# Concerned about Honey's poop.



## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Honey just did a poop and I snapped a photo because nothing about it is normal:



I watched her until she did a second one and this is what it looks like:



She's generally a happy girl and has a great appetite, but she does tend to take more naps than the other three. Everyone else's poops look normal. She's also just started a molt. I have no idea what her weight is. I just checked on her again and she's got her head tucked under her wing ready for another nap. 

I'm gonna get her to the vet ASAP. Please send Honey your best wishes.


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## JoJo's Mom (Oct 20, 2012)

Wow that first one really does look off. I agree a vet's visit is in order. Sending lots of good thoughts for her and hope that all turns out well. :flowers:


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

I'm no professor in poopology, and I hope it isn't this, but could it possibly be psittacosis? I sincerely hope not, and regardless, wish the best for poor Honey


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Nothing about this suggests psittacosis to me. 

The first poop has two undigested seeds in it, which is the most concerning thing. The second pic looks more or less normal, although somewhat more watery than usual. Occasional undigested seeds can be normal, especially in a bird that's stressed, but chronic undigested seeds are almost always a sign of illness.

Usually undigested seed in the fecal portion of poop indicates that there's inflammation in the digestive tract. This can be caused by an imbalance of bacteria, infection, or a variety of other things. At minimum, you want a gram stain from the vet. If her poop keeps having undigested seeds, I'd consider bloodwork and possibly xray too.


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Psittacosis... that word freaked me out :frown:

Last week her nares were quite reddish-pink, too. I thought perhaps she'd hit her nose on something but now it makes much more sense that it could be because she's sick. Her poops have been very watery lately, especially the urates.

I just scheduled an appointment with my avian vet for tomorrow at 3:30pm. That was the soonest time I could get in.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

It's normal for their nares to get more pink if they've recently scratched or had any type of recent exertion. There's a lot of blood flow to the nares, so they flush just like our faces do.

I don't think you have any reason to panic right now. Most likely she has an imbalance in her gut flora that can be easily corrected with probiotics, antibiotics, or some combination of both.


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Thanks enigma731, I hope so. She hasn't passed any more undigested seeds that I'm aware of, (I was at work so couldn't watch her anymore until tonight), but she did a couple of poops tonight that were very very dark in colour. She was napping again when I got home from work, and I've noticed that after every sip of water she takes, she kind of hiccups/coughs for about a minute afterwards. Is this normal?

I'm trying not to panic but it's hard. I love her so much. If Henry panics too much when I try to separate them I might have to take him along to the vet with her, haha. He's very attached to Honey and was singing to her all evening.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Dark droppings indicate slowed movement through the GI tract. That suggests that she either isn't eating as much as usual or has gastric slowing due to some kind of gut flora imbalance.

The coughing/hiccuping after drinking water can be normal, but if it's new and it's happening every time, that sounds more like there's some kind of irritation in her throat or crop.

I'd guess she's going to end up with some antibiotics.


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## CaliTiels (Oct 18, 2012)

Apologies. Like I said, I wish I knew more about illness, but that's not my strong suit. 

enigma, I am truly envious of your knowledge


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

She coughs after drinking almost every time. So does Henry. So I suppose that's okay.

Honey has had more undigested food in all of the droppings I've seen her do today. There's a kind of mucus-like substance as well. We're going to the vet in about an hour. I'll update you guys on how that goes after I get home from work tonight.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Good luck!


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Henry was traumatized when I took Honey away but Honey was fine and was quiet during the ride to the vet. It stressed her out a lot when the vet examined her and weighed her etc, and she ended up flying around the room until she was puffed but good girl for not crashing into the window. Turns out she weighs 88g which the vet thought was excellent and said she's in great condition, although I assumed she would weigh more than that but I can't say if that's her normal weight or not because I don't have my own scale - yet. The vet did a gram stain but couldn't find anything wrong with the poops. No undigested seed was passed while we were there. I forgot to bring my phone to show her the pics I posted in this thread so I've just emailed them through now.

She said probiotics are definitely worth trying, but they only had a paste form in stock so I'm going to get some capsules asap. She also said that putting some flaxseed oil in Honey's food might help with digestion, so I'm going to get some of that, too. So apart from those suggestions no meds were prescribed, but my vet said to bring her back if the undigested poops continue and she will do further tests. Overall she said, like you said enigma, that it seems to be a minor digestive issue that can be corrected easily enough. I'm so relieved.

Honey did vomit on the way home though. I'm assuming it's not related and it was because she was so stressed out from the whole ordeal.

Henry was soo pleased to see his beloved again. Here's how he greeted her:


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## JoJo's Mom (Oct 20, 2012)

So glad things turned out well! Here is hoping for a speedy recovery


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

It's probably a good idea to prioritize getting a scale now, because continued weight loss would be a sign of something more serious going on that you'd need to address with the vet. Most likely the probiotics will take care of it, though.

Also, that picture is adorable!


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

I just ordered a scale now. It should arrive sometime next week. I'd get one from a local shop but all the ones I've seen are outrageously expensive.

Yeah, they're pretty adorable together  Henry's been singing non stop since Honey's been home. Today he's strutting around and keeps going back to her to 'kiss' her. I haven't seen any undigested poops today, but I think I'm going to replace the usual newspaper with plain white paper so I can see them better.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

White paper is a good idea. You'll also want to watch and make sure the vomiting was a one-time thing, although I agree it was most likely from the stress and possibly the car ride.


