Poopology

[Derk]

Seems I have been reading a lot about poopology lately, and I came across something interesting that I did not consciously think about but have actually noticed. It's also the first time I have seen it written in an article, but is something we should all be more consciously aware.

Distribution of the droppings on the floor
You should consider the time of day when you try to find out something about your bird because different distribution patterns are typical for day and night.

During night, a healthy bird remains perched at the same place and sleeps without any disturbance. The droppings therefore concentrate in a small area as you can see in the left part of the illustration in this paragraph. If the bird is jerky and not sleeping well he or she moves inside the cage or aviary at night. The droppings then are wide spread on the floor what can be seen in the right part of the illustration. If the droppings are spread on the floor in such a manner, for example parasites like red mites may have disturbed the bird while he tried to get some sleep.

The situation is exactly in reverse during the day. A healthy and active bird widely spreads its droppings on the floor. Concentrated amounts of droppings by day as shown in the right part of the illustration in this paragraph point on extended breaks and thus on a potentially existing illness.

source: http://www.birds-online.de/gesundheit/g ... kot_en.htm

[Sally]

Good point, I never thought of that.

[cindy]

Always best to use white paper toweling and photograph/observe the droppings throughout the day. First thing in the morning or nesting bird's dropping are typically larger.

[Derk]

cindy

I have a chronic egg laying lovebird. OMG! She must have a hollow wing (or she stores it in the hollow bones ). It's amazing how large her morning droppings can be. She has fake eggs to slow her down and she is VERY committed to making a nest for them and keeping them warm.

[Derk]

Sally
Like me you probably never really thought about it, but I bet if at the end of the day you saw a bird sitting above a pile of droppings you would have noticed.

I thought it was a tip worth mentioning for people first starting out.