# baby cockatiel with overstretched crop



## sheltm7 (Sep 14, 2012)

I have a baby cockatiel that got chilled three days ago. We took him to the vet the next day when we noticed he was throwing up. Turns out he had a bacteria infection, they gave us anitbiotics and a type of gravol. He has had four doses of the antibiotics now, how long will it take to get the bacteria cleared up? Also up until today his poop was dark green and not often, but today he started pooping regularly and its the colour it was before he got sick. So i take that as a good sign? 
We are giving him electolytes and had him in a incubator now to keep him warm. Mommy is still feeding him but she never lets his crop empty and has him all day while we are at work and school, we got home to his crop being huge!! I am worried she is overfeeding him, what should we do about this?
I really need some advice on this i am very worried we will lose this baby if we don't do something soon.
Oh and the baby has started walking around and is very active but his body still looks somewhat reddish instead of pink.


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## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

Over stretched crops can need a crop bra. Here are instructions on that:

http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=20958

I believe redness means dehydration but I will let a breeder who deals with chicks help you more.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

If you can, try giving him some coconut water, it'll help with the dehydration.

I can't say for sure if he has an overstretched crop unless I see a picture of it. Trust me, as babies, their crops are like twice the size of their heads!!! Hope he gets better. And the infection will be gone once you finish the course of antibiotics. Did the vet mention anything about probiotics after?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

How old is the baby? For about the first week of the baby's life the parents don't fill the crop too full, but after that they stuff the chicks until their crops are bigger than their heads!

srtiels has an excellent collection of informational collages in her photo album at http://s525.photobucket.com/albums/cc331/Mousebirds-and-more/Other birds/Babies in Trouble/ Here's the one about overstretched crop:










Here's another photo of an overstretched crop:


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## sheltm7 (Sep 14, 2012)

the baby is 17 days old now, he stayed away from mom all nite because the crop was so full. Just checked it and its gone down in size now and he's still doing fairly well. The crop didn't empty completely though and that worries me. It doesn't look as stretched as it did yesterday. Just gave it some water and then back to the incubator. It is pooping normally now and quite often, so should i still keep mommy away so the crop will empty, or let mommy feed him now?


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

we wont be able to give you further advice unless we know if the baby's crop is abnormally stretched or not, can you please get us a photo of the bird's crop? then im sure our experienced breeders can help out more with accurate advice


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## sheltm7 (Sep 14, 2012)

*Picture of the Baby*

Heres a picture of the baby cockatiel with an enlarged crop


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Yes, I agree that the crop looks overstretched. The visible veins in the crop aren't a good sign either. The first srtiels collage that I posted earlier in this thread gives instructions on what to do about it - the crop must be flushed, and sub-Q fluids should be given along with some prescription medications, in addition to the crop bra. It would be best to get the help of a good avian vet with all this, or even an experienced breeder if one is available. The article at http://justcockatiels.weebly.com/sour-and-slow-crop-remedies.html has additional info on dealing with slow or sour crop. 

Crop flushes are usually done using a crop needle. If you can't get to a vet or other experienced help, there's info on flushing the crop without using any special equipment at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=32584 However, the experience of other people on this forum indicates that it's not as easy as it sounds, and may take several attempts before you get the job done.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

P.S. The visible blood vessels may indicate a yeast infection and/or a bacterial infection - see http://justcockatiels.weebly.com/yeast-problems-with-babies.html for more info. Chilling is a frequent cause of yeast infections. You need to consult with an avian vet ASAP.

P.S. Be sure to keep the baby warm until you can get help.


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## sheltm7 (Sep 14, 2012)

The baby is on antibiotics from the vet this will be day 4 of the medication. I will see if the exotic bird breeder can assist me in the crop emptying. Thank you for the advice


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

If there is a yeast infection, the antibiotics won't help with that. A different medication is needed for yeast.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Your first post said that the baby looked reddish instead of pink. This is a sign of dehydration. If there's some movement of the crop contents the baby will be able to get some fluids from that, but if the crop stops moving completely then sub-Q fluids will be the only way to hydrate the baby.


