Why Does My Parakeet Have Diarrhea?

When your parakeet starts to have diarrhea, it is normal to feel a bit worried that something is wrong with them. You want to make sure that the parakeet is doing fine and this can be concerning.

The good news is that there are many reasons your parakeet has diarrhea and most of them are not a big deal or harmful to the bird. 

Why Does My Parakeet Have Diarrhea?

Parakeets generally get diarrhea after consuming a lot of water, often either from taking a bath, nervously drinking during stressful times, eating lots of water-rich foods like fruit, or competitive drinking with other birds in the home. It’s generally not a big concern and will clear up on its own.

On occasion, the parakeet can have diarrhea from an infection. You should visit the vet as soon as possible. 

Let’s take a closer look at parakeet diarrhea to help us understand what it is, how to cure it, and how to take care of our parakeets. 

Causes of Diarrhea In Parakeets

When you start to notice your parakeet is dealing with diarrhea, it is important to figure out what the cause of that is to start with. This will give you a better idea of the steps you can take to help cure the issue.

Some you will be able to do on your own and others may need the help of a veterinarian to help you figure out. Some of the common causes for diarrhea in your parakeet includes:

Fear 

This is something that you may seen in a parakeet you have just brought home. The bird may feel anxious and when they are afraid, they may have loose poop.

Parakeets who have a nervous temperament and then get startled can have the same issue as well. The good news is that these will resolve quickly, either when the bird starts to feel more comfortable in your home or when they are over being startled.

You will need to give your parakeet some space and allow them time to feel at home before this clears up. 

After a Bath

This is a common issue as well. You may give your bird a bath and then notice that they have poop that is almost completely liquid. The reason for this is that during a bath, your bird could ingest a lot more water than what is typical for them.

They have to get rid of all that waste somehow and the most common way is through loose stools. 

You should notice that this one is not going to last that long. They just need to get the water through their system and then it will be all healed up and ready to go.

This is not a cause for concern. You just need to make sure that they are being careful and not taking in too much water any time you try to clean them. 

Fruits and Vegetables

While a little bit of fruits and vegetables can be good for your parakeet, you do need to provide these to the bird with some caution.

Fruits and vegetables can have higher levels of water in them compared to seeds that the parakeet is more likely to eat. Eating a big helping of watermelon or wet lettuce, that is made primarily out of water, could cause the bird to have loose poop for the amount of time that it takes to process those foods.

Limiting how many times the birds can eat those foods can usually help. 

Molting

This will not cause every parakeet to have loose poop, but it could be a cause for some. Molting has a lot of side effects so you should be on the lookout to make sure that your parakeet will be safe.

When the bird is at the most wretched heights of pin feathers, it is more likely that you will see this kind of issue. For the most part, if the parakeet is eating and drinking well, then this is not a big issue and you do not need to do anything else for it. 

Competitive Drinking

For some birds, competitive drinking is going to be a problem, especially if you have more than one parakeet in your home. This can cause them to have an intense flock mentality.

What this means is that they have to do things together. If one of them eats, then the other bird will feel like they have to eat as well. This can happen even if the two birds are not put in the same cage as one another. 

This can happen with the water they drink as well. If one of them has to drink, then the other one will drink. Then the first one will drink again followed by the second one.

This puts them into a big feedback loop where they can continue taking drinks, not because they are thirsty, but because the other one is drinking so they think they need to do it as well. 

Because the birds are taking in so much water, they have to eliminate it somehow. And the most common way for that to happen is with loose stools.

If you see that the birds are getting into competitive drinking, it may be a good idea to take their water away from them for a little bit so they will stop and not have diarrhea. 

Is Diarrhea A Sign of Illness?

While the other options above are the most likely reason that you are seeing diarrhea for your parakeet, it is also possible that they will have this condition when they get sick.

If they catch a virus they may have this problem as the body tries to remove the illness from the bird. If you have checked into all of the other options on the list and the diarrhea does not seem to clear up pretty quickly, then it may be time to visit an avian vet to see what you can do about the condition to help your bird. 

How Can I Stop Parakeet Diarrhea?

Once your parakeet starts to suffer from this condition, you will want to take a few steps in order to help cure the issue and make them feel better. If you are uncertain about why the parakeet is suffering from diarrhea, then a holistic approach is a good option.

Try to add a small amount of hulled oats, bran, or kefir into their food to start with. 

Kefir is a good idea because, as a type of yogurt, it is able to balance out the bacteria that is in the digestive tract of your bird.

The hulled oats and bran are good because they have the ability to absorb the water present in the stomach, which will help your bird have droppings which are more solid. 

It may be possible to use some over the counter medications to help your parakeet feel better if the condition is not improving.

There are a lot of different products on the market that will help your parakeet fight of diarrhea and can restore the digestive health in this pet. To make sure that your pet is as nourished as possible, you should also look into some vitamins and electrolytes at this time.

Many veterinary offices can provide good options for you. 

If you do know what is causing the diarrhea in your pet, then it is time to remove that item to make them feel better. For example, if it is the competitive drinking, then take away the bowls of water for a bit.

If the bird is anxious, try out a few options that will calm them down and help them feel more at home. If it is from eating human food, then it is time to take away the human food and have them rely on seeds and their regular parakeet food. 

When is Parakeet Diarrhea a Problem?

If you notice that the parakeet’s condition has not gotten better after a day or two, it is time to visit with your vet. The parakeet could have diarrhea because they have an infection.

They may need some kind of medication or antibiotic to help them. Leaving the diarrhea untreated can make your parakeet get really dehydrated, which will lead to a lot of serious health problems. 

Diarrhea that is accompanied with sunken eyes, lots of weight loss, and tremors means that the bird needs to be evaluated by a vet as soon as possible. When you notice these signs, it is time to take them into the vet to get them checked out. 

Understanding Parakeet Diarrhea

Parakeet diarrhea is often something that is not a big deal. You may notice a few loose stools and then the condition will heal itself without a lot of work for you.

If the bird is sacred, competitive drinking, or has had too much water in their diet from human food, then it is natural that they will have loose stools. The problem just needs to run its course and then the bird will feel better.