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

She hasn't vomited since then and I can't see any undigested seed in her recent droppings. Yay! 

She seems very tired though and very quiet. The other three are picking on her a bit, too - even Henry. She just kind of brushes them off and goes and sits somewhere far away from the other 'tiels. They share a very large flight cage so there's more than enough room for everyone, and no one is going out of their way to annoy her so it seems okay for now. I don't think she would do well in separate cage on her own.

I got some probiotics and some flaxseed oil today. I'm wondering how much I should give her. I plan to put it in some soft food, is it fine to put the oil and the probiotic in together? Or should I make a separate mix for each? How much of one capsule should she have as one dose? Thanks in advance.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Probiotics don't have very exact dosing. Do the capsules give you any instructions? I use these and the dose is about 1/8 teaspoon but I'm not sure how that would compare to capsules. The bottom line is that you want to make sure she's getting some, and you don't really need to worry about overdose. I've never used flaxseed oil with my birds before, so I can't offer much guidance there. Can you call or email the vet and ask for a guideline?

It sounds like she's doing pretty well, although I'd definitely keep an eye on the tiredness, which I'm sure you're already doing.


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

My vet said it's fine to use the probiotics made for humans so I got these. She wasn't clear about exactly how much to give, basically she just said a very very small amount, and the same with the flaxseed oil. It's good to know you can't really overdose on them, though.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

I would probably go with 1/8-1/4 of what's in the capsule, depending on how much of the food you think Honey is actually going to eat. I dilute probiotics in my birds' water, so they obviously aren't getting anywhere near all of what I put in.


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## Brandon2k14 (Nov 26, 2014)

enigma731 said:


> Nothing about this suggests psittacosis to me.
> 
> The first poop has two undigested seeds in it, which is the most concerning thing. The second pic looks more or less normal, although somewhat more watery than usual. Occasional undigested seeds can be normal, especially in a bird that's stressed, but chronic undigested seeds are almost always a sign of illness.
> 
> Usually undigested seed in the fecal portion of poop indicates that there's inflammation in the digestive tract. This can be caused by an imbalance of bacteria, infection, or a variety of other things. At minimum, you want a gram stain from the vet. If her poop keeps having undigested seeds, I'd consider bloodwork and possibly xray too.


When I first got Rocko he had undigested seed in his poop and he was very stressed.


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

enigma731 said:


> I would probably go with 1/8-1/4 of what's in the capsule, depending on how much of the food you think Honey is actually going to eat. I dilute probiotics in my birds' water, so they obviously aren't getting anywhere near all of what I put in.


Okay, I will do that, thanks. I was thinking about putting it in water but since they all share one water bowl and that Sophie occasionally splashes it everywhere, I figured that making Honey her own portion of medicated soft food would work much better.

My vet also said she thought Honey could be coming into breeding condition, as spring is only just around the corner. There's no doubt that Henry has been trying his best to stimulate her hormones and has definitely been stressing her out with all his effort.

As soon as my scale arrives I'm going to weigh everyone.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

I think since you're giving her the probiotics for a specific reason rather than just general maintenance, it makes sense to give her an individual portion. I give them to my girls all the time in the water because of Roo's chronic digestive issues, but if someone's taking antibiotics or otherwise needs the probiotics for a specific reason, I also make sure to put it in something I know they're eating.

I'm sending Honey (and you) some good healthy thoughts.


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

I've given Honey one dose (1/4 of a capsule) and she hasn't had any more undigested poops, yay! They're also much less watery and more well-formed. My other 'tiels have eaten some of the food that I put the probiotics and flaxseed oil in, but I've seen Honey have a decent munch of it so I know she's getting a good amount. It seems to be working great. How often should I be giving the probiotics? Is twice a week okay?


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

I give them daily all the time. There really isn't a good guideline on how to use probiotics (in birds or in humans), so you can kind of go by trial and error. It won't hurt them to be given daily, though. It's similar to us having a yogurt each day. I'm glad she seems to be feeling better!


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Awesome. I've been giving it every day now. 

The scale arrived:





Coco jumped on it first go. That's no surprise because he's obsessed with shiny things. He weighs 74.8 grams according to this scale. I think last time he went to the vet he weighed around 75g so it seems pretty accurate. I'll have to bribe the other three to get on it though, they seemed quite put off by the sight of it.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Haha, adorable! How is Honey doing?


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## Francesca (Apr 30, 2015)

Oh that is really neat! Hope your baby is doing better.


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Honey's poops have been completely normal ever since I've been giving her the probiotics and flaxseed oil. She's feeling a lot better it seems, and she's more active.


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## Francesca (Apr 30, 2015)

Wow what a difference the right treatments make. So glad.


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## littletiel (May 15, 2011)

So glad it was nothing serious! 
Lovely scale! Where did you get it? It looks perfect for cockatiels.


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

I bought the scale on TradeMe, it's a NZ only buy and sell website. You can find anything on there. I think it's a jewelry scale or something, it goes from 0.01g to 500g.


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## littletiel (May 15, 2011)

Thanks. Ah yes, I had once almost registered because there was something I was interested in, but I think it wanted me to pay some money for the registration in order to have some funds (something like seller protection?) and I was only interested in that product so I did not sign up, but I will have a look again.


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## littletiel (May 15, 2011)

Oh, it's also on eBay, and pretty cheap too!


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

I use TradeMe a lot haha. Yeah, I thought it might be on eBay too. I got a pretty good deal for it.


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