You should not let your cockatiel eat its poop at all. They are not animals that can glean nutrients from this, but they can do this for other reasons. This may be a little weird and rough thing to see happen, but your cockatiel may try to eat the poop.
Why Does My Cockatiel Eat His Poop?
Why Does My Cockatiel Eat His Poop? Your cockatiel can eat their poop when they have nutrient deficiencies in their diet, most likely because they usually eat only seeds. Or they may be stressed, burn more calories than usual, and try to compensate by eating their poop. Also, if your cockatiel is bored, it can eat its poop while eating to have fun.
Your cockatiel shouldn’t be allowed to eat its poop. While this is a natural way for them to solve their problems, it does have risks. For example, your cockatiel may ingest mold, bacteria, or fungi from its poop.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the reasons why your cockatiel eats its poop and what you can do about it.
Is It Dangerous For Cockatiels To Eat Poop?
A cockatiel will not immediately get sick from eating poop. Although this is not biologically designed to get the maximum amount of vitamins from poop, it can still glean a few nutrients. The poop may contain parasites, bacteria, or worms that were inside of your cockatiel. By eating the poop, these harmful organisms will re-enter the body of your cockatiel.
Cockatiels can also be in danger of ingesting bacteria when they eat poop. This usually happens when cockatiels eat the poop of a cage-mate or another bird they’re spending time with. Your cockatiel can catch a disease from the poop of another bird, such as psittacosis, which is a common disease in birds.
Reasons Your Cockatiel Is Eating Their Poop
Before you try to get your cockatiel to stop eating the poop, you first need to understand some of the things that could cause this behavior. This will allow you to solve the root of the problem and prevent the cockatiel from doing this for a start.
Some of the reasons why your cockatiel does this are:
1. Nutritional Deficiencies
Cockatiels may choose to eat their poop because they miss some essential nutrients in their diet. They may think that eating their poop is an excellent way to get some of those nutrients back. Cockatiels resort to this much more often compared to some other birds.
If you think this is the issue, it’s time to examine the diet you give your cockatiel. Your cockatiel should get a mixture of foods, not just one type. Another sign that your cockatiel is not getting proper nutrition is if you see them eat their eggs.
This means that you need to feed them with many different types of food such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, pellets, and many kinds of seeds. Unfortunately, it is widespread for owners only to give seeds to their cockatiel, but this will miss out on many of the nutrients your bird needs.
Seeds are not bad, as long as they are not the only food you give your cockatiel. You need to serve the different types of food to provide them with a well-rounded diet.
If your cockatiel eats their poop because they are not getting enough nutrients, then improving their diet will help stop this issue. When you notice that your cockatiel is eating the diet they recommend but still eating their poop. This is most likely due to a lack of minerals. Use a cuttlebone and a mineral block to help your cockatiel. They give the bird all the nutrients it needs.
2. Boredom
In some cases, your cockatiel may decide to eat the feces as a sign of boredom. Cockatiels, like other birds, are very intelligent and need good mental stimulation every day.
If you do not provide your cockatiel something to play with or keep them entertained, they are more likely to resort to foraging to help give them something to do. Foraging is a natural habit for many birds, so it is not uncommon for them to do so in captivity.
However, if cockatiels have nothing to eat, they can start consuming their poop. In addition, it is common for them to eat anything else that is too much during this time, like hair and even dust that enters their cage. All of this is harmful to your cockatiel and can harm it, so it is better to look for other options so that the cockatiel does not get bored.
Many toys can entertain cockatiels and help them avoid eating poop and other things that can make them sick. Please take a look at a variety of foraging toys, chewable toys, puzzle toys, and other items that can help them stay physically active all the time.
3. Stress
Stressed cockatiels will go through more nutrients and calories compared to some other birds that are calm and collected in their homes. This lack of sleep, increased awareness and increased heart rate will deplete your cockatiel energy reserves faster than ever.
When your cockatiel cannot compensate for this lack of energy through food, or the cockatiel refuses to eat, they can start eating the poop. It is a good idea to check your cockatiel and the environment to see if they are stressed as this also causes some of their problems with eating poop.
- Some of the things you need to determine if your cockatiel is stressed out or not include:
- They get upset that other pets are bothering them.
- They get upset when small children try to handle them.
- Get upset when there are sudden movements from pets, birds, or other people.
- Do not like loud noises.
- Have a big change in their diet.
- They have a change in their environment, such as a new home.
The best way to help your cockatiel reduce stress levels is to eliminate what causes stress in the first place. This will not always be easy, but take some time and look around the house to see what could make your cockatiel feel more at home.
4. Dirty Cage
Your cockatiel will not want to live in a dirty environment. However, their home can very quickly get messy with their poop, any food or water that spills, and toys that are kept around. In some cases, when the cockatiel notices that the environment is too dirty, it can try to get the dried poop out of the cage. When the situation becomes dire, they may choose to eat fresh manure to keep the area clean.
The cockatiel is smart enough to recognize that new poop only increases the mess. So, hoping to keep things a little cleaner, they may decide to throw out or eat poop to help out.
If you notice that this is happening, then it is advisable to clean the cage more often. Leaving the cage can only make the situation worse. So, to begin with, you should do basic cleaning of the cage every day. This will help remove a lot of mess and keep things tidy for your cockatiel.
Depending on how much mess is being made in the cage, you should clean the entire cage once a week or once a month. This includes cleaning dishes from water and food, replacing linings, and cleaning or vacuuming around the cage.
If this is the main reason your cockatiel is eating their poop, then cleaning the cage should be enough to get them to stop. Keep an eye on regular cleansing by doing a little each day and deeper cleansing at the end of the week to prevent them from eating their poop in the future.
5. Health Issues
Once you have had a chance to out the other issues to get your cockatiel to stop eating its poop, it should stop. If you find that all other problems are off and they continue to do this, then there may be a health issue at play in your cockatiel.
Your cockatiel may feel compelled to eat their poop if it is sick or has a disease. When this happens, it is time to take your cockatiel to a veterinarian to check the case.
A professional will look at the cockatiel and eradicate the real cause of why your cockatiel is eating their poop. They can also have more advice on what you can do to prevent this behavior and keep your cockatiel healthy and happy.
Your Cockatiel Eats Poop
Although there are various reasons why your cockatiel eats its poop, this is still a normal thing for them. When you start to notice that your cockatiel is doing this, it’s a good idea to look at the root cause and then find a way to get your cockatiel to stop.
