PROBLEMS OF THE CROP WHEN HANDREARING
by Kellie Stewart
SOUR CROP
If you undertake the task of handrearing then somewhere along
the track you will have a crop problem occur.
It can happen for quite a few
different reasons, which I will explain shortly. As your handrearing skills
improve crop problems will be few and far between.
This problem occurs for several reasons, among them spoiled or old handrearing
formula and unhygienic handrearing methods.
If the crop is not treated then the bird will
end up with a condition called gas crop. Gas is created from the food spoiling
in the crop and the bacterial levels rising. Gas crop is usually fatal.
If you have a bird with sour crop
this can usually be identified by the crop slowing down. The passing through of
food being a lot slower than normal. This is always a good indication something
is wrong, this is followed by crop statis (food not going through at all) If
the food is spoiling you must extract the contents of the crop - this is called
milking the crop. Once the food has gone sour it is not going to move on its
own. If you notice crop slowdown occurring this is a good time to take action,
don’t wait for the crop to stop moving completely. Milking the crop is done by
extracting the sour food, using a soft rubber tube attached to a syringe. This
is quite a difficult task for the beginner so if experienced help is close at
hand ask for some help, or go to your avian vet.
STEP ONE:
If the
food has consolidated in the crop you will have to loosen it up before you try
and remove it. Mix some bicarbonate of soda in boiled water let cool to the
feeding temperature of 43 degrees Celsius. Baking soda acts as a type of
antacid helping to neutralize any acidity in the crop created by the food
spoiling. Insert the rubber tube down the left side of the bird’s throat. Once
the tube is in the crop administer the boiled water and baking soda gently.
Massage the crop very gently to loosen up the food, very slowly start
extracting the food. Don’t rush; you don’t want to injure the crop wall by
sucking it up the tube. This may have to be done 2 or 3 times until the liquid
you are extracting is becoming quite clear.
STEP TWO:
This will
have caused the bird considerable stress. I would suggest to hydrate the bird
with electrolytes (e.g. Polyaid) but do not feed any handrearing product at
this stage. Considering the idea of the bacteria being present in the crop I
would suggest mixing the electrolytes with a broad spectrum antibiotic (such as
tetracycline) Put the bird in a hospital cage at 32 degrees Celsius and leave
for an hour or so to rest. In turn massage the crop very gently to help
the electrolytes pass through. Once you have had a problem with the crop you
have to get it working again. This is why it is a good idea not to feed the
bird any solid food in case you end up with the same problem of the food not
passing through. Once the electrolytes start going through you know then you
are getting somewhere.
REMEMBER: Any treatment
with antibiotics will kill the bad bacteria but it will also kill the good
bacteria present in the bird’s digestive system. So adding a probotic to the
bird’s food in the following steps is advised.
STEP THREE:
Once the
crop starts to empty regularly again start to add a small amount of handrearing
formula to the electrolytes and either apple sauce or cooked kiwi fruit (no
seeds) Apple sauce and cooked kiwi fruit are a great way of getting things
moving along in the digestive system just as it does in humans. We all know
what happens if we eat to many apples!! If the food keeps going through the
crop at a good pace every couple of feeds slightly thicken the food keeping a
close monitor of the chick’s crop emptying times. At this stage you can stop
using the electrolytes.
STEP FOUR:
Increase
the thickness of the food slowly over the next 4 days still including the apple
or kiwifruit. After the four days you should be back to the normal thickness
from this point you can exclude the fruit and carry on as per usual.
CONCLUSION:
With the
handrearing products available on the market today sour crop should be a thing
of the past. Look for handrearing formulas, which contain beneficial bacteria
such as Lactobacillus acidophilus; Streptococcus salivarius; Bifiobacterium
bifidum; Candida pintolepesii; Enterococcus faecium. These probotics help
maintain a healthy balanced digestive system. All good handrearing formulas
should contain probotics.
A bird with sour crop will not
always pull through depending on the age and general health. If you get to step
four then your patient is well on its way to recovery