Blood and droppings around the cloaca!

[Naava]

I have a male parakeet- I'd estimate he's somewhere in the 3-4 year range. Just today, I noticed that he has dark colored droppings stuck to and blocking his cloaca area. Also, one or two of the feathers around that area are slightly pink- so I'm assuming there was some blood that he managed to wash mostly away- and two of the flight feathers on his wing are a bit pink, but I think that's just because it got pulled out by accident when he beat his wing against the cage. His cloaca isn't bleeding currently, as far as I can tell.

I know it's not egg binding because he is a male (bright blue cere) but I don't know what to do! My parakeets aren't tame (I have four so it's really hard to tame them, I can stand next to the cage but not reach out to touch them) so I can't pick him up and try and get it off there. Could it be he's not getting enough calcium, like in a female's egg binding but...in males? They have both a cuttlebone and a vitamin stone, but they only reall nibble on the vitamin stone and don't even use it that much.

Help! I lost one of my precious pretty's last year, I don't want to have to again)':

[Marrie]

He doesn't have to be tame for you to do health maintenance on him. Use a small hand towel to hold him in one hand, uncover the area and use a soft q-tip or cotton swab to clean the area with warm water. Take a look at the cloaca and see if it is possible it has prolapsed. Also check for any bleeding. Then monitor his droppings from then on. Unusual droppings can come from many reasons, if there is blood or the urate is not normal though he needs to see a vet.

[clawnz]

Using dish washing up liquid in warm water is exceptable.It is what is used for oiled birds.
This could be used for bum cleaning as well.
If it is a sticky substance you can use Baby Talcum Powder, sprinkle on and rub off.

Go with what Marrie has said re the bleeding and pooh.

I have only had caked pooh on one bird and that was because she could not stand well and used to sit on her bum.

[azurithegreat]

Please take him to your vet if conditions don't improve very soon. Darkish droppings could actually be blood discolouring the dropping. The vent area being blocked is another bad sign. There's also a possibility that your budgie is bleeding inside.

[DesertDweller]

I'm sorry, Clive. I would not recommend using dish washing liquid, diluted or not, to clean up this bird's vent. Better to leave it alone and let a qualified avian vet look at it. Also, since the bird has bleeding flight feathers, it could be transfer, or it could be something else. You can use very dilute dishwashing liquid to clean a healthy bird of some mess he's gotten into, but never for an injured site - particularly the vent area or the face.

Believe me, I am all for dishwashing liquid - I use it myself as a body wash - it's great!! And, sometimes I use it to clean my cockatiel's tail. But I would never, never use it on an injury.

If you want to clean the injured site, better to use plain warm water on a cotton ball or q-tip like Marie said, and gently, gently wipe away the soil. However, far better for an avian vet to see the injured site just as it is. He'd be able to do a better diagnosis if he can see the condition of the vent with the blood on it.

Lark, if indeed your bird is suffering from internal bleeding, it might be from something he ingested that is poking his little insides. It could also be from injury or disease. It's very hard for you to tell what it's from since your birds are not tame. One thing you said that worries me is that your bird may have caused the flight feathers to bleed from him beating his wing against the cage. That makes me think that the cage is way too small. The smallest cage he should be in would allow him to flap his wings and not bump into anything.

I sure hope his wings are clipped. Even if you don't intend to tame him - particularly if you don't intend to tame him!! - you need to clip his wings. Clipping the wings allows the bird to be a little safer, helps him to tame down easier, and provides him better exercise when he flies since he'll have to use more effort to fly with his wings clipped. Even if you don't let him out of the cage, it's better to clip his wings so that when he does flap his wings he'll be much less likely to bump them against anything.