would see what it looks like tomorrow. However, black is usually caused by an old bleed. If in doubt, to the vets, especially since he has had problems in the past. The urates and urine will not change color if it is a gastric type bleed.

 

[roxynoodle]

Black almost always indicates blood higher up in the digestive track. Since he's had a bleeding issue before I'd probably be on the phone right now with my vet asking him/her what he/she thinks I should do.

Best wishes and I hope it's the pomegranate.

 

[ZoeyFredrik]

Okay. I was able to get a picture.

I smeared it this time to get a better look at its color and constancy. I am seeing more of a brownish red.

 

[roxynoodle]

I agree with Judy that I don't think the urates would be affected at all since those are secreted by the kidney, not part of the digestive system, which is where the feces part comes from.

I know with humans, the blood turns black when it comes from high up in the digestive tract because parts of it are absorbed by the intestines. When bleeding occurs lower, such as in the beginning of the large intestine it tends to be a dark red/maroon. When it's near the end of the digestive tract it should be a brighter red. I would imagine birds and other animals would be similar.

 

[roxynoodle]

I've never seen blood in a bird's digestive tract, but from looking at your pic I think I'd call the vet for direction on whether he needs to be seen tonight or if it can wait til tomorrow. When in doubt, best to ask the expert.

 

[Greycloud]

I think you should call your vet.

 

[ZoeyFredrik]

I am trying to get a hold of them, but they are not answering. I know they are 24hr emergency.

 

[ZoeyFredrik]

Okay. We seem to be changing color slightly. I've been having Sam poop each time on a towel. It looks like they are improving. *fingers crossed*

 

[ZoeyFredrik]

It is still dark, but definitely getting a green color to it. I have an appointment for 2 tomorrow. for his normal monthly check up. I am going to be keeping a close eye on him. I will let you all know how it goes.

 

[Birdlover]

Hopefully all checks out well fwiw, I've been feeding lots of pomegranate lately and it does turn their droppings dark. Hopefully that's all it is but definitely good to have him checked regardless

 

[ZoeyFredrik]

I kept checking on Sam through the night. By morning his poops looked normal again. I am hoping that the mystery dark poop was caused by a stashed pomegranate seed. We did still go to the vet as planned. Because of Sam's issues we go to the vet once a month. Even though his poop looked good, the vet took a sample for testing, just in case.

But, Sams appointment did not go too well. Sam has a quarter sized spot of irritation on his back. This area looked dry and Sam had plucked some feathers in the area. I tried giving Sam more frequent baths and when he wouldn't bathe (which was pretty often) I would wet down the area. He seemed to enjoy it and the spot was looking better. When the collar was removed today, Sam did his normal preening for about 30 minutes. I sit with Sam during the preen patrol, no matter if it is one hour, or four. I thought I would check his back. When I did I noticed it didn't look dry, but instead it was a deep red color, I pushed some feathers aside and noticed that he was bleeding as well. The vet returned and put his collar back on to prevent any more damage.

Sam's vet thinks that the irritation may be related to Sam's heart disease. Even though Sam has been doing well and is in pretty good shape, the heart disease can affect the flow of blood. It is possible that this could be causing this spot of irritation. Sam may feel something strange there and might feel the need to "get rid of it". He has this same issue on his upper chest. A while back we did pretty extensive testing to see if anything else could be causing this. We could not find anything. The thing that bothers me the most is that Sam is probably in some pain. Hopefully it is not too bad. Since Sam has a sensitivity to most oral and inject-able medicines, I was give a cream with some pain relieving qualities. Sam also will be taking another medicine, that is more a vitamin supplement with some oils that are good for the heart. Hopefully I will see some improvement with Sam. I feel so bad for my little baby.

 

[maddie]

Oh no Nik, I'm so sorry to hear it. I'm sending all possible kinds of healing positive happy vibes I can all the way from Copenhagen. I hope everything will be okay with Sam.

 

[DQTimnehs]

I'm sorry he is having such issues! I hope he heals quickly.

 

[roxynoodle]