FINCHforum

Okay, so, as I mentioned in another thread, Priscilla is sick again.

I've separated her due to the babies.

I'm glad I did as she started pooping oddly -- a light grey. The exact same color as her feathers, actually.

Check this out:



My thought is charcoal?
I just started giving it to them perhaps a week ago and I have seen her eating it.
Nothing excessive.
I put it in there in a tiny handmade bowl. It's literally a 1/4 teaspoon at a time and that takes quite a while to go down.
So I don't think it's an impaction or anything like that.

Her appetite is totally normal.
And her poopies are well formed as you can see.
But they're all uniformly grey.

Is this a normal charcoal thing? I've never given it before.
Or is it due to something else? (No other black or grey foods that could cause this.)

Do you think perhaps the charcoal upset her stomach and made her feel unwell? That's possible, right?

I removed it, obviously.

A recap: She's puffed and hanging out under the heat lamp.
She seems a bit weak, as she had a tough time flying to the upper parts of the cage (it's a bit over 3 ft tall)

No diarrhea.
No respiratory symptoms.
Eating normally.
Not as vocal as normal, but still chirping here and there.

Nobody else has grey poop.
And nobody else seems sick, thank god.

Thoughts???

Charcoal will change the droppings to gray and even black.

If giving medications he charcoal can not be given at the same time, the charcoal will absorb the medication.

You need to watch the charcoal intake, some will gorge on it. I saw a necropsy of a friend's gouldian that passed away, I had all the sudden gone light and passed. The vet did a necropsy, she literally found 3 seeds in the crop which was very impacted with charcoal. My friend was told by the vet to remove the charcoal from the aviary for the time being.

That's normal for charcoal. Charcoal should not affect her health but it would totally absorb and nullify any other treatment/vitamin/even NV powder you give her. It is given when people swallow poison accidentally to absorb it. It will go through her intestines and absorb toxins...which isn't a bad thing, and restores the natural flora in the intestines. Too much is bad, or long term taking of it because it causes malnutrition problems because it takes the nutrients out of the body.
I would just keep her warm and watch her. Electrolytes until the NV powder comes. Maybe she's just fighting something. Her resistance is probably low from her recent bout with illness. If it's something else, then it's just not manifesting itself yet.

cindy -- Thanks for the info!

Indeed, I knew that the charcoal would absorb the meds, which is actually why I removed it. (Though after seeing the poop, I definitely would have removed it if I hadn't already!)
Curious that nobody else has that grey poop. Perhaps they didn't really eat it.

Do you think it could have upset her belly and made her unwell?

I've heard of the gorging and crop impaction issues before, which is why I offered only a very small amount in a super small bowl (about the size of a tablespoon. I have a pottery studio and make these myself. Smaller than anything else I've ever seen!) Easier to monitor it that way, I think vs. offering in a larger bowl where you can't tell how much is consumed.

Grey droppings can also be a bacterial infection. If it doesn't improve after taking away the charcoal I would consider a bacterial infection, which could explain her symptoms.

debbie276 -- Thank you, Debbie!
Will do!

I started her on antibiotics, so hopefully if it's bacterial, we should have it covered.

How long does it take a bird to complete a full digestive cycle from eating to pooping? (In other words, if it was from charcoal, how long would it take her to poop it all out?)

I know dogs and cats are 12-24 hours, but I realized I have no idea on the digestive cycle of a bird!

if you stared her on antibiotics remove all charcoal from the cage.

cindy -- All set!
I'd actually pulled it yesterday and forgot to put it back in.
But indeed, don't want it to soak up the meds!

And she's in her own sick cage now, so nothing in there but her nest, hay, water, millet, seed, egg food, mealworms, bloodworms and herb salad.

Would bacterial infection be greenish? I don't know much about bird biology, but can it be an indication of a liver problem? Hopefully not. Waiting to see how removing the charcoal and adding the antibiotics will do. Best of luck, and keep us posted.

Would bacterial infection be greenish?

Could be greenish or yellow also.

debbie276 wrote:

Would bacterial infection be greenish?

Could be greenish or yellow also.

Yep, that's what I meant, yellowish/greenish/boogerish lol. They usually start yellowish and turn greenish as the infection progresses and bacterial numbers rise. That's why our mucus goes from clear to turbid then yellowish and finally greenish as we get sicker with bacterial infections (ew).

In any case, that's why I guessed liver problem, because I know in people greyish stools mean there isn't enough bile secretion.

Well, FWIW, Priscilla's poopies are looking much more normal.

She's much less puffed and seems to be on the mend.
Definitely not getting worse, that's for certain.
Thank goodness as I'm just not ready to lose her yet. Elvis isn't either.

Everyone else is a bit upset too.
Elvis will not leave the perch that's located right where the cages meet. He talks and sings to her incessantly. She talks back too.
These two are just so precious! I've never seen such a bonded pair of finches.

The other three are also lined up on a slightly higher perch that lets them peek into Priscilla's temporary digs.
It's clear they're all worried about her.
For perspective, I've never seen anyone but Molly Sue sleep on a perch (and only when the babies grow to the point where only one parent can fit in the nest.)
They've always slept in nests or on shelves. So it's a clear rallying around Priscilla in their own finchy way.

So odd! I don't think anyone told them they're supposed to be snippity zebras! They're not supposed to be so bonded as a flock. But I certainly won't complain! I wish all zebs could form such great bonds both together and as a group.