A Food Lover's Guide to Bird Poop

Bird poop may not be a topic you are eager to read about, but there are a few basic things that every bird owner should know.

If you know what to look for, you can tell a lot about the state of your bird's health by paying attention to what is at the bottom of the cage beneath your bird's favorite perch. Being familiar with what you are looking at and what it all means should help you to know if your bird is eating and drinking and if all is well or not. Changes in your bird's poop can be an early warning sign of illness and can provide valuable information to you and your bird's vet.

It is especially important to monitor your bird's droppings when you first bring a new bird home so that you can see if he is eating and drinking as he adjusts to his new home.

Following is an internet post from a very knowledgeable "bird lady" and friend, Dawn Woodland. It's a unique take on a less than appetizing topic and if you think it is in "poor taste" then you are probably right.

"Here goes:

Bird poop is composed of three parts:
1) The feces (aka "poop")
2) Urates (we don't have these, but it is a whitish/cream "dot" or streak in the dropping)
3) Urine (clear and wet...although you may not notice unless your bird has just taken a drink or a bath. A dropping with good moisture should look moist....never dry or hard).

So here we go:

GOOD POOP!

1) Pistachio pudding with a dot of whipped cream

2) Milk chocolate pudding with a dot of whipped cream

3) Caramel pudding with a dot of whipped cream

As you can see...GOOD POOP comes in a variety of colours from lightish green to green/brown to a caramel colour, depending what the bird is eating.

UH OH POOP!

1) Well chewed black licorice with no whipped cream (black, sticky and tarry in consistency)

2) Tiny dark, hard peas with a dot of icing sugar.

Black licorice means that your bird is in starvation mode, and this is a "crisis" sign that your bird is not eating.

Tiny dark, hard peas are a sign that your bird is eating very little and not drinking sufficiently...the urates tend to be dry and not "creamy". Poops like this often stick to the bum feathers as well. If this occurs, your bird needs to be rehydrated with fluid (water or Pedialyte or Gatoraide-in a pinch), and possibly hand fed.

NO POOP!

Just wet fluid with watery whipped cream is usually a sign that your bird is drinking, but not eating sufficiently.

Hopefully, that helps you out visually a bit, and didn't spoil anyone's breakfast!"

- Parrots, Parrots, Parrots would like to thank, Dawn Woodland for allowing us to post this information. Dawn was Senior Wildlife Rehabilitator at Vancouver Island’s largest Wildlife Rehabilitation facility, servicing 1,600 sick, injured, and orphaned birds and mammals per year. She is currently retired, but continues to volunteer in the avian community, and spends much time lavishing attention on her own flock of birds…including two adorable parrotlets…Kinney and Brockley.