Budgies should eat around 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of pellets or seeds daily, plus small amounts of fruits and veggies.
But then, how often do budgies poop, and how many times a day? Your budgies will pass droppings every 12 to 20 minutes and around 40 to 50 times daily. However, this varies based on several factors, like the size of your parakeets and the type of food they eat. Typically, budgies poop frequently because of their fast metabolism and small-sized stomachs.
But there is more! So, keep reading to find out all there is to know about budgie pooping and potty training.
How Often Do Budgies Poop? How Many Times A Day?
Healthy budgies can poop once every 12 to 20 minutes a day. These birds will even wake up at night just to poop. As such, it is pretty easy to keep track of abnormal droppings and how long they last.
Regarding how many times a day, your pet budgies can pass droppings between 40 and 50 times, including while flying. This is quite a lot and occurs due to parakeets having a high basal metabolic rate and using energy at higher speeds.
Because of their fast metabolism, food is usually passed via the digestive tract faster than most animals. Basically, these pet birds can digest their food in around three hours if feeding on a seed diet. This makes these companion birds pass their droppings many times in a day.
However, the number of times your parakeets usually poop may differ based on factors like:
- Size of your birds
- Age of the birds
- Type of food your bird is eating
- Sick bird (egg bound or constipated)
Another reason budgies poop every so often is because of their small two-part stomachs. Due to this, food usually passes through their digestive tract in parts. Therefore, your pet birds have to constantly digest and excrete waste.
First, the food has to enter the glandular stomach of your birds, where it is broken down into small pieces by the gizzard. After that, the food enters your budgie’s small intestine and the short large intestine before the waste is excreted via the cloaca.
Budgie Poop Chart
Knowing how healthy budgie poop looks is essential. This is because it is easier to tell when something is wrong with your pet birds. So, below is a chart to help you understand what budgie poop should look like.
| Budgie Poop | What To Expect |
| Size and amount | In proportion to bird’s size and weightDiffers based on their dietExtreme changes could be a sign of a problem |
| Color | Varies based on the bird’s dietMostly olive shade of green and white or brownNatural food colorings can temporarily change the color |
| Texture | Differs based on type of dietMostly semi-soft or with toothpaste consistencyWet and slimy droppings are a sign of diarrhea |
| Odors | Little or no smellStrong smelly or pungent poop is an indication of a problem |
| Liquids presence | Contains a small amount of liquidsTypically white with a chalky paste due to urates |
My Budgie Is Pooping Less Than Normal, What To Do?
In some cases, your budgies may pass stool fewer times than usual. But what causes this, and what can you do to fix the problem? Read on to find out.
1. Feed budgie enough food
If your budgie is not eating enough, it will likely poop less often. Therefore, you must ensure your pet bird is getting a balanced diet comprising a variety of seeds, fruits, and vegetables.
2. Check for egg binding
During the breeding season, your female budgies may sometimes experience egg binding. This happens when your pet birds cannot expel some of their eggs via their reproductive tract. As a result, this makes it hard to pass their stool. The solution to this problem is to have a vet extract the eggs.
3. Give adequate water
Your companion birds may experience constipation if they don’t take enough water, fiber-rich food, and lots of veggies. If this is the case, you should take your parakeets to the vet to remove the blockage.
4. Take budgie to the vet
Additionally, your pet birds will poop less when they are sick. This is because budgies tend to be less active and don’t eat a lot when ill. If this is the case, you should take your parakeets to the vet for proper treatment.
Budgie Is Pooping A Lot
When your budgie is experiencing loose droppings or diarrhea, it will poop more frequently than usual. This may happen due to:
- Fungal or bacterial infection
- Sudden change in diet
- Eating too many veggies or fruits
- Intestinal parasites
- Consuming water excessively
Additionally, a small or younger budgie is likely to poop more than its older counterparts. Overfeeding your pet bird could also make it pass droppings more frequently. A budgie that is stressed and unhappy may also poop more.
Also read: Should You Let Budgies Out Of Their Cage?
Healthy and Unhealthy Budgie Poop
Healthy budgie poop is usually consistent in color, texture, odor, frequency, and size. However, the color of the droppings may change color based on the type of food your bird eats.
But overall, the color of a healthy budgie stool is typically olive or grass green because the birds feed more on seeds. The poop is usually surrounded by whitish or transparent urinary waste. However, sometimes the poop may appear brownish in color if your bird’s diet consists mainly of pellets.
