Two Easy Ways to Start Earning Rewards!
Become a member today!
Members-only pricing and offers, personalized care notifications, Vital Care points back on every purchase and more!
Become a credit card member today!Earn 2X Pals Rewards points at Petco
when you use Petco Pay!APPLY NOWLearn More About Petco Pay Benefits
My budgie has poop stuck to its bum. Is it a sign of illness?
Updated on September 23rd, 2025
What happens when my budgy has feces stuck to his bum?
5 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Answered By Debi Matlack
Veterinary Technician
Published on March 24th, 2015
Diarrhea makes him at risk from dehydration, weakness, lack of appetite and weight loss. Extreme cases lead to fits and starvation. Checking your bird's poop when he has a dirty vent can give useful information. Normal droppings are soft, olive-green to brown and coiled or cylindrical. Poop that's very dark, very pale, liquid, lumpy, dry, sticky or bubbly mean illness and need vet attention.
Green-stained vents often mean poor quality feed and usually appear within 24 hours of eating new food. Providing healthier food should make symptoms disappear. One check of feed quality is biting. Grains should split cleanly and be hard to bite.
Intestinal inflammation causes most diarrhea in budgies, due to bacterial or fungal infections. Vets can test for infections and treat with antibiotics. Worms, gut changes due to abnormal growths, viruses, liver disease and problems with egg production can also cause diarrhea. Less obvious causes of upset tummies are stress from a change in environment and over-use of antibiotics, causing an imbalance in normal gut bacteria. Vets can use probiotics and prebiotics to re-introduce healthy bacteria.
Sick budgies need to be kept warm to conserve energy, and clean water is important in preventing dehydration. When he's lost his appetite, tempt your bird with his favorite treats, or offer specially-designed, easily digested feeds. Some budgies love soaked millet sprays. Cold, sweet black tea provides fluids and energy from sugar, and tannin in tea coats his intestines. Intensive nursing can often help in cases without a specific cause.
68Pet Parents found this answer helpfulRelated Answers from Veterinarians
Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT
Licensed Veterinary Technician
Published on March 13th, 2020
It could be irritation caused by the chronic build up of droppings. Bathe or mist him with warm water weekly to promote preening and healthy plumage. Discontinue feeding any treats, fruits or "juicy" vegetables for a week or two. Feed only a commercial pelleted diet (Harrison's, Roudybush, Lafeber, Pretty Bird) and a small amount of a fortified seed mix. If the loose droppings persist, have him physically examined by your veterinarian or an experienced avian veterinarian. Submit a stool sample to diagnose intestinal parasites or bacterial overgrowth.
2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT
Licensed Veterinary Technician
Published on March 11th, 2017
Without a physical exam, a diagnosis is very difficult. Consider having Puff examined by an experienced avian veterinarian. An examination of the droppings may diagnose parasites or bacterial overgrowth.
If Puff is not eating a proper diet, this could also cause the unthriftiness. Feed a combination of fortified seed, a pelleted diet and a mix of fresh vegetables and limited fruit. Too much fruit may lead to loose droppings.1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Miranda Sadar, DVM, DACZM
Veterinarian
Published on June 26th, 2018
Sticky, or excessively wet droppings can be caused by a number of things in birds. It may be due to an abnormality with the droppings themselves, but can also be due to a bird's inability to move the tail and body properly to get the droppings away from the vent. A veterinary visit would likely be needed to determine where it was coming from. They would perform a thorough examination, and then may evaluate some of the feces to look for abnormal bacterial populations. If they determine that the fecal portion of the droppings are normal, it could also be the urine/urate portion - if that is the case, blood work may be needed to evaluate her systemic health.
For the pink coloration - this is due to the lack of feathers and you are seeing Pilu's skin underneath. I can't fully evaluate the skin in the photo, but what you would be looking for is if it gets red, crusty, or if there is any discharge present. These would all indicate a skin infection. If these are seen, I would also recommend evaluation by a veterinarian.
Until you can get Pilu to a veterinarian, I would recommend soaking her rear end in warm water to clean the droppings off. This will help to keep her clean, and will hopefully decrease the loss of any additional feathers.
I hope that this gives you a place to start, and I hope that Pilu feels better soon!2Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT
Licensed Veterinary Technician
Published on November 19th, 2017
Have him examined by your veterinarian to diagnose any medical causes for the behavior. Review the diet with your veterinarian as well.
Feed a good quality pelleted diet (Harrison's, Lafeber, KayTee Exact or Pretty Bird) supplemented with a fortified seed mix and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Clean the cage daily to remove the opportunity to eat droppings. Use a grate in the bottom, if one is not in place, to keep him off the cage bottom.1Pet Parents found this answer helpful