Lose stools

[butterfly]

Hello, I am very pleased to find your forum. I have been looking for help with this for a while. I have a 10 year old cockateil, called flipper, that I recently adopted from a pet shelter. I adopted it knowing it had a problem with its stools, they are very loose and watery, with no white part, only the green is solid. He drinks copious amounts of water. Flipper has been thouroughly checked by the avarian vet on staff at the shelter, and all known disease related causes for the problem (including diabetes) have been ruled out. I was hoping that someone else with particular experience with cockateils may have experience in such a problem, and ways of managing it. He really is a very friendly fellow, and loves to be out of his cage, but I would like a beter quality of life for him if it is posible.
Thank you!

[Michael B]

Hello there. I don't have a great deal of experience, but I'll chip in a bit now and later you'll probably hear more from others.

Others have posted about their "wet" birds that, like yours, don't appear to be ill, but drink, and excrete a lot. Are you saying that Flipper's quality of life is affected because you can't let him out of the cage much because he makes a mess, but otherwise he's fine?

I'll chip in one idea, but take it with a grain of salt because I don't know how accurate it may be. I think I've heard drinking excessively could be a type of habitual behaviour that, like feather plucking sometimes, could be stimulated by boredom in a confined environment. Perhaps some new toys? Maybe place the water in a new, perhaps not quite so convenient, location?

Checking the web, in people I've read it can be cause can be endocrinal causes, schizophrenia or Obssesive Compulsive Disorder. In children I read it's found mostly in foster children. "Excessive water drinking can be considered a marker for problems in parenting", so it's basically your fault .
In dogs, I found a list of 20 possible causes. There's an even longer list for people (your bird hasn't been doing excessive dieting or ecstasy use, has he?) So, it's sometimes difficult to know why it happens.

Hopefully someone else has advice how to deal with it. I suppose something absorbent on the bottom of the cage (or lots of newspaper). I do know that it is possible to 'potty train' birds. This won't be easier in an old bird, but is possible with persistence, I believe. I've read they can be trained to defecate over their cage or certain designated perches by consistent positive reinforcement when they go there. This can take time. You can find more on the web.

Good luck. It's nice to hear from you.

[Sivin]

Hi,

You mentioned he was examined by the avian vet, but were tests taken? Also, was this truly a vet specializing in birds or a person merely interested in them? I would suggest another opinon by a vet who solely treats birds.

Please keep us posted on this. Welcome to the board!

Sivin