Is this a health of age issue?

[jbigtoe]

I have a cockatiel named Piper and she will be 13 on Thursday. About once a week we have to remove a glob of poo from her vent area because it doesn't fall away as cleanly as it once did.

I guess id like to know if this is age related or a health issue, and what the best way to remove it is without stressing her out. She hates baths but loves showers. She however doesn't clean it herself from a shower.

Thoughts?
Jenn

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[Debra]

Hello Jenn and welcome to the forum.

As to your problem, I think a vet check is in order. If in question -- go to the vet. I don't think it's age related as I've got 2 tiels who will be 12 this year and they have no problems. At this age, they are just middle aged and not old birds. Better safe than sorry.

I'd love to see some pics of your baby!

[spiritbird]

Hello Jen. My two English budgies will have this happen every once in a while. I let the poo dry and get it off with a Q tip. They are both young so I too do not think it is an age issue. It is always good to check with your vet anytime you are concerned about something.

[Honesty]

Hello Jenn and welcome to PP :)

I agree, if you are worried take him to the vet just to make sure.

We would love to see some pics of her :)

[jbigtoe]

Here's a picture of Piper. She has her anual vet appointment coming us soon. She is otherwise very normal in behavior and attitude. The poo is also normal in color and consistency. We might just go to the vet earlier than usual. :)

[coltfire]

welcome to pp and she is beautiful

[Mare]

Hi and Welcome! No advice here that hasn't already been said. She is a very pretty cockatiel! Is her coloring called pie? I have a cockatiel but not super familiar with their different color names :)

[Debra]

This looks to be a cinnamon light pied or possibly pearled. Are you sure its a female? Males are usually the ones with the bright yellow heads. She's gorgeous!

[jbigtoe]

Definitely a girl. She has laid three eggs. One a week and a half ago, and the other two were in November 2012. She is pearled, the difinition was much clearer when she was a baby. We were told her coloring was cinnimon pearl and pied... but I don't know that that combination is possible. Each feather had a distinct pearl in it on her back and wings in first few years. We were told that the definition fading was because she was a girl.

We are heading to the vet in the morning. Her behavior still has not changed and the droppings are still normal. We started wondering if the problem might be related to her recent egg laying too.

Oh, here is a picture of her about 10 years ago.

2050

[Debra]

You can definitely see the pearling there. She's beautiful. Let us know what the vet says please.

[jbigtoe]

Well we are back from the vet. Both of our girls went, just to make sure nothing could be, or had been, passed from one to the other. The vet was a little concerned, but not overly because behavior, weight, and eatting habits had not changed. He did take a swab from her hiney (which she was startled into silence over). He looked at it on a slide and said that the bacteria and other things he was looking for were normal. We are supposed to try something called Bene-bac on her for about three weeks. He thinks that something in her system is out of wack and boosting her good bacteria should help. It is something akin to a probiotic or what yogurt does for people. He said he had never had much luck with the yogurt working on birds. So we will see how this goes. :) If anything else changes we take her back to the vet though.

[Mare]

Haha! I'm sure her getting goosed like that was quite a surprise! :th_eek: Thanks for letting us know what the vet had to say! :)