Regurgitation of crop contents and loss of appetite in young birds is suggestive of crop stasis or a crop infection. Crop samples can be examined by your veterinarian to look for secondary infections that require treatment.
Usually, a procedure called a crop wash or crop aspirate is performed. The veterinarian places a small amount of water into the crop using a feeding tube. Some of the fluid is then suctioned out and tested for infectious organisms.
Yeast infections are a common cause of crop stasis in baby birds. Parasites. If large numbers of intestinal parasites such as roundworms and tapeworms infest the intestinal tract, complete obstruction may occur. Trichomonas may occasionally cause crop stasis in small psittacine birds, especially budgerigars.
Treatment consists of emptying the crop using a crop needle, flushing with sterile saline and giving appropriate antibiotic or anti-fungal medication. Dehydration is corrected by giving fluids, and the bird is kept warm. Feeding is resumed with a more watery formula to allow gut activity to resume.
A crop should be felt very gently, such as touching a balloon. With a handfeeding chick, it should feel like an underfilled water balloon – soft, but not tight. If the crop feels tight, and especially if you leave an impression where you touch it, then the crop is too full and possible impacted.
In birds with crop impaction, the crop will not empty. On palpation, the contents of the crop will feel firm. Birds will show reduced appetite, weight loss, and depression.
You can diagnose sour crop by examining your chicken's crop. A swollen crop that is squishy to touch is the most obvious symptom of sour crop in chickens. Impacted crops are swollen and hard, and pendulous crops are distended but feel relatively normal.
Normally the crop empties shortly after the bird eats but sometimes a condition known as "crop stasis" occurs, in which there is a delay in the crop emptying. Delayed or reduced crop emptying can occur due to crop burns, overfilling or infections with parasites (eg trichomoniasis), fungi or bacteria.
For most baby birds, it takes between four and six hours for the crop to empty. Once every 24 hours, preferably at night, take a break from feedings. For example, if your bird's crop empties every four hours, you should be feeding him every four to five hours between 6 a.m. and midnight.
However, in adult birds it also occurs as a result of in- fections or diseases [1]. Treatment of crop infection in parrot depends on the cause of condition. In the present study, the baby bird is treated with antibiotic therapy to prevent the infec- tion and antiemetic drug is given to stop the regurgitation.
An impacted crop is a crop that has completely stopped working due to a blockage (usually food). Sometimes these blockages can extend into the proventriculus too – without treatment this hen will die.
Symptoms may vary , depending on the severity of disease and environment. But some symptoms of E-Coli are Ruffled feathers,depression, Less feed intake, coughing, and change of voice in breathing .
Try to get the condition cured within 24 hours of diagnosing the sour crop. If none of the treatments are working, then you may need to consult a veterinarian. Hopefully massaging the crop should help it empty, but we will go over some more emergency treatment methods in a minute.
Infected birds may show respiratory signs, including tail bobbing, difficulty breathing, and coughing. The bird may be lethargic, fluffed, listless, and lose weight.
In the morning, feel the crop of the chicken that you suspect has a crop ailment. If the crop is small, firm, and hard to distinguish, then the crop has emptied properly. If the crop is still large and feels hard or firm, then the chicken has an impacted crop.
ENDOCRINE: feather picking, feather coloration problems, hormonal imbalance, etc. A malnourished bird may also experience obesity which leads to heart problems, liver problems, tumors and pressure sources. Malnourished birds have low stamina and appear lethargic.
Manually emptying the crop is difficult and the underlying fungal/yeast infection needs to be controlled. The crop can also become impacted, in which case removing feed and manually massaging the crop can be of use.
If veterinary support cannot be found, a home remedy may be offered as follows: Withhold food and water for 24 hours to allow the crop to naturally empty as much as possible. On an empty crop, dose apple cider vinegar (diluted to the manufacturers recommendations) syringed into the side of the beak.
Treatment – Mild Cases: An impacted crop can be emptied if it is unlikely to clear, but vets usually advise putting the bird onto water for 24 to 48 hours in mild cases before gradually re-introducing their food.
Chickens can be exposed to a high concentration of Candidia by eating rotten/moldy food, or ingesting food and water contaminated with feces. Thankfully, candidiasis cannot be spread bird-to-bird; they only become sick after a high load exposure to the fungus.