# Budgie poop



## Xiyou (Mar 20, 2017)

*New budgie lost feathers?*

Hi all!! I'm new here and a new budgie owner. This is my first time keeping birds but I'm very excited and love my budgie dearly already. She's still young, born at the end of 2016 I believe (about 3 months old). Anyway I was in the process of taming her when she flew around the room. I managed to catch her gently but she struggled and many feathers fell off her back. You can see her skin just on her back where the wings meet when folded. She seems otherwise fine (and there was no bleeding) and this happened a week or so ago. I was just worried if there was anything that could happen to her while her skin is exposed. She will grow these feathers back, right? I'm making sure to keep the room warm for her since I don't want her to get cold. Any help is really appreciated!!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Hi! :welcome: to Talk Budgies

It isn't normal for a budgie to lose that many feathers at one time to the point the skin is exposed. 
Did you use a soft towel when you caught her?
Could you please post a picture of her back where the feathers are missing?

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## Xiyou (Mar 20, 2017)

FaeryBee said:


> It isn't normal for a budgie to lose that many feathers at one time to the point the skin is exposed.
> Did you use a soft towel when you caught her?
> Could you please post a picture of her back where the feathers are missing?


Thank you! I've attached two photos - one is where I have gently moved her feathers to show the extent of the loss. The other photo is how she looks normally when she's perched - and you can't see it much at all. I was not using a towel when I caught her (lesson learned!!). It does appear she has a small feather in the bare skin but I'm not sure if that's a new feather or an old one that just didn't get damaged.


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

Welcome to the forums! 

Under normal circumstances, when properly holding a budgie and using a safe grip, it's not normal for the budgie to lose so many body feathers in the process and this is even when the budgie is being squirmish and tries to break free.
When budgies feel threatened they can fully release their tail feathers, but this wouldn't affect the body feathers on the rump area and above it like is the case with your budgie.

Despite the loss of feathers in that specific area, your budgie should be fine and will not suffer from being cold.
In 2 - 3 weeks time you should see signs of feather growth in the area.
If you don't notice any growth and she starts to lose more feathers, then booking her an appointment at the avian vet specialist for a full examination would be the best course of action.

It would also be best to refrain from holding your budgie and to reinforce the finger taming while inside the cage so that the next time you allow your budgie out of cage time you will be able to take her back inside the cage by offering your finger or perch.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Thanks for posting the pictures. :thumbsup:

I see aluz has already given you excellent answers with regard to your concerns.

If you did not have your budgie examined by an Avian Vet when you got her, I would recommend you do so.

Avian Vets have special training to determine the cause of symptoms resulting from illness or trauma. 
This is important as "regular" vets will often overlook symptoms that are quickly obvious to an Avian Vet.
When you rely on anyone who has not had training in Avian diagnosis and care, you may be delaying effective treatment. 
This can prolong suffering that may be avoidable.
The bird will often require a more intense, prolonged treatment with a poorer chance of full recovery than it would have if you seek prompt professional diagnosis and treatment at the first sign of illness.

Distinction between an Avian Vet and a Vet that "Will See Birds"

Having your new budgie examined by an Avian Vet allows you to develop a good relationship with the vet in case your bird needs care for an injury or illness in the future. Additionally, it is always helpful for the vet to have a baseline for your bird to refer to should it need future treatment.

Best wishes!*


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi there and :welcome: to the forums!

It's great to have you with us, and you couldn't have come to a better place to learn even more about the best of budgie care! 

You've been given great advice to help your budgie, I agree that you should start to see feathers in a few weeks grow back 

Be sure to read through the links provided above to ensure you're up to date on the very best of budgie care practices! :thumbsup: 

If you have any questions afterwards, please be sure to ask as we'd love to help. 

Please keep us posted on her condition, I hope that she is able to regrow her feathers back with no problem!

Cheers! :wave:


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## Xiyou (Mar 20, 2017)

Thank you everyone for being so friendly and helpful! I hope she recovers her lost feathers fully  may I just ask what the signs of feather growth are (aside from seeing actual feathers, lol)? 

Also I had a look at the closest avian vet to me and they are a 40 minute drive away  that sounds quite stressful but maybe once she's more settled here it will be ok to take her. I may call around local vets and see if they have any avian specialists


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*The best way to get an idea of what normal feather growth looks like would be to take a look through some of the breeding journals at the pictures of the baby chicks just beginning to feather. 
Doing so will provide you with the visual clues you are looking for.
http://talkbudgies.com/274-breeding-journals/

A 40 minute car ride shouldn't be stressful for your little girl.
What is her name, by the way?

You can cover her travel cage with a towel, ensure there are no drafts from the windows or heat/ac in the car, buckle the cage into the seat with the safety belt and off you go!
I made multiple trips of 7 1/2 hours one way when I picked up by budgies from the breeder and they did just fine.:driving:

http://talkbudgies.com/general-budgie-talk/305345-long-distance-car-traveling.html*


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## Xiyou (Mar 20, 2017)

FaeryBee said:


> *The best way to get an idea of what normal feather growth looks like would be to take a look through some of the breeding journals at the pictures of the baby chicks just beginning to feather.
> Doing so will provide you with the visual clues you are looking for.
> http://talkbudgies.com/274-breeding-journals/
> 
> ...


Aww, finally an excuse to look at lots of pictures of cute baby budgies 

Her name is Cadence, usually just call her Cady though  I did take a closer look at her bald spot today and it appears that the "follicles" (not sure what they're called" are slightly raised, as if there are feathers underneath that will come through soon. the incident was over a week/week and a half ago so hopefully this is a good sign.

