# Eating its own droppings!



## mezjs (Feb 18, 2009)

Hi everyone, I haven't been on here for a while (been bonding with my new feathered friend) !
After laying eggs, telling me she was a girl! my Marley has taken to eatng her poo. Can anyone tell me why she is doing this or is this normal behaviour?
Thanks in advance,
Mezjs


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Here is some info:

Stress of weaning, changes in environment or diet, and molting are just a few causes for a cockatiel to eat it’s droppings. Stress results in a depletion through excretion (poop) of most the water soluble (B's, C, choline) nutrients in the system. The body does not mfg. or retain them. Eating of the droppings is a cockatiels way of replentishing (recycling) them back into their system.

The eating of droppings is not a normal daily thing with cockatiels. Cockatiels are one of the few species of parrot type birds that will eat their droppings when their body is lacking in certain nutrients. 

The primary nutrient being choline and many of the B vitamins and amino acids , which are by products in the birds droppings. Stress, such as the sale and a new home can cause a bird to excrete in excessive amounts the water soluble family of vitamins and nutrients in his system. This group of nutrients consists of the B vitamins, choline, and vitamin C. Even thought the birds diet may contain these nutrients under stressful situations the body is excreting in excess of the dietary intake. The cockatiel will eat the dropping to compensate for the difference.

One thing that will help your bird is to go to the healthfood store and get some Brewers Yeast. It is rich the B vitamins, minerals and nutrients, choline, and amino acids. Amino acids enable vitamin and minerals to act properly within the body, and aid in the assimulation and utilization of the other nutrients. Sprinkle a small amount on his seed/food daily for about a week. This will supply what he needs back in his system, and alleviate the need to eat his droppings.

The Brewers Yeast is a good suppliment to sprinkle on his food a few times a month.


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## olive juice (Mar 30, 2009)

My birds go on the bottoms of their cage and chew up their poop, too.  I don't think mine are actually ingesting it, though. To discourage this, I make sure they have plenty of food and toys (foraging toys especially) to keep them occupied from venturing down there.

Do you have a grate at the bottom of your cage? If not, getting one will help. If yes, but your tiel is still nibbling the poop on the grate, you might want to wipe it down several times a day. It might not solve the problem, but it'll help.


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

I clean the grates on the bottom of the cages whenever I see even a little bit of poop because the girls especially go down and take the poop of and flick it everywhere.

But maybe yours is lacking what srtiels mentioned.


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