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Runny Poop at Night Only

2875 Views 6 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  moom, 
M
Hi

NB - Budgie currently under the vet

Oh Wise Hive Mind, I am looking for some advice. My budgie (Male) is making wet poops but only at night, occasionally he has dry night poops, sometimes his poops are scattered, sometimes not.

He is approx 8mths old, currently moulting, from an outdoor aviary.

He is otherwise very bright and active, eating, drinking, singing. No staining above the cere, no sneezing or wheezing, no nasal or eye discharge, clean vent, no signs of scaly mites to feet or beak area, healthy weight, keel bone good.

We have tried the following:

1. Entersol Gel - firmed poops up then went back to runny
2. Mite drops (xeno drops mites)
3. Calcium in the water
4. Pre-biotics (Avipro)
5. Guardian angel
6. Red mite tape test - no signs of bugs
7. Heavier night cover to eliminate fear poops
8. Dry food diet of seeds and millet

He recently had a poop test at the vets which showed negative in all the following areas.

Faecal Microscopic Exam

No ova, larvae or protozoa found.

Parasites: Direct and zinc sulphate flotation with centrifugation.

Campylobacter Culture Campylobacter spp. NOT DETECTED

Salmonella Culture Salmonella spp. NOT DETECTED.

Aerobic Culture Mixed faecal flora no specific pathogens identified

Does anyone have any other ideas on what might be causing this that I could explore my vet?

Anyone experienced anything like this?

Thanks in Advance.
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Hunterkat
Hi! Actually, I have had the exact same problem. My vet told me it was a behavioral thing- for whatever reason, your budgie is only drinking at night which is causing the runny poop. I would suggest moving his water bowl towards a back corner of the cage and perhaps covering that corner with a hand towel so he can feel more secure in drinking during the day :)
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Cody
When the droppings were examined did the vet tell you the % of bacteria, if any, and the % of gram negative vs gram positive? It is not unusual to see some gram positive but an abundance of gram negative would indicate a problem. You indicate that the bird is in an outdoor aviary, could he be eating or chewing on something that could be causing the runny poops? Have you tried probiotics?
Did this just begin or has he always had runny night poops?
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M
Hi Cody, he came from an outdoor aviary, he now lives indoors. They looked at the general floral and there were no specific pathogens detected in the poop at all. We have been experiencing the wet poops on and off for about a month now. The scatter concerns me as it is almost as though something is troubling him at night.
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JRS
I’m assuming he’s a single bird and that you have no other pets that could be disturbing him. Does he sleep in a room alone or with you? Can he hear neighbours at night? Do car lights shine into the room?
Just trying to think of things that could be disturbing him.
:dunno:
Have you tried leaving the bottom of the cage cover raised up slightly and having a nightlight on, so that he can more easily see the area around him, and be reassured if he wakes?
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Cody
Was he living with other birds in the outdoor space and does he live alone now?
You may be correct saying something is disturbing him at night, the fact that you say they droppings are scattered in the am shows he is moving around at night. My birds all stay in the same spot one they go to sleep as evidenced by the little pile of droppings under each of their sleeping spots.
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M
Hi JRS and Cody. He lives with a cage mate now (cage mates poop is normal). We have tried a variety of different settings for his sleeping, we do have cars coming up and down the road, which is why we changed to a heavier cover. We took the cage into another room for a short trial but then his cage mate went into a moult and disturbed him over night. I am going to try no cover at all this evening and see how it goes. Perhaps he is afraid of the dark?

I seem to recall something about Vitamin A and night disturbances?

My next step is milk thistle and dandelion to do a cleanse.
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