Expert: Riley - 2/19/2007

Question
Hello,

I am a veterinary technician in Aurora, CO and we just had a client come with with her bird concerned on why it is eating it's own feces.. We have never heard of this before and really don't have a good answer for her.. is there any reason that you know of on why a bird would be eating it's own poop? I found one website that says it could be a parasite problem.  
Thanks for you time.

Answer
Hello, Thanks for posting!

It's called coprophagia.  The reasons why birds eat their own feces is controversial, but can be caused by nutritional deficiencies (calcium a big one), environmental factors (stress), psychological problems (boredom) or a pathology.  Any bird eating droppings should have a complete medical evaluation. There are meds available that an avian vet can prescribe if he/she deems it appropriate based on a medical evaluation.  Often times, the problem can be resolved with a diet change to a more healthier, nutritional diet.

Riley

I've never heard of this disorder being the result of parasites.  A bird could acquire parasites from eating poop of another bird with a parasite problem, but this isn't a reason why a bird would exhibit this behavior.