When your budgie is sick, the color and consistency of its poop will change. For instance, the poop can be watery, slimy, and with an unpleasant smell.
Unhealthy budgie poop can have colors such as:
Gray
Your pet bird will pass light gray or gray-brown droppings due to pancreas infection, inflammation, or acute pancreatitis.
Red
If there are no changes in your budgie’s diet, red poop could be due to blood. This happens if your bird has intestinal issues, metal poisoning, parasitic infections, or internal bleeding.
Black
A budgie that is not eating enough will pass black droppings. The black stool is due to the bile coming out. Also, if your bird consumes a high-protein diet, the poop will be black.
Yellowish-green
One of the symptoms of liver disease or diabetes in budgies is yellowish-green poop.
How Do You Clean Budgie Poop?
Cleaning the poop of your pet budgie is easy. Below are simple steps on how to do it.
Step 1: Pick up the droppings
Use paper towels or an old rag to pick up the wet or dry budgie droppings and toss them in the trash.
Step 2: Flush remaining poop
Next, get a water hose and gently flush all the areas with budgie poop.
Step 3: Clean the stains
If there are any stains, prepare water, mild dish soap, and vinegar solution in a ratio of 1:1. As for the soap, add only two teaspoons. Alternatively, you can use baking soda and water solution.
Then, pour the solution on the stains and let it rest for around 15 minutes. Next, scrub the stains and rinse the area with plain water.
Step 4: Disinfect
Lastly, disinfect all the areas that previously had the budgie poop using a solution containing sodium hypochlorite. Then, rinse the disinfectant after 10 minutes.
Can You Potty Train Budgies?
Yes. You can potty train your parakeets to poop in just one spot. This could take a couple of days or several weeks. Therefore, you must be patient.
But to potty train your budgies, you must first learn how your birds behave when they want to poop. Look for signs like making a particular noise, moving a certain way, or even squatting.
So, every time your parakeets make their poop sign, you take them to the spot where you would like them to poop. It could be in the cage, trashcan, or in a newspaper.
And while doing this, you can repeat a particular word like ‘bathroom.’ Over time, your bird will associate the word with pooping and get used to pooping in one spot.
Is Budgie Poop Toxic
Healthy budgie poop is not toxic. But if left for a longer time, it can grow fungi and bacteria, making it a health hazard and causing respiratory issues. This occurs when you inhale dust from the dried stool.
However, unhealthy budgie poop is toxic. The stool may contain salmonella bacteria, which may cause salmonella disease. In addition, the poop may carry Chlamydia psittaci, a bacteria that causes psittacosis disease among humans.
Do Budgies Poop In Their Sleep?
No. While budgies poop many times a day, they don’t pass stool while sleeping. This is because, at night, your birds’ metabolic rate tends to be slower than when awake.
Another reason budgies don’t poop in their sleep is that they don’t eat at night. However, these pet birds sometimes may wake up from their slumber to poop if they cannot hold it anymore.
Does Budgie Poop Have A Smell?
The poop of a healthy budgie should have little to no smell, depending on what your bird eats. For instance, if your parakeet eats sweet fruits, seeds or vegetables, the poop may have a mild sweet scent. Your bird’s poop may also smell like stinky breath after consuming broccoli.
However, the poop may have a strong odor if your budgie is sick or infected. In this case, you should take your bird to see a vet.
Related: Do Budgies Need A Bath?
FAQs
Below are quick answers to frequently asked questions about how many times budgies poop in a day.
This varies based on the size of the budgies. Smaller pet birds will pass less amount of stool but more frequently. On the other hand, larger parakeets will poop more enormous amounts but less often because they can hold longer.
The correct answer is in the morning. Budgies will rarely poop at night while asleep. Because of holding the poop all night long, they usually pass more droppings early in the morning. They may also poop a lot when experiencing diarrhea.
Yes. Budgies are known to poop every 12 to 20 minutes and everywhere. Therefore, these birds can also pass their droppings while flying and exploring outside of their cages.
Conclusion
Budgies can poop up to 50 times daily or every 15 to 20 minutes. But sometimes, your pet birds may poop more or less than expected. Therefore, knowing how healthy and unhealthy budgie poop looks is essential. We also suggest learning how to potty train your companion birds and clean their poop.
