If an animal eats then that animal will eventually poop, animal poop looks different than human poop, some animals have brown, white, or even green poop.
A change in a duck’s poop would be concerning for any duck raiser. This article looks at why your duck is producing black poop and what to do about it.
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Duck poop black:
If you’re familiar with raising ducks you’ll know that these birds usually produce poop that is brown or green in color, the color mainly depends on what the bird is eating.
The poop can be either solid or watery, the texture of the duck’s poop also depends on what the bird has recently been eating. This may be why your duck’s poop is black in color:
The duck is eating soil:
Ducks eat a variety of foods, they are able to do this because they are omnivores. Omnivores eat both plant matter and animal matter. This makes them prone to eating a lot of things they really shouldn’t be eating, things like soil.
Your bird eating sand can happen while the birds are playing around in the mud. If you know that your birds have recently been playing in mud then you can assume that they are eating some soil.
What to do:
If you know that your ducks have been playing around in mud, and the bird’s poop is black, then you have nothing to worry about. This change in poop color is simply a result of the mud in their system.
As long as the bird is still acting as they normally do, going about its day and having fun, then the bird should be fine. You should only start to worry if the bird starts to act differently and shows signs of being ill.
If you’re still concerned about your duck’s situation, keep the birds away from any muddy areas and only feed them duck feed for a while to see if the color of their poop changes to the normal green or brown color that ducks usually poop.
The duck is eating green foods:
What your duck eats greatly affects how the duck’s poop looks. If your duck’s diet consists of a variety of green foods, like peas, then the bird may simply be pooping a dark green poop that looks black.
What to do:
Take note of exactly what your bird is eating and in what quantities the bird is eating it. If you find that your bird is eating large amounts of green foods then you can assume that this is why the duck is pooping green poop.
Try feeding your bird a more balanced diet and see if the color of your bird’s poop changes after this change. If the color of your bird’s poop doesn’t change after you do this then your bird may need to be taken to the vet to be examined.
Hardware disease:
Your duck may be producing black poop if there is old blood in the bird’s stool. This is a bad sign. Blood in the bird’s poop may mean that the bird has hardware disease.
Ducks are curious, are attracted to shiny things, and will eat almost anything. This can cause the birds to develop hardware disease.
This isn’t a disease per se, but rather a condition that develops when a duck eats a shiny metal object that it finds on the ground, like some staples, nails, aluminum foil, hooks, screws, bits of wire, earrings, and the like.
The foreign objects’ sharp edges may cut the bird’s intestine and this can lead to bleeding of the intestine, this blood will turn darker and come out along with the bird’s poop making the poop look black.
What to do:
This is concerning and means that you’d need to take your bird to the vet as soon as you can.
Taking a fresh stool sample to the vet is also recommended. The vet will be able to check the poop and this will help them diagnose the bird.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other duck related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: White duck poop, Duckling Weak After Hatching, How To Make A Duck Diaper Out Of A Sock, Sugar Water For Ducklings
