[Tofu]

Tofu has started to do something that I would consider strange. She has one perch that is a little too large for her so we spiral it with a bit or vet wrap and it is at the bottom of the cage where occasionally it gets droppings on it. If we remove this perch from its location she gets very upset because she does enjoy going down to sit on it. Lately, she has begun picking at the droppings on it. I tried to do some research to see if she was eating it or trying to clean it or what she was doing. Her diet has not changed- she eats one meal of nutriberries in the morning and one meal of fresh mixed veggies (I try to have one veggie of every color and change the mix week to week so she has variety) in the evening with millet for training and other nutriberries in different flavors tucked in toys for foraging and overall this schedule has worked extremely well for her so I'm having a hard time believing she's nutrient deficient. Just in case, we do occasionally put a mineral block in her cage- she knows what it is and how to chew it. We have also tried a cuttle bone in the past but shes a little afraid of the size of it and wont chew it. I also tried to see if she might be bored but she has been playing more than usual and has found some toys she likes. We make sure to rotate them occasionally for some variety. We are also doing daily training and she seems very happy?

Should I be worried at her picking at the droppings? She's never done it before and so I'm not sure if it is of concern or if its a hygine thing and maybe I just need to clean that specific perch more often than others?

 

[Mrs.JP3]

No need to worry, I remember asking my vet very early on about this. Sometimes birds just eat or pick at their poo. Personally I have come to believe mine do it for the reason you said I think they are trying to clean. Like, hey my poop is piling up right here better take care of that 😆 once Melody pooped on me she literally looks at the poop like, yuck I don't want to step in that! And then she actually picked it up and threw it right on my face 😂

 

[ozzie3860]

Rio is a poop flinger. Can't tell if he is cleaning or just having fun.

 

[Melanie]

Willow did this too. She’d pick off dried on poop all the time.

 

[Anya]

Birds eating and flinging their poop. Oh yuk. I only saw Cleopatra eating poop a few times when she was a baby. She stopped doing it, thank goodness. When I rearrange her cage, I try to make sure that all her toys and perches are all set up in "no poop zones". I know they say it is okay for them to eat it, but it totally grosses me out. 🤪One theory is they eat poop due to a vitamin or mineral deficiency, but I do not think they know for sure why they do it.

 

[Mrs.JP3]

Birds eating and flinging their poop. Oh yuk. I only saw Cleopatra eating poop a few times when she was a baby. She stopped doing it, thank goodness. When I rearrange her cage, I try to make sure that all her toys and perches are all set up in "no poop zones". I know they say it is okay for them to eat it, but it totally grosses me out. 🤪One theory is they eat poop due to a vitamin or mineral deficiency, but I do not think they know for sure why they do it.

I do the same thing! Whenever I rearrange the cage I'm constantly developing theories about where the poop is going to fall 😂