# female cockatiel struggling to poop



## kaiel (Jun 2, 2012)

hello everyone 

i have afemale cockatiel 18 moths old .

this week i noticed hes struggling to make a poop i mean for 3-6 secondes just moving her back i really thought she was laying an egg for a second there.

i looked at her poop is was liquid green yellow.

she eats normal acts normal plays with her toys.

shes not tame yet could this be about stress ?

ive had her for 9 days i got her from a friend and he gave her to me after her male patrner flew through the window.

he said they were mating for around 4 days .

any suggestions?


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

i would bring her to the vet as soon as you can. sounds like its possible she could be egg bound. egg bound hens often have trouble pooping.

get her in as soon as you can, for now place her in a hot steamy bathroom. keep her warm. stress can cause egg complications in a laying hen, if they were mating before the male flew off, you should err on the side of caution and treat this as a potential emergency.


photos of the dropping will help.


is her vent area distended at all?


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## kaiel (Jun 2, 2012)

wow u freaked me out !!!

how do i know that she has a bound egg?

is there a way to make sure?

we dont have aviary vets were i live only regular ones (they dont know much about birds).

and i forgot to mention that i noticed bubbles in her poop like 6 days ago however the bubbles are gone now. and not all her poops are green yellow some are normal


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## kaiel (Jun 2, 2012)

i couldnt take pics of her poop because i just cleaned her cage but here are some pics of her myabe u can notice something i didnt.

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/4093/cockatiel1.jpg

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/3936/cockatiel2.jpg

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/2011/cockatiel3.jpg

http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/7126/cockatiel4.jpg


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

if she is straining to poop, there is a reason. i dont mean to scare you  but these are very real possibilities. when a hen is in laying mode, stress can cause problems with passing the eggs.


general symptoms of egg binding are:

lethargy
straining to poop
straining to pass an egg
absence of poop
loss of use of legs
swelling in the abdomen
and general sick bird signs.


if its egg binding, there isnt anything you can do at home besides placing her in a steamy bathroom and hope the humidity helps her pass the egg. she will need a vet asap or they can die quickly from egg binding.


however straining to poop can also be caused by:

infection
constipation
growth inside cloaca
obstruction


all of these warrant a vet visit and most are emergencies. if she is having trouble pooping, there is a cause. if infection (which could be causing the weird droppings) then she will need antibiotics to get better. constipation can have many causes, the cause could be minor or major. but the vet will be able to rule out emergency causes. obstruction, egg binding, growths/tumors would all likely require surgery to fix. 

bubbles in the droppings also indicate an infection. antibiotics will likely be needed.


find a vet that at least sees birds. its better than nothing in an emergency, because they might be able to get in contact via phone with an avian vet and get help that way if needed.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

seeing the photos.... you MIGHT be able to rule out egg binding... the bird looks like there might be ghost pearls on the back where the grey is. the grey feathers, are they lighter grey in the middle? if so, the bird is a split pearl, which means "she" is a "he"

but infection, obstruction, constipation, and growths could all be a potential cause, so it is important to see the vet, the best vet you can get.


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## kaiel (Jun 2, 2012)

i dont think its a he cuz my friend showed me videos of her mating with her previous mate.

as for infections i know a vet who sees birds but not as experienced as you might think .

does sick bird with infection or anything like that climb around the cage play with hes toys and stuff? because she looks normal thats why i didnt notice this earlier.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

sick birds hide illnesses well. the droppings are usually the first things to tell you something is wrong.

and two birds of the same sex can and will mate if they are bonded. its completely normal.


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## kaiel (Jun 2, 2012)

oh dear god... 2 males can actuly mate?

well if this bird is a male its bad news for me cuz ive put her cage near my male cockatiel i kinda wanted to breed them.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

So you didn't quarantine, either? You definitely need to take this bird to a vet. Regardless of whether it's egg binding, straining to poop is an abnormal symptom and probably means your bird is ill.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

And since you've put the birds in the same room your other bird could catch disease from the new bird....


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