Eating 'Dirt'

[Marie]

Our cockatiel has been eating her excrement at the bottom of her cage. Do you know why this is? She receives a typical cockatiel diet food supply, a cuttlebone, and green veggies (which she won't eat - except peas). Any ideas?

[marieandchirpy]

Nobody knows for sure why Cockatiels eat their own feces.

Here is one possible explanation:

Stress of weaning, changes in environment or diet, and molting are just a few causes for a cockatiel to eat it’s droppings. Stress results in a depletion through excretion (poop) of most the water soluble (B's, C, choline) nutrients in the system. The body does not mfg. or retain them. Eating of the droppings is a cockatiels way of replentishing (recycling) them back into their system.

The eating of droppings is not a normal daily thing with cockatiels. Cockatiels are one of the few species of parrot type birds that will eat their droppings when their body is lacking in certain nutrients.

The primary nutrient being choline and many of the B vitamins and amino acids , which are by products in the birds droppings. Stress, such as the sale and a new home can cause a bird to excrete in excessive amounts the water soluble family of vitamins and nutrients in his system. This group of nutrients consists of the B vitamins, choline, and vitamin C. Even thought the birds diet may contain these nutrients under stressful situations the body is excreting in excess of the dietary intake. The cockatiel will eat the dropping to compensate for the difference.

One thing that will help your bird is to go to the healthfood store and get some Brewers Yeast. It is rich the B vitamins, minerals and nutrients, choline, and amino acids. Amino acids enable vitamin and minerals to act properly within the body, and aid in the assimulation and utilization of the other nutrients. Sprinkle a small amount on his seed/food daily for about a week. This will supply what he needs back in his system, and alleviate the need to eat his droppings.

The Brewers Yeast is a good suppliment to sprinkle on his food a few times a month.

talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=10077

Is she on an all seed diet? Most seed diets do not provide enough vitamins and minerals and people would have to add supplements to their birds diet to make they are getting enough of the vitamins and minerals or they would convert them to a pelleted diet.

Also Cockatiels are ground foragers and spend a lot of time on the buttom of the cage. They also poop a lot, so they tend to get their beaks in poop ( but not actually ingest it ). Is there a grate on the buttom of the cage? Do you change the cage liners on a regular basis? If not then you might want to start changing them on a daily basis.

[White Wolf]

I suggest you get her to the vet and have her checked for a vitamin deficiency. I would also suggest you supplement her with Benebac. You can get it OTC or from your vet, if they find that it would help. Good luck