Keeping your budgie’s bum clean is one of the negatives of bird ownership. However, budgies occasionally need cleaning assistance, especially if the cause of the problem is unresolved.
Usually, a budgie will have a dirty bum due to a health problem, such as polyuria, dehydration, kidney problems, parasitic infestations, digestive problems, and bacterial infections.
Feces get stuck to the vent due to a dietary issue caused by eating too much watery fruit or an all-seed diet. An unbalanced diet leads to sticky, messy poop around the vent, called ‘pasting of the vent.’
Why Is My Budgie’s Bum Dirty?
Most budgies keep themselves clean, so poop stuck to the bum is a negative sign. A dirty bum caused by watery poop can be the only way to know when a budgie has a health issue.
Pasting of the vent occurs when a large amount of feces becomes caked around the vent opening, clogging the vent and compromising any nearby feathers.
When this happens, owners must step in to clean their budgies’ rears to prevent sickness.
If your budgie has a dirty bottom, these are the most likely explanations:
All-Seed Diet
Budgies on an all-seed diet often pass sticky, pasty poop that sticks to their vent and tail feathers.
Birds that eat only seeds don’t get the nutrients their bodies need to remain healthy. Unfortunately, this affects their droppings, causing them to develop an abnormal consistency.
Alongside a dirty bum, your budgie will develop dull, brittle, and discolored feathers, which signifies that it needs more dietary diversity, such as pellets, fruits, vegetables, and nuts.
Too Much Fruit
Excessive fruit consumption can cause havoc with your budgie’s bowel movements. Also, eating a lot of fruit can change the color of budgie poop.
Fruits such as strawberries, watermelon, and grapes cause their stools to become loose and watery, lacking the firmness to pass through cleanly.
If you’ve started introducing fruits into your budgie’s diet, this isn’t necessarily a sign that something’s wrong, but it reflects the change in your budgie’s diet.
Dehydration
Budgies fed an all-pellet or all-seed diet risk becoming dehydrated as these foods have a much lower water content than fresh fruit.
Dehydration is more likely to become a problem if you don’t provide fresh water. Without access to clean water, it’s common for budgies to stop drinking.
Also, the onset of illness can cause dehydration, leading to dry, cakey poop getting stuck to the vent.
Obvious signs of dehydration in budgies include the following:
- Crinkly skin around their eyes
- Dull, sunken eyes
- Poor skin elasticity
- Lethargy and weakness
If your budgie has a dirty bum, add some fruit to its diet and change the water daily.
Diarrhea
Budgies with diarrhea often have a pasted vent, which happens when poop sticks to the skin and feathers. Budgies develop diarrhea due to:
An avian veterinarian should see budgies that have diarrhea for more than 24 hours.
Infections And Disease
According to the Veterinary Clinics of North America, parasitic infestations and bacterial infections are common in parrots. Usually, they cause watery poop that sticks to the vent and tail feathers.
Niles Animal Hospital said feces with a liquid consistency could be due to an intestinal tract infection. Budgies with an infection will display the following signs:
- Appetite loss
- Fluffed feathers
- Changing vocalizations
- Weakness and lethargy
- General discomfort
Digestive System Problems
If your budgie’s droppings are thick, lumpy, or unevenly textured, it likely has undigested food in its poop. In severe cases, you might be able to see pieces of food in the feces. Undigested food is caused by:
- Proventricular dilatation disease (PDD), which affects the nerves and digestive tract
- Giardia is a parasite that causes diarrhea.
Kidney Disorders
As described by VCA Hospitals, kidney problems are often seen in budgies, exhibited by wet droppings. There are many causes of kidney problems, including:
- Infections (bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic)
- Tumors (also commonly seen in budgies)
- Toxic insults
- Nutritional excesses
- Blockages and obstructions
- Metabolic disorders
Polyuria
Excessive urine production affects your budgie’s ability to control its elimination of poop and urine, causing a mess around the vent area. There are three different elements to a parrot’s poop:
- Green: Feces
- White: Urates that from the kidneys
- Liquid: Urine, which should be colorless
Budgies with polyuria experience an increase in the liquid component of their droppings, making it messy and sometimes sticking to the vent area. Other symptoms of polyuria in budgies include:
- Lethargy
- Weakness
- Exhaustion
- Depression
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Ruffled feathers
How To Clean a Budgie’s Bum
It’s abnormal for poop to stick around your budgie’s vent or tail.
While most parrots keep themselves clean by using a birdbath, they won’t be able to remove caked feces. So, you’ll need to give your budgie assistance to keep it clean and prevent infection.
Hold your budgie firmly without applying too much pressure. If your budgie is unhappy about being held, use a towel to keep it calm. Then, follow these steps:
- Dip a cotton ball in warm water and wipe the vent and feathers around it. Never add anything to the water, such as scented soap, as it could cause skin irritation.
- Dry the area with a clean towel to avoid irritating the vent and delicate skin around it.
- If the poop doesn’t come off, move your budgie to a sink filled with warm water and massage the vent area until the poop naturally comes away.
Afterward, ensure your budgie has somewhere warm to go to dry off.
If there’s no bathing dish in your budgie’s cage, add one to prevent this issue from arising in the future.
How Do You Clean Budgie Poop from a Cage?
If your budgie has a health condition, sanitize the cage by doing the following:
- Remove your budgie to a safe room or a separate cage.
- Remove all toys and accessories, including the water and food dishes.
- If you’ve laid newspaper down to catch your budgie’s droppings, throw them out.
- Sweep out any loose seeds and scrub the cage with hot soapy water.
- Rinse the cage and spray it with a parrot-friendly disinfectant to kill bacteria.
- To remove feces from perches and toys, use a common dishwater detergent and scrub any hard, stubborn pieces of poop.
What Are the Most Common Budgie Vent Problems?
Budgies don’t just experience dirty, feces-covered bums. They’re prone to vent problems that can be serious, sometimes requiring veterinary treatment. Common issues include the following:
Blocked Vent
An excessive amount of dried feces can cause a budgie’s vent to become blocked. If the poop becomes thick and dries around the vent, it becomes difficult to pass feces.
Prolapsed Cloaca
A prolapsed cloaca is where the vent opening develops a prolapse. It’s usually due to straining to go to pass waste due to parasites, poor nutrition, and chronic egg laying.
This condition is most commonly seen in budgies and other small parrots. If left treated, the cloaca could become infected and painful, sometimes causing bleeding.
It’s abnormal for budgies to develop a feces-covered bum, especially if it’s a recurring problem. If your budgie has wet, loose, or sticky stools, you need to resolve the reason for pasting of the vent.
