My Birds Diet

[Kiwi_Girl]

Does anyone know why a bird poops multicolored droppings?
I dont know if she's sick and i'm starting to get worried.

Kiwi_Girl
"Warm bird feet are very nice on your shoulder."

[Michael]

Frequent discoloration, particularly black, can indicate problems. However, when it's a once in a while occurrence, particularly bright colors, then it's ok. Usually it will happen from swallowing paints in the toys. If you see yellow, purple, neon pink, etc, then I doubt they could be indicative of any problems other than toy coloration.

[Natacha]

What does she eat?

A lot of the time, it's the result from food.
If you don't think the food is the culprit and the multicolour poop happens all the time, see a vet.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

If it is constantly changing, it's probably related to intake. Berries, beets, colored pellets, etc. can all affect droppings associated with that batch of food going through. However, a marked change from one thing to another for a period of time is more concerning, I am told.

Try to find pictures of normal and abnormal droppings, and also just develop a feel for what is normal for your bird. Scooter and Scotty have very different normal poop, but I think I have a pretty good feeling now for what is normal for each of them.

I addition to black, I think lime green can indicate problems -- but it can also indicate the parrot ate something lime green... when in doubt, a health check is probably a good idea...

[thasun]

Well I too agree with Natacha. That may be due to a change of it’s food. Also it would be a symptom of some other illness as well. But if you get to see any significant difference it is better to talk your bird to a health check up?
Have you got some other birds and noticed the same with them?

[michellet]

I just came across this and thought it might be helpful....

To monitor droppings, you first have to know what components are in droppings, and then what is normal for your bird and also what it may have eaten recently. An excess of watery foods (fruit) will lead to more water in the droppings. Some berries and fruits and even some pellets, can make the feces change colors.

Bird droppings have three components: 2 types of urine and feces.

The one type of urine is a crystal urine and is called urates. This is the white material in the droppings. The other type of urine is non-crystal and is simply clear water. By watching color and changes in both the urine and urates you can learn some important things.

**
Green or Yellow Urates-could indicate liver disease or anorexia>
Brown Urates-could indicate heavy metal poisoning
Red Urine or Urates-could indicate internal bleeding
Increased Urates-could indicate dehydration
Increased Urine-while this could indicate disease it is more likely an indication of eating food higher in water or drinking more water.

**-From American Cockatiel Society Vet's Corner