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I think I have said before on here how I lay napins down in Rosie's house at night to catch her big morning poopies.

Well I took a day off of work today and this morning when I went to get her up the minute I got in front of her house I smelt a stink. I was wondering what the heck it could be and I picked up her poopie napkins and ugh her poop had the strongest sour smell. Rosie has otherwise been doing good shes eating and being active. Yesterday she did wake up with not much energy but after a few hours she got back to her active self.

I called her Dr but shes in a conference all week, so I called Michelle (the girl that owns the shop I bought her from) and she said that she is probably getting ready to lay an egg . Her poops have been very watery during the day and they firm up in the evenings cuz that is when she eats the most but they still have like alot of slimy liquid in them.

I know that alot of you have experienced egg laying. So does that sound like something that happens with your babies poops when they are gonna lay? I'm so scared I am terrified of egg binding and Dr Duffin said her calcium was a little low when she done her blood tests but said it was probably cuz she was hormonal. But she didn't tell me to give her any calcium suppliments or anything. I am gonna go buy some on my own today. But anyway back to my original question..

Thanks guys. .

Do you have a yard that doesn't get sprayed with any chemicals? If so, find a few short dandelion leaves, the kind of dandelion that has deeply notched leaves rather than the smooth-edged kind. Rinse them in cold water and hang them, still dripping, by a clothes-pin from the top of Rosie's house. Dandelions have as much calcium as the best greens you can buy at the organic market, but you want the leaves that are only 4-5 inches long b/c they're sweeter.

If you can't find any dandelions, go to the market and get a small bok choy or beets with greens. All excellent sources of heavy-duty calcium! If Rosie is scared of whole leaves, chop a couple into tiny pieces and stir them into her brown rice. I know it's scary to think of all the problems that egg laying can cause, but what we don't usually post about is how often our cockatiels lay eggs with no problem whatsoever. They're experts at that!

Stinky poops can also signal a bacterial infection. Sometimes they clear up without treatment, but if the odor continues, probably need to get her back to the vet when she returns. I hope that won't be necessary though.

Thank you.. I have dandolion greens that I bought her and what she likes is to chew the stems of them, she will rarely eat any of the leaves but she will chew the stems and chew the stem all the way to the top of the leaves, I hope that the juice gives her what she needs from them.

My Mom said that her poopy smells kinda like iron-ey or kinda like if someone is welding? The girl I bought her from said that she didn't feel an egg but that she might just not have developed it fully yet or something like that.. i will give her greens right now, she has been sleeping for about an hour now. We came home and she ate rice and some pellets and then she went to sleep. I hope shes ok. Thanks again

I don't recall any of my bird's turds smelling funny. It could be an egg poop. they hold the poop in longer but if you can get a hold of your vet and ask that would my suggestion. Could be yeast if it smells sour(?)

The vet said that they aren't supposed to smell but Michelle who knows so much about birds say that they do when they have a smell.. What Michelle suggested is that if in a week they still smell and she hasn't laid an egg by then to take her into the Dr. I will go with that advice and the advice by Bluebird Exotic and if they are still stinky in a few days take her in.. She is eating really good and she is acting fine. I mean I never smelt her poopie before and today as soon as I got near her cage to let her out for the morning OMG that smell hit me like a ton of bricks ugh it was horrible. I hope the smell didn't upset her tummy since she was in there with it.

So you think it may be a yeast infection? She had quite a few of those when she was younger. I think she had like 3 or 4 in the first like 6 or 7 months that I had her.

If hse is getting ready to lay, then yes, she very well could have very large, very smelly poos. When I tried to breed my tiels the first time the smell was horrid. I took to covering the floor and cage bottom with towels and washing them daily. If you do this, some color from the poos will remain, so use a dark towel. The poos will continue to be large throughout laying and during the brooding process. The birds will instintually do this to prevent soiling the nestbox and eggs.

RM,

Cockatiel feces should never smell. Even when Missy and Ginger were laying eggs, I never smelled anything, whether it was large or normal size. I would guess Rosie has eaten something that was not fully digested, and it has passed through her with some of the food still in a bacterial digestion state. Have you changed or added any different food to her diet? As has been mentioned, it's possible she has a bacterial or even a viral infection in her digestive tract, most likely in the lower reaches of it. Also, the type of smell could give some indication of what she has eaten, and if it is a sour smell, I'd venture to guess maybe she's eaten some type of harder to digest food and the smell is coming from undigested food. Just as fruit and vegetables left out in the air, they will develop a smell as they start decaying and off-gassing. Don't wait too long before getting her to the vet, and if possible collect a sample of the smelly poo and put it in a container sealed up and store it in the refrigerator so they can get a view of it under the microscope to check for digested food or undigested food, which if present would indicate a bacterial infection.

Sam

I feel better knowing that your birds had stinky poopies Christie. And she is not in her cage usually through the day when I'm here I just am behind her all day when I am home with a napkin and a wet rag cleaning up after her.

