Ask Lafeber

How to stop my bird from eating his own poop?

Hi,
My budgie eats his own poop. At first I though he was just picking at it but I’ve now watched him nibble away until nothing was left but a few crumbs.

Do I need to stop this? What can I do to stop it?

He is a solo budgie and I work from home so I’m around all day. He is also very apprehensive of new things, much more than the average bird I learn about or see videos about. It takes him weeks or months to warm up to things.

I try to sing and play with him, or read with him, or play music. I’ve only had him for 6 months and was told he was found outdoors being chased by a crow. I keep his door open so he can choose when he comes and goes. I have not held him yet and am working building trust, I don’t want to force it, I want him to initiate if he’s comfortable. He is currently comfortable with me putting hands in his cage, resting a hand near him, and standing near him. He eats near me, and often blinks slowly at me, sings facing me, and grinds his beak at me (heart melting…). He also flies toward me a few times when he is flying, although doesn’t touch me.

I took him to the vet a few months ago, before noticing the behaviour, and they said he’s in good health. He eats well, flies and sings daily, and seems to be sleeping well at night from what I can tell. That said I do not have a UV light and wonder if this is related.

He is mostly on a seed diet. I’ve been introducing veggies and at times he will nibble. I also mix his seeds with about 10% Harrisons super fine pellets, and think that he occasionally eats some (based on crumbs at bottom of dish). Once I see crumbs increasing, I plan to increase the ratio of pellets in seeds.

For about 2 weeks I have been giving half a Nutriberry daily, I do half since they’re quite big compared to him and I don’t want to waste. I don’t know if he touches these yet. Once I see he is eating them I will increase portion.

I also just started introducing Hari Prime into his water since he doesn’t reliably eat anything other than seeds. He didn’t touch it the first few days so I’ve reduced the amount of Prime in the water and will gradually increase it. I suspect the smell and colour change put him off initially. He had some today, happily.

I’ve also put a little water and a sprinkle of Hari Prime on a separate dish of seeds, with a broken up piece of a Nutriberry, today. I’ve never given him wet food before and was happy to see he ate from that dish! I hope he gets a little Prime from removing the seed husks.

I was hoping the introduction of new more nutritious foods would help him meet his nutritional requirements, and reduce poop eating.

He also nibbles his cage, usually around bed time only (I think), which I have read is normal, or can be a sign of a deficiency.

He eats poop any time of day! Lol. He had a poop snack this morning and I watched it disappear. So I am certain he is ingesting the poop now.

Any suggestions to help my friend be happy and healthy?

Hi,

As long as he is on a mostly loose seed diet, his nutritional requirements are not being met. And one strong theory on why pet birds eat their poop is due to nutritional deficiency. The seeds in most loose mixes are not fresh enough to retain their natural nutrients, and any added vitamins are lost when the bird removes the hull. They have a dry mouth, and are not going to pick up much or any vitamins when hulling the seeds. And mixing pellets with seeds rarely results in much pellet consumption. The bird will continue to eat more empty calories than pellets, and he will not feel satisfied even when he is full, so he tries other things to meet his needs. If he will start eating the Nutri-Berries, this would be ideal. We only use fresh, human grade seeds with the hulls removed. The whole ingredients are coated with a nutritionally balanced binder, so the bird gets complete nutrition in each bite. Nutri-Berries are formulated the same as pellets, as a complete diet, but the ingredients have not been ground up. They provide the whole seeds that are part of his natural diet, while also providing foraging exercise and balanced nutrition. Once he is eating Nutri-Berries, with no more loose seed mix, you should begin to notice a difference. You do not need to supplement pelleted – including Nutri-Berries – diets with other vitamins, as you can end up overdosing your bird on certain vitamins. Only use vitamin supplements when advised by a vet. You can feed pellets along with Nutri-Berries to give him some variety. Also offer dark, leafy greens, fresh veggies and some fruit. It will take months on a good diet for his system to be balanced, but stick with it and don’t give in and feed him more loose seeds. As for UV light, there have not been definitive studies on whether they are beneficial, but if used properly for a few hours each day, they do not seem to harm pet birds.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda