# pasty butt or caked poop?



## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Phoebe who is post surgery has been dribbling poop down a long strand of feces hanging from feathers I think near her back end. She is still pooping OK but am not sure how to remove the caked stuff. Cut some off last night but there is still an inch or so hanging from her vent. Has anybody encountered this? She has a large surgical incision and her feathers are mostly plucked from that area. Can't turn her upside down to examine it because that would make it hard for her to breathe. Should I just take a soft warm moist cloth and try to remove it? It is dried and hard. Thanks.


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## Isacr101 (Jun 5, 2015)

Yes I would call the surgeon or vet office as well


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

will do, but they aren't open on Sundays


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## Isacr101 (Jun 5, 2015)

What surgery did she have?


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

she has coelemic xanthomatosis so had surgery to remove it. the vet was only able to remove about a third of the masses and lots of liquid because she had difficulties with anesthesia.


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## Isacr101 (Jun 5, 2015)

Please make sure she is hydrated and what is her diet


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

She is drinking fine. We offer her drinks periodically to make sure. She is back to eating Zupreem cockatiel, and some types of parakeet seed treats, which is all she would eat for several days. She is on isoxuprine, meloxicam, and omega 3s as prescribed by the vet. We stopped the tramadol yesterday as he wanted us to do. Am trying to keep her room at 80 to 90 degrees as she seems to like that.


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## AndreiS (Jul 28, 2013)

Does she has an aglutinated vent, if I understand correctly? The best way is to remove the poop using warm water:


1. Keep the bird with the vent under the slightly warm tap water for few minutes, until the features have been thoroughly wetted. Take care to not wet feathers in other area than the vent.

2. Remove the poop using your fingers

3. Dry the area of the vent as much as possible using paper towels.


4. Dry the vent more thoroughly using some hair dryer, if the bird may be affected by moisture of her feathers.


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Warm water and microfibre clotths work great as they are a bit grippy.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Wasn't able to soften up the poopy ball clinging to poor girlbird's butt so just held it with one hand and gently trimmed it away with scissors being careful not to hurt her. It is about an inch in diameter so hope she is more comfortable now. Will keep gently wiping the area with a warm washcloth the next few days to get the residue left. I snuggled her and told her what a good birdie she is. She loves snuggling.


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Is this blocking her vent so she cant poop? Either way, simply set her in a warm dish of water and let her soak for 10 min or so, be careful what u cut as well, what if it is a growth underneath and skin with poop on it? I would soak her butt as she is so tame, just sit her in your lap in a warm bowl of water, feet and all and let her sit. Then try prying it off and use a cloth as well then trim any residual feathers that are trapping the fecal matter and she should be good to go.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

It isn't blocking her vent. She poops fine. But there was about three inches of solid poop hanging down. It is mostly gone now. She is breathing bad because I just gave her the meds. She hates that and struggles. If she is ok I will try tomorrow and see if she will let me soak her. Right now even small changes really seem to stress her out.


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## Isacr101 (Jun 5, 2015)

I would call her surgeon today. If she cannot stand put her in a shoe box with some hay or grass (anything fluffy maybe shreded papers but not cross cut) and put her seed and some water in there, as she needs to choose to get hydrated herself. Has she cleaned herself? Try sitting her in some warm water for a minute and pet her to keep her calm as this may feel odd. If you can cut an orange and poke a hole in it for her to play eat and drink out of. May be a vitamin/nutritional deficiency. I would wet a hand towel and microwave it a bit and wrap her in it every so often to encourage her to bathe after as her feathers will be slightly damp.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Will see about cleaning her better today. Will see if she would like an orange. Have already emailed the avian specialist. She drinks a lot of water...I even offer it to her during the night and she usually drinks. She preens but has had difficulty cleaning herself because of her coelemic problem and surgery. Will get her up in a little while as it isn't light yet, and feed her and give her her meds and see how she is doing. She really hates being medicated.


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