Undigested food in Parrotlet droppings - help?

[bobthebird]

Hi all -

I've been a long time lurker but only now registered to seek some advice.

I have a 5-year old Parrotlet (Kiwi) and recently (6 weeks ago) introduced a 11 week old Hahn's macaw (Pico) to our home. All appropriate quarantine procedures were performed. This past Sunday, my parrotlet Kiwi started excreting undigested food (1-2 seeds) in his droppings. He has no additional symptoms - lethargy, depressed activity, ataxia and has been maintaining his basal weight of 29-30 g. His appetite is unchanged. I've seen an occasional seed or seed fragment in his feces in the past but they were generally isolated events happening once every few months. Since Sunday, he has continued to have varying amounts of undigested food material in his droppings but whole seeds are no longer present. The droppings look otherwise "normal" with white urates and drab green feces - the amount of undigested material is very low but, as of this am, still present in very small amounts. His diet is a combination of Goldenfeast Petite Hookbill Blend, organic pellets, and prepared foods (fruits, veggies, oatmeal, birdie bread). Out of concern, I did start him on an every other day probiotic regimen (1 tsb yogurt with active cultures, 1/2 g of Bene-Bac paste, mixed with a nugget of oatmeal treat) and since initiating this treatment, the amounts of material in the droppings have lessened - there is a correlation but I'm not ready to ascribe the improvement to the therapy. In addition to this, one of his stools yesterday had a 1-2 bubbles in the urate component (more like bubbles in the fluid above the urates) but this was an isolated incident.

Pico has been gaining weight since we picked him up from the breeder and is now 132 g with a starting weight of 120 g 6 weeks ago. He also appears healthy, already can talk (3 words now), but has one or two things that just make me wonder if perhaps he introduced a pathogen into the home:

1. He seems to run a bit hotter than Kiwi but this is based solely upon my touch and not based upon measurement with a thermometer.

2. For the first 4 weeks, he would consistently strain - making a small squeaking noise, upon defecation. The droppings were normal (no food in them) and there was no evidence of constipation, impaction, or retained material around his cloaca. He has stopped doing this but I'm not sure what to make of it.

As of this afternoon, Kiwi's stools now appear normal (I came home for lunch) but I still have some concerns.

Giardia, Clostridium, and Chlamydia are on the radar screen as are some other forms GI infection - birdie gastroenteritis or bacterial overgrowth. PDD is not as Kiwi has been isolated from other birds and 6 weeks is not enough incubation time for these sorts of symptoms based upon my review of the PDD scientific literature. Heavy metal poisoning is very unlikely as their cages are stainless steel (Featherland cages) as are most of their toys. Kiwi is not one to lick the two bells in his cage that may not be stainless.

Does anyone else have another idea as to what this could be? I am planning on bringing them to a vet - the catch is the nearest avian vet is ~100 miles away. Is there a roaming vet on this site who has some insights?

Thanks for your help,

Bob

 

[birdlvr466]

http://forums.avianavenue.com/bird-...od-stool-vet-checked-gram-stain-all-well.html

http://forums.avianavenue.com/bird-emergency-highway-911/30236-undigested-millet-droppings-9.html

Here are a couple of other threads that have been on the same issue. Now are you sure it isnt just hulls but actual seed? I hope this helps.

 

[birdlvr466]

By the way, welcome. When you get a moment introduce yourself in our Welcome Lane so everyone can say hi.

 

[bobthebird]

Pat -

Thanks for your input. His primary food source - Goldenfeast Petite Hookbill Blend is full of small food fragments. His initial poops has whole seeds, we are now down to small < 1 mm sized food fragments. When I let the poop dry, I generally see 1-2 fragments per poop.

Since he recently started on a new container of food and I've noted that the composition of Goldenfeast changes every few months, it is possible this batch of food has an ingredient in it that does not sit well with him or perhaps they have something that is not entirely digestable in this recent formulation?

I have not rushed him to the vet becuase he is otherwise healthy and shows no signs of distress of any sort. That said, I am still concerned.

 

[birdlvr466]

Was this an isolated thing that happened today? I would keep an eye for the next couple of days. Do you have any vets close by that DO see birds? Some non avian vets that have bird experience are also very good. Do you feed any other mixes besides this one? Maybe ask some other members for advice on some other foods you can try. Does he eat any fresh foods? Keep us updated.

 

[atvchick95]

Undigested food. If you notice any bits of seed or pellets, be worried. These symptoms could mean parasites, an intestinal infection, proventricular dilation, or a disease of the pancreas or other internal organs.

Bubbly not good
Finally, you should watch for a couple of bathroom habits that could mean big trouble. For one, droppings that contain any bubbles or foam probably indicate an infection such as clostridium.
Another symptom of an underlying problem is straining. If you ever catch your bird having problems eliminating, get him to a veterinarian pronto. Straining could stem from a physical blockage caused by a growth or wart or another serious condition such as egg-binding.

Abnormal droppings might mean change in bird's health - ParrotChronicles.com Feature Story

Lumpy or Undigested food: Incomplete digestion, PDD, Giardia, hypermotile intestine

Poopology - Identify Bird Health Problems through their Droppings

 

[ncGreyBirdLady]

Hello and Welcome to Avian AvenueI do not know if this link will help at all,but I thought I would post it.
Bird Droppings: Daily Observations, Normal Stool, or Abnormal Stool

I think You should contact an Avian Vet with Your concerns!

 

[bobthebird]

Hi all - Thank you for the links. I think I have exhausted my online research options at this point. I have made an appointment with a well-respected avian vet for Monday. I'm the counterpart to a vet, only for humans, so I can be a hard guy to please and I really demand that any treatment to my parrots have evidence. I'm hesitant to start any therapy until a diagnosis is made. One of the reasons I am avoiding local vets is due to inexperience with birds - I know of two cases where parrots were lost due to overzealous use of antimicrobial therapies when the evidence for use was questionable. After speaking with a avian vet at the nearest university - they share my concerns that too often birds receive excessive antimicrobial therapies without hard evidence out of desperation - as something appears wrong but no diagnosis is made. I realize everyone is trying to do their best to heal a sick animal but it is clear these therapies, not the disease/infection, can be responsible for the demise of our cherished companions if not used judiciously. Thanks again, Bob

 

[birdlvr466]

Good for you Bob. I am definatley on the same page with you as far as medicating without a proper diagnosis. Please do update us when you can.

 

[bobthebird]

Update -

Both birds were tested for microbial overgrowth, PDD, giardia, and chlamydia (due to new macaw) and all results were negative... I decided to gram stain/wet prep/trichrome stain the stool myself and also could not find evidence for microbial overgrowth or giardia. Kiwi (parrotlet) now has normal stools and continues to be healthy. Take home point - not all cases of seed in the droppings should make an owner assume the worst - despite what one sees on the internet.