Sam, I am taking her to the Dr today. Her poopies stunk this morning too and then with Michelle saying that she didn't feel an egg I just rather be safe than sorry with her. The good thing is that she is active and she has a healthy appetite ..

Wish us luck at her appointment today please.. I will update as soon I know something..

Thanks everyone I really appreciate all your input, ideas, suggestions and you all sharing your experiences with me so much.

Well I took Rosie in for her appt and BostonBudgie you were right!!! They done a gram stain and the Dr said that she had alot of yeast so she gave her a med for the yeast with a little bit of antibiotic mixed in with it. I asked her to give Rosie her first dose and Rosie threw it up and then she threw up a little when we got home. Dr Cantos said that she might throw up the first few times that I give it to her. Also I mentioned that she was sensitive to an antibiotic that Dr Duffin had given her and she said that if she isn't doing good on this med to call her and she will prescribe her the med without the antibiotic and just the med for her yeast..

I also called in advance and asked if they could have her blood test results faxed over from their other clinic because I wanted to talk to Dr Cantos about her low calcium and they did. I asked her about giving her calcium and she did prescribe Rosie a powder form to put in her food once or twice a day. She said that they have a calcium injection but that her calcium isn't that low so the powder would do just fine. I put some on Rosies corn and I Swear she knew it was there cuz she picked up her corn and dropped it and walked away from her bowl *Sigh* smart little girl.

So wish us luck on the recovery and the med working for her without any ill effects.

I am so glad I took her in guys..

Oh yes, very good to have gotten her diagnosed and treatment underway. Be careful to give her no sugar -- no dried fruit, no fresh fruit, or sweetened drinks or breads or treats. If Rosie eats carrots, the little baby ones contain much more sugar than the full size ones. Corn and little green peas are also very sweet. Even natural sugar, such as the molasses in Nutriberries and Avicakes, does our birds no good, so be very careful.

May she do well with her meds and heal quickly.

Oh Wow really? She loves corn, she goes on these corn kicks where she will adore her corn and eat it all up like it is the best treat in the entire world and then she will not eat corn for a long time and then she will go back on her corn kick. Right now for the last 4 or 5 days she has been on a corn kick, she loves it. I had just bought her a pear too to see if she liked them, I guess that is out. Brown bread too she can't have? And she loves the little green beans that come in that long thing she loves those and I thought that since the corn and green beans were veggies they were good for her so I would let her have at it . Thank you for the heads up on those things. How often can she have them and still be in the "safe zone"? Since she loves corn so much thats something that she usually gets everyday and the green beans she gets very often also since they are her favorite. She loves the Lafabers Popcorn treats too but she don't get those but a couple to a few times a week.. Is her rice and bulgar wheat still ok to give her?

Sorry about the millions of questions but I don't want to jeopardize her meds working.

Check your inbox for information I've sent you about Rosie's favorite food

I have to disagree with bluesbird exotics about witnholding foods. If Rosie has a kick for a certain food, you can still give it to her, but reduce the amount. Every food, including seeds has the ability to produce sugars, even from simple carbs. The antibiotic you are giving her is to clear up most likely, a bacterial infection, and her diet is important just as much now as ever. I would however, cut back on any foods that have had sugar added, but vegetables, such as corn or beans, or whatever else you are feeding her should be OK considering the amount they will intake. If in doubt, call your vet and ask, she can advise you more correctly than I can, since I don't know what type bacterial infection Rosie has.

Sam

chibi-tori wrote:... If in doubt, call your vet and ask, she can advise you more correctly than I can, since I don't know what type bacterial infection Rosie has.

Good advice, and I too -- by private mail -- urged Rosie's mom to talk with her avian vet about the sugar in Rosie's diet, both during her current treatment and afterwards to prevent another yeast infection. Here is some relevant information: "The yeast itself feeds on sugar... So clearly sugar should be top of your list of foods to avoid! This is not just sugar added ... it is all sugar! Sugar in processed foods, cakes, pastries, even white bread. You should also avoid the natural sugars in fruit... After a few weeks you may be able to reintroduce fruits and then other food stuffs more gradually. To avoid yeast overgrowth in the future, though, it is still advisable to steer clear of refined sugars, and sugars in processed foods... Follow a healthy diet of raw and cooked vegetables, some fruit (later on) and whole grains.
http://google-sina.com/2008/08/13/natur ... -can-help/

It is ideal when we humans eat healthy food that our birds can safely share, but our national obesity and heart disease epidemics are clear evidence that many of us should eat more like birds, than they like us! Yes, birds eat very small amounts, but they have very small bodies. A small amount of unhealthy food does them far more harm than it would us giants. We all love Rosie and no one wants to deprive her of food she loves. So often we have no clue that our birds have health problems until it's too late to save them. Her recurrent yeast infections could be a wonderful signal that it might be kinder to teach her to love healthier food. And, selfishly, we can have her around longer!

I too don't want to deprive Rosie of food that she loves, but those of us who have had a yeast infection, think about this for a moment. When you have one, don't you crave sugar?? I know I have. I don't eat candy much, but when I have one I can't get enough of it.

It could be that her corn kick is being caused by the infection...