My bird might be sick?

[madelynn]

I have a green cheek conure who just turned 1. Their gender is unknown we just submitted a blood sample so we'll know soon. Within the past few days he/she has been acting a little off. He/she has been eating constantly. He's known to graze throughout the day but even when his cage door is opened he just sits in there and eats. His weight is normal he's about 64g. His pooping intervals are also a bit off. Sometimes he'll go almost an hour without pooping. Poop seems normal but sometimes the urates look a little bit webby. I read that birds shouldn't fart, but yesterday when he did his morning poop it definitely made a "fart" sound. And sometimes it'll also look like he's struggling to poop. Sorry for the long post I'm just worried.

 

[Pixiebeak]

Can you share pictures of your bird and poop?

It is molt time , and birds metabolism ramps up needing on average at least 25% more calories, and a bump in protein.
Some pellets that are maintenance need to be switched to high potency to meet molting needs. Plus I like to offer just a tiny amount of walnuts, a half teaspoon of scrambled or boiled eggs a few times a week during molt.

What does yours eat?

And hi! Welcome to forum!

 

[madelynn]

Here is a picture of one of his poops from today. A few days ago one of his poops had bubbles in it. It makes sense that he might be molting he has been moody, he hasn't lost any feathers though. He's been preening a lot and has a few pin feathers but no feathers have really fallen out

 

[madelynn]

Here is a picture of one of his poops from today. A few days ago one of his poops had bubbles in it. It makes sense that he might be molting he has been moody, he hasn't lost any feathers though. He's been preening a lot and has a few pin feathers but no feathers have really fallen out

He's on mostly pellets I'll attach a picture of them. He also has a seed mix for foraging including oat groats, rolled oats, hemp hearts, flax, quinoa and millet. He doesn't like vegetables but we are slowly trying to incorporate them into his pellets. He likes apples and grapes as a high reward. Sometimes I'll give him some scrambled egg but I haven't within the last week or so

 

[Pixiebeak]

Definitely string urates . Definitely plus plus cuteness!!
Grapes have a lot of sugar , as do apples but at least apples have some fiber . That sugar can throw off gut flora and lead to yeast over growth or even bacteria over growth. Not saying that's what's going on..and depends how much grapes.
I don't feed grapes, or just really really rare treat.
Safflower seeds are my GCC favorite treat , and I hardly know of one who will turn them down.
So I guess I would recommend cutting out fruit for a little bit, and see if helps .

I also use a little plain Greek yogurt, no artificial sweetener, with live culture. I offer on my finger and dab their beak and wait ,( if they have never had before) they usually like and will lick off. I offer about 1/4 a teaspoon every day or every other day for about a week to help very mild gi issues. If it's going to help , you might even notice improving by the next day . Plain yogurt is safe and is on many parrot foods list , I e fed to mine for over 20 years. All of my mixed flock like and will eat it , Budgies, GCC, and quakers. If it's not something you feel comfortable with that's fine . I tried bird probiotics but I never got the same results I get with plain Greek yogurt.

 

[madelynn]

Thanks a lot! I will try that

 

[madelynn]

Definitely string urates . Definitely plus plus cuteness!!
Grapes have a lot of sugar , as do apples but at least apples have some fiber . That sugar can throw off gut flora and lead to yeast over growth or even bacteria over growth. Not saying that's what's going on..and depends how much grapes.
I don't feed grapes, or just really really rare treat.
Safflower seeds are my GCC favorite treat , and I hardly know of one who will turn them down.
So I guess I would recommend cutting out fruit for a little bit, and see if helps .

I also use a little plain Greek yogurt, no artificial sweetener, with live culture. I offer on my finger and dab their beak and wait ,( if they have never had before) they usually like and will lick off. I offer about 1/4 a teaspoon every day or every other day for about a week to help very mild gi issues. If it's going to help , you might even notice improving by the next day . Plain yogurt is safe and is on many parrot foods list , I e fed to mine for over 20 years. All of my mixed flock like and will eat it , Budgies, GCC, and quakers. If it's not something you feel comfortable with that's fine . I tried bird probiotics but I never got the same results I get with plain Greek yogurt.

Update: he loved the Greek yogurt! It's been a few days without fruit and 1/4 teaspoon of Greek yogurt a day and his poops are back to normal! He was confirmed to be a male as well! After a ton of research we concluded that his aggressive and unpredictable behavior is in fact hormones due to it being almost spring. Thank you for the help!

 

[Pixiebeak]

Update: he loved the Greek yogurt! It's been a few days without fruit and 1/4 teaspoon of Greek yogurt a day and his poops are back to normal! He was confirmed to be a male as well! After a ton of research we concluded that his aggressive and unpredictable behavior is in fact hormones due to it being almost spring. Thank you for the help!

Yay!
Do keep in mind that if it doesn't help, it can indicate more serious health issues that would need vet .

True diarrhea, liquid fecal part , is much more serious in parrots than other animals. For true diarrhea, they should be seen the same day or next day. You didn't have diarrhea, but I'm just sharing Incase ever has.

I give random little yogurt here and there when I have it on hand . I always give yogurt if they have to be on any antibiotics or meds , for myself I have seen the postive results.

I hope you stick in healthy poop pic too! That can be helpful to others to see