African Grey s feces

Question
My African Grey (Congo) will occasionally eat his feces.  He only did it every once in a while and I made sure I cleaned his cage droppings regularly.  He has since stopped, but was wondering why he did this in case he does it again.  I have two other parrots that have never done this.

Answer
Hi Marci,

This is a diet related disorder called Coprophagia.  It's usually caused by a bad diet, where your bird is not getting the vitamins and minerals his body needs.  This can also turn into a bad habit once the diet is corrected... they will continue to munch on it by habit.  

If you could let me know what your Grey's diet consists of, that would be helpful.  I can advise you on any changes that may need to be made to give your bird the best possible diet you can give him.  Please be specific including any pellet and/seed brands and variations you give him.  Also include any people foods you give him as well as his waters source (bowl, bottle) and how often it's changed.

Some may urge you to add vitamins to your birds water but I usually don't recommend this.  First, it tends to make them not drink it because of the taste and secondly, it causes bacteria to grow much more quickly.  There are some very good pellets out there that include most of the vitamins and nutrients your bird needs.  If you supplement with certain veggies and fruits and other various people foods, there is absolutely no need for any vitamin or chemical supplements.

Diet is one of the most important aspects of caring for your bird.  As a bad diet can not only affect his physical health, but his mental and emotional health as well.  

Finally, you should definitely take your baby to an avian vet to make sure that he hasn't made himself sick by eating his feces.  You may need to have them run a couple of tests to make sure.  

If you could please provide me with the info requested above, I can advise you a little further on what to do next.  :-)  

Hope this helps!