Liquid Droppings

[Raleighwheels]

As some of you might remember, I posted a while ago about my female zebra not looking quite right after an egg burst while she was laying it.

For weeks, I boosted up her calcium in case she had another egg coming along. But, nothing ever came after the one that burst. She hadn't laid any eggs in a while, and I thought she was just having a stressful round this time, hence the increased calcium.

For a few weeks now, I have noticed some unusual droppings from her. Sometimes, there is just a small amount of actual fecal matter, usually a brown color, along with pure liquid. Other times, she poops just liquid. It is hard to describe, but it really shoots out of her in a stream.

Like before, I am not noticing any changes in her behavior. Just today, she was flying around and calling out to the other birds in the room. She is also eating and drinking just fine.

My girlfriend noticed the pure liquid poop just after her mate mounted her, so we both sort of assumed the female wasn't in the mood for mating, and was somehow able to expel the male's sperm. But, I keep on seeing her do this several times in a couple of hours, and I know there is no mating going on while I am there.

Is it possible that this could be caused by her getting too much calcium, or could she still be getting over being scratched/cut from the egg bursting and irritating her vent?

As of right now, I cut off her calcium, aside from the cuttlebone in the cage. I started giving her a drop of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar in each of the water bottles in the cage, because I read it can help with bacteria in the intestines and with digestion.

Anyone have any other ideas as to what could be going on?

[MLaRue]

Is she puffy at all? Does she feel like she is loosing weight? Is her keel bone sharp or protruding?

Have you given her anything besides the calcium and the ACV?

I didn't see the post about the eggshell burst thing but I would think that in itself would be cause for concern regarding a possible bacteria infection if anything was injured inside?

[Raleighwheels]

Is she puffy at all? Does she feel like she is loosing weight? Is her keel bone sharp or protruding?

Have you given her anything besides the calcium and the ACV?

I didn't see the post about the eggshell burst thing but I would think that in itself would be cause for concern regarding a possible bacteria infection if anything was injured inside?

She doesn't look puffy really. It is hard to say, because she has always had a little puffiness to her, but I would say no more than usual. I haven't been able to feel her keel bone, because she is so darn hard to catch. I am afraid of stressing her out too much. I have tried catching her with the lights off, but it doesn't work. She hasn't been eating more than usual, so I assume that her weight okay, but I will keep trying to catch her.

I haven't given her anything aside from the calcium and ACV.

When I made the post about the egg bursting incident, I posted some pictures of her vent area, and it was generally agreed that it just looked irritated and inflamed a bit. Everyone suggested that I give her warm baths, some calcium and some time for her to heal.

[MLaRue]

Her droppings shouldn't or wouldn't be liquid all the time if she were completely well... I wonder if it is possible she got a bacteria infection?

I really hate to suggest meds without seeing her but if she were my bird I would probably run her thru a med like Amoxitex or T-Sulfa.

[Raleighwheels]

Her droppings shouldn't or wouldn't be liquid all the time if she were completely well... I wonder if it is possible she got a bacteria infection?

I really hate to suggest meds without seeing her but if she were my bird I would probably run her thru a med like Amoxitex or T-Sulfa.

Thanks. I am going to really try hard to catch her and feel for that keel bone this week. I am going to try the lower calcium and the ACV thing right now, just so I can be positive that it has nothing to do with the increased calcium levels. If I don't see an improvement in a few days, I will call the avian vet.

[MLaRue]

http://www.avianweb.com/eggbinding.html

"Clinical Signs:
Loss of appetite, depression, abdominal straining, and sitting fluffed on the bottom of the cage. Some hens may pass large wet droppings while others may not pass any droppings due to the egg's interfering with normal defecation.

If you suspect that your bird is egg-bound, she should be seen by a vet immediately. The veterinarian may be able to feel the egg in the bird's abdomen. An x-ray may be necessary to confirm the diagnosis. Sometimes medical treatment will enable the hen to pass her egg. Occasionally surgery is necessary.

Complications from being egg bound can be swelling, bleeding or prolapse of the oviduct.

[Raleighwheels]

http://www.avianweb.com/eggbinding.html

"Clinical Signs:
Loss of appetite, depression, abdominal straining, and sitting fluffed on the bottom of the cage. Some hens may pass large wet droppings while others may not pass any droppings due to the egg's interfering with normal defecation.

If you suspect that your bird is egg-bound, she should be seen by a vet immediately. The veterinarian may be able to feel the egg in the bird's abdomen. An x-ray may be necessary to confirm the diagnosis. Sometimes medical treatment will enable the hen to pass her egg. Occasionally surgery is necessary.

