New parakeet - poop question

pmurph5 · 02-09-2003, 11:06 PM

I am new to parakeet ownership. We got ours one day ago from a pet store. He was tame in the store (rested comfortably on my hand and shoulder) which is why we chose this particular parakeet. My son named him Blue Eyes.

I am concerned about the color and infrequency of his poop, and about his lack of appetite. Here are my questions.

Blue Eyes' poop is green with white around it. Sometimes it seems runny and sometimes solid (like a pellet). Once it was hanging off his rear for about 15 minutes before dropping.

His poops are very infrequent -- it could be 30-60 minutes between them. I don't know if this is because he has not been eating or drinking much since coming here. He has pecked at millet seeds. But we have not observed him eating or drinking from his main seed and water bowls.

Behaviorally, Blue Eyes is quiet which I think would be expected (getting used to life here). He lets us take him out of his cage and he'll sit quietly on a Tinkertoy perch. He will also sit quietly on my hand or slowly edge up my arm until he is perched on my shoulder. He gets a little ruffled just before being picked up but seems to immediately get over it (no continued ruffling or biting). Mostly though, he sits upright in his cage or on the Tinkertoy perch.

He has chirped only a couple of times, on his own (no stimulation from us).

I have read here and elsewhere about symptoms of sick birds. The only two I think might apply are the poop color/infrequency, and the lack of eating.

-- On the former, I don't know if green is an OK color. Is healthy poop ALWAYS black or can it be green?

-- On the latter, I don't know if this lack of eating (and pooping) is within the normal range for newly-arrived parakeets.

Finally, while I understand it would be best to go to an avian vet "to be sure", I would not like to subject Blue Eyes to a long car ride in a box, and more unfamiliar surroundings, if I don't have to.

In summary then, does he seem OK for a newly-arrived bird, or is there something wrong that definitely must be checked out?

**melanieyeah** · 02-10-2003, 12:04 AM

moist poop is normal(not too hard,not to wet). on the other hand you rarely ever see a budgie drink,so dont worry.... stressed from the move i expect? dont worry, things should pick up. another thing is, how wud u like 2 poop in a strange place?i wud have2 think about it before i did, so i think your budgie is nervous at the mo, let him have time to realise this is his home now, im sure he'll b poopin on a normal basis.

**DizzyDezzy** · 02-10-2003, 12:48 AM

It's totally normal for a newly arrived budgie to:
- not eat, or only eat when nobody is looking
- have runny poop (caused by stress)
- not vocalise for a while
- not move around much in the cage
Blue Eyes should be better in a few days

Dark green is a normal colour for budgie poop if they are on a seed/veggie diet, some foods will change the colour of poop (blueberries = black poop, strawberries or cherries = red poop etc.)