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Post by Sheila on Mar 16, 2007 20:23:16 GMT -5
Is it normal for a 'tiel to have large droppings? Yellow Rose droppings are huge! Big Tex droppings are smaller, but bigger than budgies droppings.
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Post by Michael B on Mar 17, 2007 14:42:58 GMT -5
Hi.
Is this unusual?
My Cockatiels 'offerings' are larger than budgie gifts, definitely, but she is more discrete, actually tends to aim over the edge of where she is, and isn't dropping them every 5 minutes. When she's at egg laying time they get even fewer and larger.
Of course, it's something to watch for trouble too, so I don't know but am just giving some observations.
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Post by Sheila on Mar 19, 2007 18:26:09 GMT -5
I believe it's abnormal, but again she's almost a year older and I don't know if this is part of her maturing. I'm going to call the vet office tomorrow, and dread telling my husband! I spent hundreds of $ on Joee, and now the expense for a 'tiel...
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Post by henryswife on Mar 20, 2007 0:11:41 GMT -5
Sheila, I've learned to look at their vents when they are hanging on the side of the cage. They seem to have a larger opening and have larger poops when they are going to lay an egg. Of course I'm talking about budgies, I don't know about tiels. But some tiels are known to lay often. SIL had them yrs. ago and waited for them to hatch not knowing she had females. Live & learn.
Either Teal or Sunny laid 3 eggs [they share that cage] The first one had a poke hole in it by the water dish, so I think it was Teal because it had poop on it and she has to wash everything!
Even carrots chunks, broccoli etc. Both are over 3 yrs. and 1st. time laying. They have no interest in the eggs, they just lay there on the floor of the cage. They just feed & preem each other.
Now, Sky2 is going to lay, I can tell by her vent, but she is the motherly type to sit & roll the marbles for weeks, I had to replace them because they got broken. She is biting and protecting her other corner of the cage now. I put an upside down bowl in the other one & she does't really go there any more. The front has pull out water & food dish's, so no corners. I really am considering buying a round cage for her to put in when she's like this. She'll eat millet-broccoli that I hand feed her to, then bite me when she's done.??
I hope 'Bird-vet' Kerry or Sivin will give better advice here than I could.
We've noticed that the birds [robins] have started to make a nest again under the deck before all the bad weather set in. ice-snow-crap. We've been putting out more seed & left-over wheat breads etc. [day old stuff] but the robins want worms.
Keep us in touch. Alice
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Post by Sivin on Mar 20, 2007 0:58:42 GMT -5
Hi Sheila,
Just got home from L.A. and there was your cockatiel poop posting (try saying that three times fast). I have found that looking at the bird's vent is often an indication of whether an egg is on the way, as Alice pointed out.
I've been through many, many cockatiel eggs, but for whatever reason I am drawing a blank about dropping size just before they lay. When they do lay it can be larger, but before...just don't recall. However, I do know that the budgie droppings do increase in size and I am guessing that the cockatel droppings do as well.
Unless there are other reasons that cause you concern here (is this diarrhea or just more of the normal dropping, for example) I wouldn't worry terribly much about this. Perhaps it's something she ate.
Have a feeling an egg is coming, though...
Sivin
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Post by Sheila on Mar 20, 2007 18:43:55 GMT -5
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Post by henryswife on Mar 20, 2007 20:35:44 GMT -5
Sheila, I'm glad it was an egg and nothing else. If she laid more you would see them, being large.
Don't remove any and look around for some fake ones incase they break. I use white marbles from a chinese checker game. Maybe with Easter coming you can find plastic eggs or something that look like the size of a tiels egg, just in case if it's on the bottom of the cage and she sits on it and cracks.
More eggs to come? Hard to tell, I belive they are kind of on the softer side coming out and than get hard when they're out. Anyone, correct me if I'm wrong. Poops? just watch her vent to see if it gets smaller or stays large. It'll take maybe a week to go back to normal. I don't know if Tiels have the same egg laying pattern, one every 2 days.
Well, Micheal & Sivin, we were all thinking the same thing.