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## sheltm7 (Sep 14, 2012)

So far the crop looks like its moving alot, i sat and watched it for about 5 mins and its moving all the time. Much stronger contractions then yesterday.
When we were at the vet there was no yeast infection present but its been 4 days now. Should i get something for yeast as well? Someone mentioned probiotics where would i get that? also should i get it and start now or wait til the antibiotics are finished?
Did you think by the picture the baby looked dehydrated?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

The baby's skin didn't look red to me in the picture but I'm not an expert on things like that. If the crop is functioning well then maybe the chick is getting enough liquids now.

I suspect that there's a yeast infection but again, I'm not an expert on these things. srtiels is the expert, but unfortunately she isn't active on the forum any more. But the sticky at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27514 has links to several articles that she's written about feeding and development problems. If there really is a yeast infection you need to get appropriate medication for it.

Probiotics are sold over the counter. There's a variety of opinions about whether the type made especially for birds is better than the type made for humans. Benebac is the best-known type for birds and you might be able to find it at local pet stores. The company makes probiotics for other species too so make sure you get the one for birds.

Health food stores have probiotics for humans, or you can simply feed the baby (or parents) a little bit of plain yogurt. The beneficial bacteria in yogurt are probiotics, and they also break down the lactose in the milk, making it easy for birds to digest.

There's also a variety of opinions about whether to feed probiotics during antibiotic treatment or waiting until afterward. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria and the antibiotics will wipe them out along with the bad stuff. But if you're using something cheap and plentiful (like yogurt) it won't hurt to feed it during the antibiotic treatment, and it might help improve the digestion a little.


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## sheltm7 (Sep 14, 2012)

Updated pictures of the baby he is still doing well. What do you think? We got the spice remedy off that site thank you for that. We have given the baby it twice now and crossing fingers it works. Couldn't find any probiotics anywhere so the other suggestion that site had was plain yogurt. Mommy is feeding the baby every 4 hours but the crop still isn't going down that much. Its contracting really strong still though. What is in there since it won't go down completely?


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Try using a crop bra. With an overstretched crop, the food at the bottom is lower than the "pipeline" that the food needs to go into, so it can't enter the digestive tract in the normal way. The thread at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=20958 has more info, but it warns that you need to empty the crop before putting the bra on, to reduce the risk that you'll accidentally aspirate the baby.


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## sheltm7 (Sep 14, 2012)

Thank you, we are going to put a crop bra on i bought self advsive bandages to do it. 
I ended up taking the baby back to the vet and told her that the crop needs emptying which she did. The baby is much more active now and actually begging for food which i am very happy about. The bacterial infection is gone now but now there is mega bacteria which the vet prescribed a new medicine for. They also checked for yeast and there is none.
I can't believe how much stress i have been under with this little guy, i really hope we make it through all this i feel so bad for the baby. and the mommy cause she wants to take care of her so badly but we can't let her other then feeding times, cause she feeds too much and too often


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Good, I'm glad that you got additional vet help for the baby and that he/she is doing better now. BTW this baby is a lutino, and if the mother is not lutino the baby is female. If mom IS lutino the baby could be either sex.

After the crop bra is on, the instructions are to feed less but more often while the tissues heal. It says that recovery can be slow, and I don't know how you can tell when recovery is complete. You'll probably need to restrain that anxious mother until the baby has fledged. Babies start eating less at the age of 3 to 4 weeks anyway in preparation for fledging - they wouldn't be able to fly well with a big heavy crop weighing them down.


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## birdsoo (Jul 4, 2012)

There is megabacteria and no yeast? You mean yeast other than megabacteria, which is actually yeast? Maybe thrush?

What is the medication called?


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## sheltm7 (Sep 14, 2012)

Ya i asked and there was no yeast and the bacteria infection which we treated 5 days ago was cleared up. Only the mega bacteria now to deal with. She gave us nystatin for it. It is kind of confusing since this clears up fungal infections.
The baby is doing really well tonite she is alert and wide awake, she is chirping now when she hears mommy and daddy almost like she is answering them.
She is a cuddler though she runs to our hands and cuddles when we take her out, So cute. I am so glad i found this site it has helped me through all this trouble.
Thank you


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