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A while back, I posted a message about Shelly and Cappy eating poop. At that time, Shelly was eating both her own and the other kids poop, and while very disgusting, it apparently does no harm. For the last few days now, Shelly will poo, then immediately turn around and start eating it.. yuk! Cappy is not quite so bad, but I have seen her eat others after it had dried out. When I took Shelly to Dr. Walker for the initial check-out, I mentioned that to him, and he said it could be they are lacking some probiotics, and are getting them from the poop. He suggested I give Shelly some Bene-bac and see if that would stop it. I tried it, and it did nothing that I could tell. Do any of you all have a birdie that eats poo? The next time someone takes their bird to the vet, perhaps you could ask your vet and see what he or she says about the eating of poo? It's quite frustrating and disgusting to see her do this, and I'd love to know the root cause and what to do to stop it.

Thanks..

Sam

I've asked several avian vets and always get the same answer -- they aren't sure why they do it, but suspect there might be a dietary reason. As long as they aren't eating poop from a sick bird, it's thought to do them no harm. A breeder suggested feeding a sprinkle of brewers yeast every few days. I did that for a couple years. It might have slowed them, but it didn't stop their feasting.

I have 3 pairs who are quite nesty on regular occasion. I've noticed that it's usually these nesty ones who rush to gobble up poop as I'm clearing out dirty papers each morning and evening. Not sure whether that's because egg production requires something in the poop, or if their nestiness simply makes them more active and more interested in newspaper than their un-nesty companions.

Now that you mention that Kim, I've seen Smokey cleaning hardened poop off the perches and even the bottom grate of the cages. It used to be an every day thing with him to clean the cage bottom, and he too is one of the neat / clean birdies compared to the rest of them. It's almost like he wants the perches and bottom of the cage to be poop-free! When Smokey would eat by himself, you could rest assured there were not going to be any seed hulls except in the food dish. Missy, OTOH, eats like a pig in slop or worse. Ginger, rest her soul, was a "sweeper" and she'd knock seed or pellets out of the dish to get at what was underneath them. She was probably the messiest eater of all, except for Missy. I've watched the other kids eat, and they all fall somewhere in between Ginger and Smokey.

Sam