# Big droppings



## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

Is my Candy getting ready for any eggies? I took a picture of her gigantic poop, and boy it's huge compared to Tony's (second picture). Any thoughts?
Sorry about poopy pictures , LOL.


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

Here is a photo from another perspective. I don't really want her to lay eggs though, but she has been hiding in dark corners too...


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## BirdCrazyJill (Apr 23, 2013)

Yup! and just wait... if she does have eggs and lays on them, her poops will be HUGE afterwards, like you would never think they could hold so much poop in them. And they are gross, so get a spot cleaner for your carpet or something  Hormone control!! I wonder what has triggered her to started nesting now after 3 years?


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

It didn't look _too_ big to me. I've seen Beaker and Jaid poop that much sometimes, and they are both cocks. I may be wrong, she may lay an egg, but then again I don't have hens, so I may be wrong


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

Those aren't egg poops. 

Males and females can lay egg poops. Egg poops are laid when cockatiels hold in their poop for a long time while they are in the nest. They look huge and watery! They poop when they come out of the nest. 
Here is a picture of my cockatiels egg poop. 

EDIT: 
Here is another egg poop (you can also see what a regular poop looks like right next to it)


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

Oh, wow! Thanks for the advice Haimovfids! I sure hope she doesn't lay any eggs, I wouldn't know what to do...


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## vitaminmandi (Jan 22, 2014)

Sophia started doing the same thing, except she wouldn't go in her cage. She would literally hold it until the second I took her out, then she would make GIANT poopies. I took her to the vet because of that (and other reasons) and he informed me that she had an egg. The next day she laid an egg, then three more over the next week, and now she's sitting on them. If she does lay eggs, let her sit on them  I gave Soph a paper towel at the bottom of her cage and she puts her eggs on there and does her thing.


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

*She would literally hold it until the second I took her out, then she would make GIANT poopies.*

Marshmallow is doing that at the moment! I have to let her out very frequently so that she can poop. Marshmallow refuses to poop in her cage and she has an egg bum. 
This is her poop that she just made a few minutes ago. http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums...A-E4BA-4DED-8FB0-73E410B59C51_zpsmhbppyj6.jpg


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

Oh dear... I sure hope she doesn't lay eggs... I have not seen them mating though. Tony doesn't seem to be in that mode at all. 
I will give them longer nights...


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## LaurulCat (Jan 4, 2014)

Birds don't have to mate for a hen to produce eggs. They just produce them whenever their hormones tell them to do it. The eggs you buy in the grocery store are produced by hens kept in a fourteen to sixteen hour day environment, all day, every day for about 230 days. Then, when the number of eggs they produce begins to slow down or fall off, they are sent to slaughter as stewing chickens or such.

Make sure your hen is getting adequate calcium, good food and lots of water. Egg binding is usually caused by thin shelled eggs or poor condition of the hen. Rarely, a hen is born with a stricture or mistake in their oviduct and cannot pass an egg normally; that is another complication. 

If she produces eggs, let her keep them on the bottom of the cage, on a paper towel or some newspaper. Allow her to sit on them as much as she wants, and thirty days after she lays her last egg, you can just throw them out; or sooner if she abandons them sooner. Usual minimal time to allow a hen to sit is 21 days.

When a hen is broody, that is sitting on eggs, they can get very aggressive and rock back and forth with their crest erect and hiss at even people they know and love. They are defending their nest and sometimes will draw blood. These are also the times during which you will see those huge brooding poops. There are some hens that will not poop inside their cage when they are brooding eggs and will wait until they are taken out to let a good one loose. They instinctually know not to foul their nest area.

I love it when my cockatiels pair off this time of year. The cocks are singing and pairing off with the hens and the hens are acting like stuck up hotties and leading the poor frustrated cocks around by the beak. Since my birds live cage free, I have mounted a few nest boxes on the walls to get the hens to lay their eggs in the boxes so I know where to look for the eggs when I kill the embryos by refrigeration. Last year I didn't put out any nest boxes and the hens kept crawling under the furniture and the wood stove to make nests and I had a heck of a time finding all the eggs to sterilize them.

I allow my birds to have mates, have sex as much as they wish, lay eggs if they wish and brood sterile or fake eggs. I just do not allow any babies to hatch. There are too many unwanted cockatiels out there and I refuse to produce more of them.

Just a few minutes ago, Sweety, a cock, went over to a nest box and landed on the perch in front of the nest opening. He called to his mate, Tweety, and she flew over and landed beside him; she took one look inside the box, stared at him for a moment and flew away. REJECTED! You should have seen the look on poor Sweety's face.


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

This is what egg poops look like on a diet with dye pellets. 









More brown, not so green but stinks just as bad.


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

Thank you all for the advice and the photos. LauruCat, I know a female can produce eggs even without mating. I just don't want chicks, so since I don't see Tony interested, hopefully if she does lay them, they won't hatch.
I am not sure I would have the heart to freeze the eggs though  So hopefully, I can just prevent egg laying.
So if hers are not "egg poops" why are they so big?


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

*So if hers are not "egg poops" why are they so big?*

I was just going to answer that question at my last post but I was in a rush and completely forgot. lol

Your hen might be starting to hold her poop. As you can see, she is holding them longer than usual. Marshmallow started off like that but it started to build up. 
I just arrived home to let her out of her cage and she made two HUGE egg poops in less than 5 minutes apart


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

So holding her poop is a sign that she may lay eggs?


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

I see poops like that a lot in my cage...are they morning poop? That can be pretty big and nasty.


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

*So holding her poop is a sign that she may lay eggs?
*

Holding their poop when they are nesting is one of the signs.

From cockatiel cottage


> signs of egg laying females getting ready to lay eggs will feel heavier, weigh more and their lower abdomen near the vent may feel firmer and look larger. When producing an egg, females will also start drinking much more water because eggs are made up of so much water. Chewing activity will also increase, as females start to shred more paper, perches, wood, toys etc. in preparation of a nest. Females may also become very protective of their cage, backing up into a corner, chirping softly. Prior to and during the egg laying process, the female will have very large, loose and odorous droppings. This is also normal. Droppings are retained in the cloaca and they are eliminated by the female in the morning. A total absence of droppings indicate egg binding.


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

moonchild said:


> I see poops like that a lot in my cage...are they morning poop? That can be pretty big and nasty.


No, it's not just morning poop. I find that all day long. She also "hides" in the corners and just sits there.


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

Haimovfids said:


> *So holding her poop is a sign that she may lay eggs?
> *
> 
> Holding their poop when they are nesting is one of the signs.
> ...


Thank you so much! Yes, I think she is probably nesting, silly girl... The thing is, her vet said not to let her do that because she is already taking medicine for her overpreening and damage to the wing. So she is not in the shape to be a mommy now.


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

Try hormonal reductions, I will definitely help Candy


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

Made by Sussane Russo


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

Ok, that's gross, LOL! Thanks so much for the pictures though, it definitely helps


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