We all know that eating our own, or anyone else’s poop for that matter, is a no, no.

Your poop contains all the bacteria that exist in your intestines, poop is not very toxic but no one would go around suggesting that one eats it either. However, animals don’t think or behave the same way that humans do, they can exhibit some strange behaviors that would raise some eyebrows.

One of which is birds eating their own poop, but why does this happen? This article explores the question of ‘why does my bird eat its poop’ 

Reasons as to why your bird is eating its own poop include a lack of nutrients in the bird’s diet; this causes them to seek nutrients in their poop. Also, the poop may be sweet and because of this, the bird enjoys eating it, the poop may also be pungent, if so, the bird will eat it to get rid of the smell 

Why does my bird eat its poop?

Lack of nutrients in its diet:

A birds diet is generally very rich in nutrients especially if the animal lives in the wild. They eat a variety of foods including fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, grubs, insects, plant matter, nectar, pollen and even small animals.

Poop isn’t usually on the menu for birds unless it’s a must, this happens if the bird isn’t getting the full range of nutrients it needs. In this case, the bird will become malnourished and resort to eating its own poop 

Boredom:

Another reason why your bird may be eating its own poop is that it is bored, as with any other pet, birds need to be entertained. If these animals get bored they find ways to entertain themselves or find things to eat, this includes eating their own poop.

Your bird may also entertain itself by eating other random things like mites, hair, dust etc. 

Because it’s sweet

More bizarre reasons as to why a bird may eat its own poop is that the poop tastes sweet or is very pungent. Birds enjoy sweet things and if a bird realizes that its poop is sweet your feathered friend may eat it.

On the flip side, if the poop is very pungent the bird may eat the poop to get rid of the smell 

In some animal species, eating poop is normal, animals that eat poop include chimps, rabbits, domestic dogs and dung beetles. But like humans, birds are generally pretty clean creatures when they are allowed to be. 

How to stop a bird from eating its own poop?

This poop eating behaviour can be stopped by offering the bird a more nutrient-rich diet. Place a cuttlebone or a mineral block in your bird’s cage and make sure that these are easily accessible to the bird.

If you’ve never given your bird cuttlebone or mineral blocks experiment with different brands to see which the bird prefers. In addition, offer your bird a more varied diet. Other foods that need to be included in their diet include pellets, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds 

Another step in preventing birds from eating their own poop is to clean their cage. Some birds are clean freaks and will not come near poop for any reason, but others may pick the poop up if it’s been there for too long.

To avoid this, make sure to keep the cage clean as often as you can. Cage cleaning can be done every day or 2-3 times a day depending on how messy the cage gets 

If all of your efforts to get more nutrients into the bird are not working then you’ll have to take your feathered friend to the vet. If your bird continues eating its poop after more nutrients are offered then your bird has a bigger issue. 

Note: Generally, if your bird is eating its own poop there is little reason to worry, but the bird can sometimes eat contaminated poop, this will give the bird health problems 

Conclusion

In conclusion, a bird will eat its own poop for a number of reasons, the most common being that it is lacking in nutrients, if this is the case, the bird will try to gain nutrients by eating its own poop.

Other reasons why a bird would eat its own poop is if the poop is sweet and the bird enjoys it, if the poop is pungent and the bird wants to get rid of it or because the bird is bored.

To stop this behaviour, offer the bird a more nutrient-rich diet as well as offering the animal cuttlebone or a mineral block, also keep the cage as clean as possible 

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 is my bird suddenly aggressive?, How do birds chew their food?, How do birds defend themselves?, Why is my bird throwing up?, Why does my bird preen me?