Molting Season and Diarrhea

FLAMEonfire · Post by **FLAMEonfire** » Fri May 18, 2007 10:19 am

I know molting is very hard on the birds. But can it be causing my zebra's diarrhea? She was getting listless and her vent was all clogged. I've cleaned her and put her in a hospital cage for the heat and antibiotics, [just incase]. But I'm not sure this is the right things for her. She gets our egg mix everyday and veg's one day fruit the next. She has been breeding like she's trying to repopulate the birdie world . Could THAT cause the diarrhea? Anybody got any thoughts? Is there something else I can give her?

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Fri May 18, 2007 1:11 pm

When I kept Zebs I really never noticed when they were moulting. They didn't go through a hard moult like say.... Gouldians.

I believe I would lay off the fruits and veggies for 3-4 days and see if that makes any difference.

FLAMEonfire · Post by **FLAMEonfire** » Fri May 18, 2007 2:16 pm

Thanks, lol, I just started the fruit and veg's to see if I couldn't regular her. I never saw a zebra molt either, but she has the white waxy feathers on her head like I've seen on my gouldians. So I figured she was molting. So now What?

Crystal · Post by **Crystal** » Fri May 18, 2007 2:33 pm

Neither breeding nor molting by itself should cause diarrhea. They are both stressful events though and stress can be a contributing factor to illness. The diarrhea could be due to many causes, and limiting the fruit & veggies may or may not help. Since she's also acting sick (listless) I would say the veggies/fruit are not the culprit and that she is probably ill. Definitely keep her in the heated cage, and if she does not improve or if she gets worse, I'd suggest getting her to a vet if possible. Listlessness is never a good sign, and birds tend not to show any signs of illness until they are very sick.

Good luck and I hope she gets better.