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Understanding Bird Droppings
A quick guide to what’s normal, what can cause changes, and when it may be time to contact your avian veterinarian.
💡 QUICK ANSWER
A bird’s droppings can change based on diet, hydration, stress, hormones, and other factors. Knowing what’s normal for your individual bird makes it easier to recognize when something has changed.
What's Normal?
Normal bird droppings have three parts: feces, urates, and urine. The fecal portion is usually formed and can vary in color depending on what your bird has eaten. Urates are typically white or cream-colored, while the urine portion should be clear. Size, color, and frequency can vary between birds, so knowing what is normal for your bird is important.
What Can Cause Changes?
Not every change in droppings means your bird is sick. Temporary changes can happen for several reasons:
🥕 Diet
Colorful fruits, vegetables, pellets, and other foods can change the color or consistency of droppings.
💧 Hydration
Drinking more water or eating water-rich foods can temporarily increase the amount of liquid around a dropping.
😰 Stress or Excitement
Travel, vet visits, unfamiliar surroundings, or excitement can temporarily affect droppings.
🥚 Hormones & Egg Laying
Hormonal or nesting birds may hold their droppings longer, resulting in unusually large droppings.
🌅 Morning Droppings
Some birds hold their droppings overnight, so the first dropping of the morning may be much larger than usual.
🚨 TRUST YOUR GUT
You know what is normal for your bird. If something looks significantly different and your bird is acting unwell, don’t wait for the droppings to “go back to normal.” Contact an avian veterinarian.
When Should I Be Concerned?
A single unusual dropping isn’t always cause for alarm, especially after a change in food. Repeated or persistent changes are more important to pay attention to.
Contact an avian veterinarian if you notice ongoing diarrhea or unusually watery droppings, blood or black/tarry stool, significant changes in the color of the urates, consistently undigested food, straining to pass droppings, or a noticeable decrease in the number of droppings.
Changes in droppings are especially concerning when they’re accompanied by other signs of illness, such as lethargy, sitting fluffed up, loss of appetite, vomiting, weakness, weight loss, or changes in breathing.
Keep an Eye on the Whole Bird
Droppings are only one piece of the picture. Pay attention to your bird’s appetite, weight, activity level, behavior, breathing, and overall appearance too. Changes in several areas at once can be more meaningful than one unusual dropping.