# Bizarre purple poop - Has anyone else seen this?



## Chaul Jhin Kim (Mar 18, 2021)

Not sure if this is normal variation or not but my pigeon (who otherwise seems quite healthy and active) has been producing purple poops recently and an Internet search isn't very helpful. He mostly eats seeds with the occasional peas/corn so diet-wise I'm not sure where this color is coming from.

Is this something to be worried about?

The following are pictures of the droppings in question:


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Do you treat for parasites and coccidiosis? Don't want to get you worried, but it can be blood maybe? Not sure.


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## Chaul Jhin Kim (Mar 18, 2021)

Marina B said:


> Do you treat for parasites and coccidiosis? Don't want to get you worried, but it can be blood maybe? Not sure.


He's currently a lone indoor pigeon so I doubt any parasites could find their way in. I thought it might be blood but it's an almost bluish purple color, and all photos of bloody bird poops I found on the Internet were more reddish. I also noticed that sometimes his droppings return to a more normal color, but then they become purple again. Eating and drinking habits remain the same. It's all very odd.


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## bwpt95 (Dec 31, 2020)

That does not look like blood. Could there possibly be food coloring in any food or treats?


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## Chaul Jhin Kim (Mar 18, 2021)

bwpt95 said:


> That does not look like blood. Could there possibly be food coloring in any food or treats?


I can't think of anything that could have food coloring. He drinks tap water and this brand of canary seed:






Value Canary Bird Seed Mix 1kg | Pets | PAK'nSAVE Online


Canary Bird Seed Mix




www.paknsaveonline.co.nz





and sometimes these frozen mixed vegetables as well (actually only just the peas and corn which I manually separate out since he seems to dislike the carrots):






Primary Select Mixed Vegetables 1kg | Chilled, Frozen & Desserts | PAK'nSAVE Online


Mixed Vegetables




www.paknsaveonline.co.nz





The frozen vegetables are thawed before consumption.

About 10 days ago, he also ate some chopped dehulled sunflower seeds and white sesame seeds. But I think if those were the cause then the purple droppings should have happened earlier.

As of now, the color has returned back to a normal brown. Hopefully it will stay this way.

And if it happens again, I'll take a sample and look at it under a microscope and post the pictures here (I'm a biochemist).


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