Oh poop. Is the color okay?

[koimeteria]

For about 2-3 days now, my little Andradite's poop has gone from its normal chocolate brown, to the color of hummus (a light tan). I am no poop expert (though after having Andra for a year I may well become one) so I wanted to ask the advise of those wiser in the ways of bird poop. Is this color normal, and if not, what are good steps to remedy this?
Behold. Freshly laid poops, not five minutes old.



As always, thank you very much.

[Marianne Marlow]

Could you let us know what her normal diet is and what she had eaten and drank that day, prior to the poop?

[Hezz]

We would need to know a whole heap more than just some lighter-coloured poop.

What has she been eating; is there anything different; has she been doing anything different; acting any differently; is she in breeding condition; does she have a mate, or a companion; how are they acting??? What is her normal diet; has she been hitting the cuttlebone, eggfoood, mineral block etc harder than normal???

Also a photo or two of the girl at the moment could be helpful as well.

[koimeteria]

Marianne Marlow Hezz
Okay,

Age- About six months old, so not sure about whether she's old enough to breed or not

Diet- mainly a seed mix, lettuce when I can get some, (She isn't interested in hard boiled egg, but I'll keep trying) occasionally a little thing of parakeet jell-o (it says "apple and mixed veggies"), a little thing of millet, and once in a blue moon, a tiny crumb of potato chip or ritz cracker crumb.
I just put a cuttlebone in on Wednesday, and she loves it, she nibbles on it all the time.
Today she has simply had seeds and water.

Actions- Other than her nibbling on her toes a lot today (it's a bit odd) she's as happy and healthy acting as ever. She was just sitting on my hand attacking my pencil while I was writing a few hours ago. She's been climbing all over me, and we've been playing with toilet paper together. She has been a bit nippy as of late, but I attribute that to itchy skin from the molt, she has a lot of dandruff.

Other- She lives alone, just her and I, and she has had no contact with any other animals since I bought her 5 months ago. She's been molting for about two months, but it seems to be heaviest now, although she has no bald spots and a ton of little pinfeathers coming in.

Thank you for your help, as always.

Here's a quick video I just took of her for you, and a picture of the jelly
She kept jumping up on my phone so I gave up.

[Marianne Marlow]

It could be that she's been chewing the cuttlefish more. I'm not sure of the impact of the parrot jelly on poops.
I think that people here only get those for larger birds, not sure they're sold for budgies in the UK.

Is it Japan that you're based?

[koimeteria]

Marianne Marlow Yes, I'm currently living in Japan. Well these jellies were specifically marketed for lovebirds and parakeets, so I assumed they were okay. My Japanese is upper elementary/lower intermediate, so I can't give you a lot of detail about what's in this stuff, sorry. ^-^; Her poop can get runny if I've let her have some, but I don't recall it ever going all light colored for three days straight. I gave her cuttlebone back when I first got her, but she ignored it and pooped on it until it was nasty and I took it out. I only just now got a new one for her, so it could very well be that. Do you think there's any cause for alarm with the current poop color? I'm sorry about all these questions I've been asking lately, I just really want to make sure she's okay.

[Marianne Marlow]

She certainly looks healthy. I'm wondering if it's her natural "hen" behaviour coming to the fore, biting, chewing cuttlefish..

Hezz what do you think? you have more experience with hormonal hen behaviour than me.

[koimeteria]

Marianne Marlow Biting only usually happens if she feels thwarted, like if she sees a cookie or cracker or crumb of some unknown variety and tries to make a bee-line for it, and I stop her. I kinda expect a sharp nip of reproach then, but lately she's been a bit cranky.

[Deleted]

My budgies poop has been the same colour as your budgies since he's been on pellet diet. Your birds droppings look ok, and there's no polyuria from what I can see, although the background isn't great. As your bird seems healthy I think it could be diet related. Try and limit what she eats and see if the colour goes back to what it was. If you're still worried you should consider contacting a vet.

[Deleted]

I've just watched the video. Oh how cute is she? Gorgeous little budgie.

[Hezz]

I think it could well be due to her hitting the cuttlebone ..... it also does sound as though she might be starting to feel her hormones (the timing is right), also the grumps over a prolonged moult will not be helping her. She sounds like a very typical little hen. Eating anything pale is going to reduce the colour of her poo, the lettuce could also be a factor. Lettuce is a bit useless as a food, you would be better trying her with things like the asian greens, dark leafy vegetables have much better nutritional value than lettuce which is basically a little fibre and a lot of water ..... unless it is one of the very dark green/red lettuces.

My verdict: Andradite is a normal teenage hen, being and doing everything that a normal teenage hen could be expected to do. With not knowing what is in those jelly things, I would give them a miss, as well. I can't be happy with processed food for birds ..... they are bad enough for us. Just accept that you are going to get a nip when she is not allowed to do something - she is pushing the boundaries to see if she can get away with it. Stand firm and you will both be better off for it in the long run.

[koimeteria]

Hezz Marianne Marlow Jane
Thank you all for your answers and help. I actually found a vet and took her in for a checkup. She's just fine, her weight is good (I think he said 3 grams, does that sound right?)and her fecal exam was also good. I asked about the jellies, and he told me they were fine occasionally, so that's good since she's quite fond of them. As to the biting, she doesn't mind the traveling that much, but after the first part of the exam where the nice vet tech was holding her, she got so mad, she ended up biting, of all people, -me-! First time she ever drew blood, but I'll forgive her since the vet exam was super stressful. It was the pad of my thumb, so it did hurt quite a bit though.

[Marianne Marlow]

I'm glad you got her checked up.

3 grams wouldn't be right. She should be between 45 and 55g, so something in the translations has gone wrong!

Hows her poop now?

[koimeteria]

Marianne Marlow It's still light, but I watched the vet put a newly "laid" sample onto the glass slide myself, and he said it's fine. It may be the introduction of the cuttlebone.