Complications from being egg bound can be swelling, bleeding or prolapse of the oviduct.

Thanks for the info. While I am not 100% sure if that is the problem, since it has been going on for almost a month, I am going to call the vet in the morning. Thinking back to the start of all this made me realize that this is been going on for too long. Sadly, I am sure I won't be able to get her in until next week, because all the vets are pretty poor on getting you in as soon as possible.

[MLaRue]

I went to do bird dishes and thought about this a little more -

I agree the Vet is your best bet right now especially if you have access to an Avian vet...

Did I read correctly or interpret that she is still with her mate? If she is this might be happening again? It is most common to remove the female from the male so that she is not pressured into breeding again - she will need a long rest if she showed true signs of egg binding or soft shells - as in months away from her mate while she builds up her reserves again for breeding...

I wish you the best of luck with her and hope the Vet can see you sooner rather than later.

[Raleighwheels]

I went to do bird dishes and thought about this a little more -

I agree the Vet is your best bet right now especially if you have access to an Avian vet...

Did I read correctly or interpret that she is still with her mate? If she is this might be happening again? It is most common to remove the female from the male so that she is not pressured into breeding again - she will need a long rest if she showed true signs of egg binding or soft shells - as in months away from her mate while she builds up her reserves again for breeding...

I wish you the best of luck with her and hope the Vet can see you sooner rather than later.

She is still with her mate right now. It is strange, because for a while, she was laying eggs every so often, then she just stopped for months. Then, in March, I noticed her getting into the laying mood again. She is a very dominant bird and only allows her mate to mount her if she really wants it and is in the mood. Most of the time, if he is even on the same branch and is singing to her, she will become aggressive and get him to back off. Sometimes, I wonder how they even produced a clutch together. At the same time, they are very sweet to each other and cuddle next to one another before going to bed.

[lovemyfinch]

What colour is her fecal matter If it is clear, I agree with Misty that she may be eggbound and the fecal matter is not able to exit due to the obstruction,
If it is rather greenish or brownish, I would go with a bacterial infection, and if you are unable to get her into the vet, I would personally start her up on antibiotics. In my recent experience, if she has a bacterial infection, once she starts puffing up and slowing down it may be too late.
Last but not least, separate her from her mate, and put a heat lamp on her cage, so that she can get the heat when she wants and get away when she needs to.
I hope she feels better soon.

[Raleighwheels]

What colour is her fecal matter If it is clear, I agree with Misty that she may be eggbound and the fecal matter is not able to exit due to the obstruction,
If it is rather greenish or brownish, I would go with a bacterial infection, and if you are unable to get her into the vet, I would personally start her up on antibiotics. In my recent experience, if she has a bacterial infection, once she starts puffing up and slowing down it may be too late.
Last but not least, separate her from her mate, and put a heat lamp on her cage, so that she can get the heat when she wants and get away when she needs to.
I hope she feels better soon.

The liquid poops are clear looking. She hasn't slowed down yet, but she just looks uncomfortable. I was able to call the vet, and I have an appointment tomorrow at 2. Now I just have to figure out how to catch her. The cage is too small for a net, but too big for me to just use a hand.

[Mozelle]

Before you go to the vet, replace the cage liner with clean paper towel. It would be best if you had only her in the cage. The point is to have samples of her droppings to take for any tests they may choose. My own vet/co-worker had me do the same once.
From that we were able to determine coccidiosis.

Best of luck!

[ac12]

I use a sheet of krinolin about 18" square, makes it a LOT easier to catch the birds.

My zebras will shoot/squirt their poop out. I have a sheet of plastic on the side of my cages to prevent them from shooting their poop on the walls and furniture, and it is coated with their poop.

[Raleighwheels]

I use a sheet of krinolin about 18" square, makes it a LOT easier to catch the birds.

My zebras will shoot/squirt their poop out. I have a sheet of plastic on the side of my cages to prevent them from shooting their poop on the walls and furniture, and it is coated with their poop.

Thanks for the tip. I am definitely going to try that. I have two of those Petco flight cages hooked together to make one long 60 inch cage, and it can be very difficult to get them because there is so much cage for them to fly to. I once tried getting them wet, but they can still fly pretty well when wet, plus I thought it stressed them out too much.

I wish I had a video camera to show you guys what it is like. I can only describe it as a steady stream of pure liquid.

[Sally]

Can you get someone to help you catch the bird? They could put their hands in one end, shoo the birds to the other end, where you could catch them. Hope the vet is able to help you, and that is a good suggestion to put some paper towel on the floor for the vet to see.