Ask Lafeber

Budgie black poop

Hello there! I noticed today that my budgie who I got is march became really sleepy today and had 3 droppings that looked really dark. Almost like black but I’m not sure if it’s just a really really dark green. I’m wondering why my budgie is sleepy and producing dark droppings. He was acting fine yesterday and today he would run around and fly a little bit then sleep. He also got really excited today and perked up when I was making a sandwich. He didn’t eat anything on my sandwich, I just noticed his attitude changed. I’m also trying to convert his diet from a seed mix to pellets so I’ve been mixing the two together. I wonder if his poop is darker because I’ve been lessening the seeds and he hasn’t been eating much pellets. I’m just not sure what to do and I wonder if I should see a vet. My budgie has been preening, eating, and drinking water.

Hi,

New food can cause a change in droppings. Budgies can have very dark green droppings that appear black. If you smudge them on a white paper, you can see if they are actually dark green. Possibly the bird isn’t eating enough since you are trying to convert his diet. We do make a foraging diet, Nutri-Berries, that is formulated the same as a pellet, but the ingredients are not ground up. Budgies will usually readily accept these diets because the seeds are left whole – pellets use ground up seeds. We use fresh, human grade seeds with the hulls removed, mixed with other ingredients and then held together with a nutritionally balanced binder, so your bird gets complete nutrition in every bite. If you feel your bird is sick, you should take him to a Vet – sleeping more can be a sign of a problem.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda