The poop of your bird can tell you a whole lot about how the bird’s health is, this is not only true for birds but for humans too.
If you realize that your cockatiel’s poop is more diarrhea-like while egg-laying this may concern you. This article explores why your cockatiel is producing diarrhea poop while egg laying
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Cockatiel diarrhea egg-laying:
Egg laying can be a very stressful time for your birds, their body changes, and their hormones get sent out of whack.
One surprising, and odd, thing that can happen in your birds during this time is them producing diarrhea poop. This is why this happens:
A change in droppings during egg laying:
The regular poop of cockatiels is usually dark and solid and has a creamy to foamy consistency at the center.
If you’ve noticed that your bird’s poop has suddenly become thinner and watery then this should concern you.
However, if you notice that your bird’s poop has become thinner while the bird is egg-laying then this shouldn’t concern you, this is normal.
Your bird’s poop will change from being solid and frequent to being watery and coming out infrequently, and in large masses, once the bird starts to lay eggs.
The bird does this because it is holding in large amounts of droppings, and is only releasing the poop a few times a day.
The bird will not be able to pass feces normally because it is egg-laying and it will then, in turn, turn into diarrhea.
The bird not being able to pass feces easily is also the reason why the bird will hold their poop in for too long
The poop will also be much smellier because the poop has been left in the bird’s body for so long and it is watery because more water is left in the stool at this time.
The diarrhea can also be caused by the stress of starting to lay eggs, the stress may even cause the bird to develop a yeast/bacterial infection which can make the poop very smelly.
What to do:
This is quite normal for your birds and is not something that you would need to worry about, as long as the bird is eating well and is comfortable and not showing any signs of distress then the bird should be fine.
Make extra sure that the bird is taking in enough calcium during this time as the bird will take calcium out of its own body and use this calcium to reinforce the eggs that the bird makes.
Also, make sure that the bird is drinking enough water as diarrhea can cause dehydration in your cockatiel.
If your bird is showing signs of being in distress, other than the common signs of egg laying, then you may need to take the bird to the vet for a check-up.
Birds are very good at hiding signs of stress and illness but if the bird is showing signs of stress and illness then the bird is likely far gone and you should worry.
If your cockatiel’s poop starts to become off-color and doesn’t go back to how it normally is a few days into not sitting on her eggs then you’d definitely need to have the bird seen by a vet.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Are My Parakeet’s Feathers Turning Brown?, Can You Bathe A Baby Cockatiel?, Baby Cockatiel Not Digesting, Baby Cockatiel Not Pooping, My New Cockatiel Is Scared Of Me, Can 2 Male Cockatiels Be In The Same Cage?, Cockatiel Flirting Behavior