Poopology

All birds do it, so lets talk about it. Poop! Here's the basics of caring for your bird(s) and keeping an eye on their health -- because a healthy parrot is a happy parrot!

Clean wax paper or other smooth surfaces can be used to collect droppings to evaluate or take to the vet.

Bird poop has three parts. All three should be examined on a regular basis. A sick bird may show a change in the volume, color, consistency, or frequency of droppings.

As birds are prey animals who hide their illnesses, droppings are one of the best and first ways to evaluate illness.

It is for these reasons that you should not use substrate on your cage dropping pan.

Here are notes about the three parts:

1. Feces: solid waste which should be coiled neatly on itself. The normal appearance is usually soft and brown when on a formulated diet (pellets) but may be abnormally dry and black or green with a seed diet. Color may also be affected by colorful foods, such as carrots or beets (orange/red/pink tint) or greens (greenish tint). If the feces are not the right color, and the bird has not consumed dyed toys, items or high pigment foods, a vet should be seen immediately. Neon green feces are a sign of illness, but other greens are not.

2. Urates: creamy white semi-solids which surround part of the coil, which are waste from the kidneys. If the urates are not white, and the bird has not consumed dyed toys/safe items or high pigment foods, a vet should be seen immediately.

3. Urine: which is supposed to be clear. The normally clear urine may be increased in amount when excess consumption of fruit or vegetables. Again, any discoloring in urine, when the bird has not consumed dyed toys/safe items or high pigment foods, means a vet should be seen immediately.

Note: Many birds have a larger poop than normal first thing in the morning, if they are laying eggs, or are babies on formula or crop milk.

Momma Bird's Birdie Bread is made of natural and holistic ingredients, with no artificial colors or dyes. Our Happy Bird Day Loaf does come out red, but that is from all the strawberries and sweet potatoes in the mix! So please remember to keep an eye on your birdie friend's droppings and talk to your vet if anything comes up.

In the meantime, give your parrot some birdie bread and hear those happy noises!