Usually, a run-in with bird poop means you're having a pretty bad day. But one Redditor's brush with bird poop turned out to be incredibly lucky.
In a Reddit thread on r/houseplants, a user shared the crazy experience of a plant growing because of their pet parrot.
The Redditor posted a photo of a potted plant with the caption: "Jasper grew a plant! He pooped in my hydroponics reservoir about a week ago and today I found this sprout floating in the water."
It turns out that birds, very unsurprisingly, don't need to know how to garden to help bring plants to life. Bird droppings contain nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that can be beneficial for plant growth. They can also provide important micronutrients, like calcium and magnesium, that are important for healthy plant growth. When the droppings decompose, they release these nutrients into the soil, providing a natural fertilizer for the plants.
While this is all great, it's important to note that fresh bird droppings can carry harmful bacteria and parasites and should be handled with care or avoided. Additionally, if the droppings contain seeds from other plants, they can become invasive species in the area where they grow. So even though bird droppings can help grow plants, they should be used with caution.
Still, users in the comments were pretty excited about Jasper the parrot farmer. One shared a similar story involving their horse, writing, "I used to feed my horse a small amount of sunflower seeds and one of her 'piles' grew a sunflower one August. She's gone now, but sunflowers never fail to make me laugh and smile! Also, good job Jasper!"
Another chimed in with a question: "Good for Jasper! I wonder what it is, millet? Please grow it!"
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