I don't know if it goes with all birds, but 7pm seems to be the witching hour for egg laying in this house. Don't know why??
Keep us in touch on how things are going. Alice
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Post by Sivin on Mar 21, 2007 0:25:15 GMT -5
Hi,
The cockatiel egg laying pattern is one every other day, like their budgie buddies.
Sivin
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Post by Sheila on Mar 21, 2007 21:05:07 GMT -5
What surprises me is the size... Tiels eggs aren't much bigger than a budgie egg. It's amazing a tiel comes out of the small egg they lay.
When the vent gets smaller her poop should become normal? Very interesting... Why does the poop become so large, tubular, and mushy, when they start laying eggs. It makes me think of large intestines. I don't recall Jimmie's (budgie) poop doing this, and she was a chronic egg layer. I'm certainly learning something new.
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Post by Sivin on Mar 21, 2007 21:48:38 GMT -5
Hi,
You might notice that the bird withholds her excrement and then puts out a whole lot at one time. I guess this is her attempt at keeping the nest clean. One bird we had would absolutely not soil the cage and then when we let her out to fly...look out!
Regards,
Sivin
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Post by Sheila on Mar 22, 2007 18:47:50 GMT -5
I have a feeling Rose is going to lay another egg. She feels fatter and shredding paper. I let her out of her cage this eve, and she went back in, all by herself. Then I went back in the room later, and she was in the bottom tray, below the grate trying to get out!!! This is the tray I had found the 1st egg, if she lays more. I've put oyster egg shells in a dish and hope she's eating it.
I did look underneath her, and she looks like she's getting bigger...
Her egg laying is so different from the way Jimmie was.
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Post by henryswife on Mar 23, 2007 20:53:56 GMT -5
Sheila,
She laid her 1st egg on the 20th. That would make yesterday the 22nd two days later.
Did she lay another last night?
Did you take the egg out and put it in the cage when you cleaned it? Did she let you?
Can you block the the tray so she can't get stuck or hurt down there?
Is Big Tex in the same cage with her still? Are they getting along? If you don't want babies
just incase, did you shake the egg, but leave it there, or are you ready for babies?
I don't know how, but I belive it was Teal that put a marble in the water dish, found it this
morning! didn't think they could open their mouth that big!!!
Neither Sunny or Teal are taking any interest otherwise, just with each other?? Sky is still
moody and XXX! Puffy is staying out of their way since she got her bottom tail feathers bitten
by Teal. We saw her. So put her back with sky. Going to put some other cages together this week end and stack them and deside who's going where. Even if there's an empty one for a spare. Have six all the same and enough stuff to make new toys.
Well, let us know how Yellow Rose is doing. Alice
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Post by Sheila on Mar 24, 2007 5:04:52 GMT -5
Found 2nd egg Friday, possibly laid Thursday pm. Rose and Tex are in the same cage, and squabble like normal sibblings do. When I enter the room, if their out of their cage, Tex flies to my shoulder and stays there. Rose has always been very independent and doesn't want to be bothered. I don't want babies, and didn't keep the 1st egg (cracked). Can cracked eggs still produce if they're fertile? Rose can't lay on the eggs, for they drop to the tray beneath the grate. Should I make a nest inside the cage, so she can sit on fake eggs or leave them below?
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Post by henryswife on Mar 24, 2007 21:25:59 GMT -5
Gee I don't know what to say, I guess the grate bars are spaced wider than a budgie cage.
I've seen tiel eggs and they didn't fall throuh the grates. Our budgies didn't either.
I'm thinking here. Make a nest? don't know. I was thinking of something to put on the bottom of the cage, like those bendable plastic cutting boards or cookie dough ones [not too expensive] if you can roll it and if it'll fit through the door and remove them to wash when they're out. Or maybe cutting some poster boards, roll and throw away. As long as she isn't too protective about handling the eggs, or do it when she's out and not looking.
They're all different as we're finding out. Like kids. Alice
Cracked eggs being fertile? could be if they were before getting cracked.
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