Highly unusual dropping

[DCbeachboy]

Yesterday I found a highly unusual dropping in one of my birds' baths -- clearly left by the patriarch of my little flock. (See photo) This thing was 1.25 inches in length.

A brief background on this bird: He was diagnosed more than 2 years ago with two benign fatty tumors caused by his inability to process fats. One tumor is in his chest area, and one in his vent area. I've had him examined by a vet twice, but there's nothing that can be done for the tumors -- other than sprinkling L-Carnitine powder on his seed each day to aid in his body's processing of fats.

But he is an extraordinarily friendly and happy bird, sings for much of the day, and doesn't seem sick at all. His behavior is perfectly normal in every way except one -- he seems to have difficulty with his droppings. They don't come out easily, and when they finally do they typically are very large, white and gooey -- causing him to shake his rear several times in order to release it....especially the first thing in the morning when he awakens.

Yet this has been going on for 2 and a half years, and the one he left in his bath yesterday is dramatically different than all the others. Never in the past has the dropping been almost entirely green, with a separate white section. In the past, the dropping has always been uniform in color -- ranging from white to grayish-white. He does enjoy fresh kale daily, which would explain the green -- although yesterday was one of the rare days I didn't provide him with kale, oddly enough.

Has anyone seen something like this before? Any ideas?

[lovezebs]

DCbeachboy

Hi Dave.

That's quite the speciment. It quite definitely looks like he had quite a healthy feed of greens, which didn't really get digested all the way. As you mentioned that he didn't have greens that day, it might have sat in his guts for an extra day.

You mention that he has a hard job eliminating, so that would explain the large poops. You will similarly see very large dropings in hens that are incubating, because they hold it in for longer periods of time.

Unless he seems in any kind of discomfort, I wouldn't worry all that much. If he's eating well, and digesting the rest of his food properly, and is happy, then....

~Elana~

[MiaCarter]

Agreed with lovezebs

There are 3 parts to a dropping. We have:
- urine, the actual liquid
- urates, the white stuff
- feces, the brown/green stuff.

Everything basically empties into one "chamber" and then, it's expelled via the vent. So there can be some mixing of the 3 parts; other times, there's a distinct division between the feces and the urates like you see here. So that's not abnormal at all.

As Elana mentioned, lots of greens can result in green feces. And it could certainly happen a day after he ate, as it takes time for the body to process it.

I'd ensure he's getting enough fluids. Some birds just don't drink enough. So I'd continue with lots of fresh greens, fruits, veggies, etc.
Just like in a human, a bird who's dehydrated will have harder poops, which can be harder to pass.

It sounds like this is just how his body operates. Like humans, birds vary. Some folks poop at the same time every day like clockwork; others poop more randomly every couple days or whatever. The guy who poops every couple days is going to have bigger droppings than the guy who poops like clockwork.

The longer feces stays in your body, the more water is pulled out. So it makes sense that these large droppings would be stickier and harder to pass.

In all, I think the texture looks good and the color is pretty normal for a bird who ate lots of greens.

In addition to adding more liquids to his diet, I'd also offer probiotics. That will populate his gut with happy bacteria.

Is there any possibility he could have intestinal parasites? Worms or a protozoal infection? With worms, you'll see segments, like threads in the dropping. With protozoal infection, you see a general, vague "off-ness" and the droppings may be discolored green.

If you were to remove all greens from the diet and saw green droppings, then that would suggest an issue.

If you've never treated your flock, a de-wormer and a protozoal med like Ronivet would do the trick. I do this for all of my new birds during the quarantine period.

[DCbeachboy]

Thanks -- very useful insight. I haven't provided them probiotics in quite some time, probably a couple of years. So I'll definitely give it a go, and see if that makes a difference. It's worth a try.

As for worms -- I'm skeptical that's the culprit, although I won't rule it out entirely. If he were infected, wouldn't his cagemate also have them? They've been housed together for about a year and a half. I've had the bird in question for just over 4 years, and his cagemate for almost 2 years. Both of these birds came from the same very reputable breeder who I know for a fact keeps some of the healthiest birds you'll find anywhere. In fact 3 of my 4 birds came from this same breeder, while the 4th was from another breeder whom I also trust fully.

Can worms ever arise naturally -- without exposure to another infected bird? Or does it ALWAYS require exposure?

The dramatic change in his poops started 2 years ago almost immediately after he had weaned his 3 chicks. No idea what impact that might have had, and maybe it's just coincidence -- but it began within 2-3 days after the last time I saw him feed the last of his chicks.

Along with the change in his droppings was a HUGE increase in water intake. He drinks at least 5 times more water than any of my other birds -- typically between 1.25 and 1.75 ounces daily (based on observing him while he was housed alone for a while). At one point he was drinking slightly under 2 full ounces daily. It's almost as if he's continually trying to flush something out of his gut.