Abnormal Crop?

[Caitrose96]

Hey guys,

I'm a first time handrearer of this little cockatiel. He/she is roughly 6 weeks old and i got him last sunday. First off please no comments saying i shouldn't have gotten him that young, he is an orphaned bird and was dropped into my vet clinic (not a bird clinic so can't ask there for advice) for euthanasia.

He is acting totally normal but his crop seems awfully large. I can see small red veins in it as well. Only a couple and quite faint.

Does it look normal to you? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also his feathers are wet as i just bathed him.

 

[noodles123]

Does it ever empty?

 

[pterry97]

I had a similar issue with some pigeons I hand reared, it looks like its full of air he's been swallowing. You'll have to gently massage it upwards and get him to burp it out, it means that he's swallowing a lot of air during feeding and you might need to consider changing the method you're using to feed him. There is also the possibility that he may have fell previously and has a leaking air sac, this can also fill up the crop with air. It's looking pretty bad at the moment, especially if the veins are prominent, you'll need to remove the pressure build up as much as you can. Be careful and I'm hoping for the best.

 

[Caitrose96]

Thanks for the replies. Yes it empties mostly every 4-5 hours but is always empty first thing of a morning. I think he likely does swallow a lot of air as he tries to eat it way to fast! I've been spoon feeding him but might switch to syringe feeding. He is also eating a lot of solids now too so not sure if that changes things as well?

Thanks again

 

[Caitrose96]

Can the air be expelled without massaging? As it is pretty empty now roughly 4 hours after feeding without me massaging. Sorry for all the questions! Would he seem uncomfortable with air in it? Would he reject food? sorry for all the questions, he was booked in for a check up with an avian vet yesterday to make sure i'm on track but the vet had to cancel!

 

[ChocolateChipCookiez]

If his crop looks like that after feeding and empties in 4-5 hours it's most likely that that's just food. Bird crops look like that after they eat so I wouldn't worry too much.

I've spoon-fed every single bird I raised and I never had any birds swallow too much air.

So I'd suggest to keep an eye on him for now.

 

[pterry97]

Can the air be expelled without massaging? As it is pretty empty now roughly 4 hours after feeding without me massaging. Sorry for all the questions! Would he seem uncomfortable with air in it? Would he reject food? sorry for all the questions, he was booked in for a check up with an avian vet yesterday to make sure i'm on track but the vet had to cancel!

If the crop is empty but still swollen with air it would be safer to gently massage it out. It will definitely be uncomfortable as in the past one of my very first pigeon rears died from the pressure of the air in their crop putting too much pressure on their airway, essentially suffocating them to death. If you think he is managing to remove the air himself then that's a little more reassuring, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Hoping you can wean him onto solid foods soon. Best wishes.

 

[noodles123]

I would recommend a vet visit, just to be safe. I am not sure whether the anatomy of a pigeon and parrot are similar enough, which is why I would be nervous. Pterry97, you could be correct, but I am just hesitant about doing that without a vet's supervision. If you push the crop the wrong way, they can aspirate and develop pneumonia. If it is air, it could also be due to yeast, which would need to be treated.
https://www.beautyofbirds.com/slowcrop.html