https://www.vetsurgeon.org/f/clinical-questions/28904/uric-acid-in-budgies I am treating a stray budgie with watery droppings (faeces look normal) that keeps getting matted around cloaca. She has been eating Harrisons bird food and there has been a small amount of weight loss. I have also treated her for suspected scaly beaken-USTelligent Community 10https://www.vetsurgeon.org/thread/219872?ContentTypeID=1Thu, 27 Feb 2020 11:27:09 GMT146601cc-3922-4be7-9974-7e1d4e45a66b:ab5231fe-4cc7-4958-b8c0-51cce410e149Marie Kubiak<p>The uric acid level is within reference range (Species 360, n=114) so gout is less likely but not impossible.</p> <p>What is matting? The urates, faeces or urine in feathers? And which bit of the droppings is more watery?</p> <p>Can you post rads? Temporary urate sludging is common with dehydration so feeding a higher fluid diet (soaking pellets, encouraging fruit/veg) or administering exogenous fluids and repeating rads will help rule this in or out. Do you have a urea measurement as this can help differentiate pre-renal from renal changes?</p> <p>Budgies (and cockatiels) are the only parrot species I would be comfortable feeding a seed diet to and dry pellets may have a link to renal changes (certainly has been suspected in cockatiels). Perhaps add in some mixed small seeds to vary the diet and increase lipid intake, especially if weight loss is ongoing.</p> <p>Other considerations are whether you have a balance (especially lipoma presence) or orthopaedic issue affecting posture when defaecating so that the faeces isn&#39;t being expelled away from the body. Or a feathering abnormality (fancy feather type/dystrophy of featehrs from circo or polyoma virus) but this is less common.</p> <p>Marie</p><div style="clear:both;"></div>