THE SCOOP ON POOP

Evaluating Your Bird's Droppings

By David Hannon, DVM

You can tell a lot about your bird's health just by monitoring the color, consistency, and frequency of its droppings. Since a normal psittacine will instinctively hide signs of illness, changes in the droppings may be the first sign of a clinical problem.

Normal droppings should consist of three components: feces, urates, and urine. Normal feces should be green or light to dark brown, with a loose-to-firm consistency. Normal urates should be white and urine should be clear liquid. The consistency of the feces can vary greatly from day to day in healthy birds, depending on diet, reproductive status, etc. It is important to note the normal color and consistency of your bird's droppings in relation to its diet and behavior.

Frequency of voiding and amount of excrement varies depending on the size and species of bird. Smaller birds with higher metabolic rates will obviously defecate more frequently and in smaller amounts than larger birds. Decreased fecal volume may occur secondary to decreased food intake, decreased gastrointestinal transit time, or GI blockage. Changes in diet may cause birds to consume less food.

Bird's fed primarily seed diets will typically have green feces, while birds fed pelleted diets will typically have brown feces, often the same color as the pelleted food. Pigmented foods, such as blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, sweet potatoes, beets, and artificially-colored processed foods, may cause alterations in fecal color. Reddish-to-black discoloration of feces can occur with ingestion of blackberries or raspberries, but in the absence of these foods in the diet, it can be indicative of melena (blood in the stool). Frank blood in the stool can come from the GI tract, reproductive tract, urinary tract, or cloaca, and it may be associated with blood clotting abnormalities, liver or kidney disease, cloacal lesions (e.g. papillomas), egg-laying, malnutrition, or intestinal infection. Bright green diarrhea may indicate the presence of blood break-down products or liver disease secondary to malnutrition, toxins, or chlamydial, bacterial, or viral infections. Clay-colored feces can be seen in birds that are not digesting or absorbing food normally.

Birds fed pelleted diets or lots of fruit and vegetables will typically have larger and looser bowel movements than birds on seed diets. Voluminous stools are also normally seen in hand-fed babies, in hens just prior to or right after laying a clutch of eggs, or as the first morning droppings. Pathological causes include diabetes, kidney tumors, or malabsorption secondary to GI disease, pancreatitis, peritonitis, or parasites. Feces with a granular texture or containing undigested food may indicate abnormal digestion (e.g. proventricular dilation syndrome), but make sure that you can differentiate this from food that has fallen into the feces.

Loose, watery feces is rare in healthy psittacines, other than lorikeets, and true diarrhea should be differentiated from polyuria (excessive urination). Gas bubbles are commonly seen in the feces of birds with true diarrhea. Diarrhea can be caused by many different systemic or infectious causes.
Urates are protein break-down products that are produced in the liver and excreted by the kidneys as a pasty white-to-yellow solid. Yellow-green urates may indicate liver disease or the presence of blood break-down products. Reddish-brown urates can occasionally be seen in healthy neonates being hand-fed a diet made from animal protein. Bloody urates or urine (hematuria)is never normal.

Urine is typically a colorless liquid. Increased urination (polyuria) can be normally seen in birds that are egg-laying, feeding chicks, or holding their droppings overnight, or in hand-fed babies and birds that are excited or housed in a hot environment. Other pathologic causes include diabetes and other endocrine disorders, kidney disease, and exposure to certain medications or toxins. Urine may be excreted without urates in birds that are nervous, drinking excessively, or consuming fruits and vegetables with a high water content.
Knowing what droppings are normal for your bird can help you determine what is abnormal. If you note any abnormal alteration in your birds droppings, especially if any blood is seen, contact your veterinarian immediately, even if the bird is acting and eating normally. Early diagnosis is the key to successful treatment.