Since members of the parrot family are good at hiding the signs of illness, the color of budgie poop is among the most reliable indicators of sickness.
Normal budgie droppings should always be consistent in size, color, and texture. Budgie droppings should have an olive-green stool, a whitish urate, and clear urine.
Various conditions can lead to abnormal droppings, including diabetes, internal parasites, and infections. Also, the color of droppings can change in color and consistency based on diet.
Natural food colorings and high-moisture foods can cause harmless changes to a budgie’s stool. For example, blueberries may cause the stool to turn a deep purple.
What Should Budgie Poop Look Like?
Birds mainly excrete urate, not urine. This evolutionary trait allows birds to conserve water, which makes a question like “what does healthy budgie poop look like?” even more perplexing.
Normal budgie poop has three separate components:
- Stool
- Urate
- Urine
The stool is the solid part of the droppings; it should be a green or brown mass, distinct from the other components. The urate is a white substance that looks like toothpaste; the urine component is clear.
Depending on a budgie’s diet, the healthy color of droppings may vary. When the budgie’s droppings change color, it often signifies a health problem like liver disease.
Veterinary Clinics of North America stated that an increase in urine quantity or change in urine color is abnormal. The same applies to the stool and urate component of the budgie’s droppings.
A budgie’s diet and health can affect the color, texture, and liquidity.
How Often Do Budgies Poop?
A healthy budgie can poop 40-50 times per day or once every 15-20 minutes, even while sleeping. So, it’s easy to monitor how long abnormal droppings persist.
What Should Budgie Poop Smell Like?
Budgie poop should be odorless, especially new bird waste. Smelly or pungent feces signifies that the digestive tract is infected.
However, it can be due to the consumption of sulfur-rich food, such as cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and cabbage).
Why Is My Budgie’s Poop Different?
Any changes to a budgie’s poop color or consistency should be monitored for 24-48 hours. Sometimes change is harmless, such as a by-product of eating fresh fruit or drinking too much water.
Bloody feces are always abnormal and indicative of a medical issue. Likewise, if the budgie presents other health symptoms alongside changed feces, you should consult a vet.
Budgie Poop Color Changing
Depending on what you feed a budgie, its feces may change color.
A budgie’s normal poop color will depend on its diet:
- A pellet-based diet will mean that poop is a similar color to the pellets.
- A mostly seed, fruit, or vegetable diet will lead to dark green feces.
Natural food colorings can alter the feces temporarily.
Budgie Poop Changing Texture
Budgie poop texture varies based on how much water is in its diet. A budgie fed fresh fruit and vegetables daily will naturally have more watery feces.
Any excess liquid shouldn’t affect the stool, only the urine. True diarrhea in budgies is uncommon.
Typically, a healthy budgie’s fresh feces should have the texture of a thick paste, while feces that are bubbly, coarse, or overly liquid are abnormal.
Budgie Poop Smells
A budgie’s droppings should have little or no odor.
A noticeable smell signifies that something is wrong, usually with the intestines. The smell doesn’t have to be foul, just strong enough for you to detect a difference from the norm.
Don’t actively smell bird droppings, as the airborne particles can be harmful when inhaled.
Budgie Poop Size And Number
The size of each dropping should be about the same; too-small or too-large feces are abnormal. However, it’s normal for gravid female budgies to have larger poop.
A drastic change in the number of droppings a budgie passes each day is cause for concern.
If a budgie passes significantly more or fewer feces, it may need to see a vet. Budgies that feel unwell will often be disinterested in food, leading to fewer feces being passed.
Undigested Food In Budgie Droppings
Budgies have efficient digestive systems that rapidly metabolize food for energy.
When undigested food is present in their droppings, it indicates an issue with the intestines or stomach. Infection, disease, and parasites (worms) can be responsible.
Budgie Poop Color Meaning
Consistency matters in budgie droppings, which means that a healthy budgie may have bright green poop rather than a standard dark olive green poop.
Certain foods, such as cherries and blueberries, can temporarily discolor a budgie’s feces. The discolored feces should occur within 24-48 hours as the digestive system quickly processes food.
Feces change color as they dry, so only monitor the color of fresh/new feces.
| Green: | Olive green poop indicates normal, healthy droppings, whereas bright green poop can signify that a budgie isn’t eating or has liver issues. |
| Black: | Dark or black feces can indicate an excess of protein or digested blood. |
| White: | White and off-white are normal for uric acid. |
| Yellow: | Slightly yellow uric acid is normal, though bright yellow feces are abnormal. |
| Grey: | Grey feces indicate a problem with the pancreas. |
| Red: | Red feces are usually bloody from intestinal problems. |
Budgie Isn’t Pooping
Since a budgie poops so many times each day, it’ll be obvious if it stops pooping altogether.
A budgie stops pooping when it has stopped eating, is constipated, or is egg-bound.
Budgies can become constipated when they aren’t getting enough water each day. So, ensure that the budgie has access to fresh water. Also, offer water-rich fruits and vegetables.
An egg-bound budgie won’t be able to lay eggs or produce waste. Egg binding (dystocia) occurs when budgies lack calcium in their diet, so the eggs become misshapen and lack solidity.
Consult a veterinarian if your budgie refuses to eat or struggles to poop. Unfortunately, a budgie can starve to death within 24 hours, so time is of the essence.
Budgie Has Diarrhea
If your budgie’s poop is watery, it’s likely due to moisture-rich food. True diarrhea in birds is when the stool component of feces is affected. An excess of urine occurs due to a different condition, polyuria.
Diarrhea in budgies results in wet, slimy stools, sometimes with an unpleasant odor. Also, the feces may appear greener and more watery.
It can be yellow or tinged with red, the latter of which signifies blood in the feces. The uric acid is usually unaffected and looks normal.
Diarrhea results in the feathers around the vent and tail having sticky feces. These need to be cleared away, as the stool can dry and lock up the vent.
A warm, damp cloth should be used to clean a dirty vent. Diarrhea can lead to dehydration, which can be fatal if left untreated.
Parasites and viral, bacterial, and fungal infections can cause diarrhea in budgies. Severe parasitic infections can result in bloody, green/brown, and watery feces.
Budgie Has Watery Feces
Polyuria is when the budgie passes an excess of urine, but the stool remains the same solid mass.
A budgie can have watery feces with a normal stool when it has recently eaten high-moisture food, such as cucumber. Outside of this, watery feces are classified as polyuria, which is different from diarrhea.
Polyuria often signifies various illnesses, parasites, infections, and stress. Also, according to Seminars in Avian and Exotic Pet Medicine, polyuria is a common symptom of diabetes mellitus.
Budgie Has Too Much Urate In Poop
The kidneys are responsible for producing and filtering urine. When a budgie passes abnormal urate waste, it can signify diabetes, which is a metabolic disorder.
Urates should be white or off-white with a chalky paste in texture. Green, red, or yellow-tinged urates are abnormal. Changes in the smell, consistency, color, and texture of droppings signify a health problem.