Thanks for all the help and useful links! Doesn't sound too difficult to drive her so I'll try book an appointment as soon as I can!


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## Xiyou (Mar 20, 2017)

Just a lil update to say Cady's feathers are nearly all grown back







she hasn't lost any more since and I have an appointment to take her to a vet on Friday! Every day her feathers look a little better so I'm very relieved! She's also very tame now, she likes being handled (though she is wary of my phone I use for photos!) and has a schedule for getting to fly outside her cage everyday so hopefully future feather loss is minimal now


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

That's great, I'm so glad that Cady was able to get all her feathers back in without any trouble :thumbsup: 

Thank you for updating us on how she was doing!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Thank you for providing the update with regard to Cady's feathers. She's looking much better at this time.

Please let us know how things go at her Avian Vet appointment on Friday.

I'm wishing your little girl all the best. :hug:*


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## Xiyou (Mar 20, 2017)

I'm pleased to say that Cady had her check up at the vets and she's nice and healthy  I do have another concern as of tonight however...

I have recently weaned her off pet store seed onto Trill seed, which is reinforced with vitamins. I am in the process of weaning her off this to pellets, as the vet was able to order me some. I've noticed that a couple of her droppings have a green tint to the urine part. The feces part and urate part are fine and as they should be, and usually her urine around it is clear, but on her newspaper I can see a few poops that have a green "halo". These ones tend to happen either during the night or when she first wakes up, and her Trill seed does have some green seeds in it. The pellets are brown. The photos best show off what I mean. Is this normal for a bird on her diet or should I take her back to the vets? Her behaviour has not changed.


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## Xiyou (Mar 20, 2017)

Just an update, I checked her cage floor again this morning and it looks like overnight she didn't produce any more discoloured urine. Her poops dried normally with no staining around the outside. As it's bank holiday today the vets are closed - shall I just continue to monitor her or should I book an appointment asap?


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## Xiyou (Mar 20, 2017)

Sorry to post again! Long story short, I took Cady to see the vet and the vet said she was fine and seemed healthy. She is very bright, playful, loves to be handled and her appetite is good. I've noticed something strange about her poops though. The fecal part and the urate part are fine, however her urine isn't always clear. I've attached some photos (one of them is a cluster under her sleeping perch). Some of the poops have noticeabley green urine "halos", though her more recent poops are fine and clear. She has stayed at a steady weight (31g). She has recently been weaned off pet store seed onto Trill seed mix, which does contain som green seeds, would that effect it? I'm in the process of getting her onto pellets, so she's been eating some of them too, but they're brown. 
Is this something that needs be looked asap, or shall I just keep an eye on her poop for now?

Edit to add: she doesn't eat much fruit and veg, which is why I'm getting her onto pellets, so I know the colour isn't from greens. Also, none of her poops have undigested food, those seed husks are from me blowing them out of the dish


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I've merged your two threads with your concerns about your budgie's health into one as you asked the same question in both threads. 

Simply continue to monitor her.

Just like with people, animals' poop may change in consistency and color due to stress, diet, etc.

The picture you posted doesn't look as if there is any reason for concern.

*


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## Xiyou (Mar 20, 2017)

FaeryBee said:


> *I've merged your two threads with your concerns about your budgie's health into one as you asked the same question in both threads.
> 
> Simply continue to monitor her.
> 
> ...


Thanks








Everything seemed normal until again today, when I found these poops in her cage overnight. They were dried so I've put them next to one of her pellets as an example. The colour of these is worrying me, but they were the only two like this she produced. All her other droppings are/have been normal. If she produces any more of this colour I'm going to ring the vet, but do you think it could be because of her pellets? Just yesterday I reduced the amount of seed and increased the amount of pellets.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Why don't you call your Avian Vet and see if you can email the picture and your questions directly to them. 
The vet should be able to give you the best advice and let you know if s/he thinks the budgie needs to been seen in the office.*


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## Xiyou (Mar 20, 2017)

Following the advice here I just thought I'd pop in with an update. I went to vet who sent off her poop for a full fecal test, and today it came back negative of any parasites and bacteria, which I'm so happy to hear  the vet is going to call me tomorrow and discuss potential blood tests and stuff, and if she requires them or not. He's just a little concerned because she is coming out of breeding condition and her cere is taking a long time to change (its patchy white and brown at the moment). Also she has what looks like blood inside two of her tail feather shafts, but this may be from a crash land. Anyway basically her gut is all good, and we may be looking for blood tests. Anyway to make blood tests less traumatic? I just love her so much and want the best for her


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Some birds' ceres take a long time to change when they come out of breeding condition.
In fact, some females ceres stay the patchy rough texture all the time so I wouldn't be overly concerned about that matter.

The blood feathers in the tail sound normal.

Since Cady didn't show any signs of abnormal bacteria and was clear of parasites, I'd ask for a very good reason from the vet before subjecting her to blood tests at this time.

Best wishes!*


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## Xiyou (Mar 20, 2017)

Thought I'd drop in with another update since I'm hoping to become more active in this community!

After a long period of nothing abnormal, the weird poops returned except this time rust coloured. I went straight to the avian vet and he ran some bloods today, and says it's Cadence's liver function. He said it's not too bad, but it's not optimal either and is likely an infection. He's put her on antibiotics for 2 weeks with milk thistle to supplement it, and said to continue for me to give probiotics twice a week. Is there anything else I can do to keep her comfy and aid her recovery? She's going back in 2 weeks for a checkup, fingers crossed she's improved!


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