# Swollen chest



## Namyi (Jan 9, 2012)

Hai everyone, 

I have a problem, my cockatiel Raiden has a swollen chest and I have no idea what's wrong.
I cannot get a hold of my vet. The nearest avian vet is far away and I don't even own a car nor license, 
so I would have to use public transport which is not the most reliable of sources and rather stressful for my cockatiel.

She has been breeding for a while, she has no mate just another female companion. She already laid 4 eggs and I can feel a 5th one coming up.
But this morning when I took her out I felt her chest and it's slightly swollen and it feels a bit spongy and not squishy like usually.
She ate this morning but aside from her first dropping all the other droppings are watery and the last one even has a very slight yellow hue to it.
She flew against the window a few days ago could it be something with the lungs? Do I let her sit on the eggs or take them away?

I don't know what to do... I want to help er the best I can.


If anyone knows what could have caused this or what I could do then every bit of information is very much appreciated!!


This is what she looks like right now even though it's not very visible:










And this is what she usually looks like( it's an old photo, though her posture and weight didn't change).


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Can you be more specific about which area of her chest you mean? Are you sure you aren't feeling food in her crop? 

The biggest concern with her hitting the window would be if she had a developing egg inside her abdomen at that time, which possibly could have ruptured. This can lead to infection of the abdominal cavity (a condition called egg yolk peritonitis) or stroke from fatty parts of the egg getting into her blood stream. If what you are feeling isn't simply food in her crop, then she really needs to see a vet ASAP because there's not much you can do for either of these conditions on your own.

As far as her current eggs, I would leave them alone for the moment, because removing them will only cause her to be more stressed. Right now you want to keep her as quiet and relaxed as possible until you can get her medical attention.


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## Namyi (Jan 9, 2012)

She laid an egg the day before she crashed against the window so I'm sure there couldn't have been an egg in there.
And I have tried and tried to prevent her from doing it but it still happens once in a long time.

It may be the crop but it has never felt this way before or maybe I just never noticed before. Is it normal when they are trying to hatch eggs? 
And is it normal for her to have so many watery droppings?
I have marked the picture where it feels sligtly swollen.

I have tried several vets but most are just over packed right now and others don't even answer the phone but I'll keep on trying.


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## Namyi (Jan 9, 2012)

enigma731 said:


> Can you be more specific about which area of her chest you mean? Are you sure you aren't feeling food in her crop?
> 
> The biggest concern with her hitting the window would be if she had a developing egg inside her abdomen at that time, which possibly could have ruptured. This can lead to infection of the abdominal cavity (a condition called egg yolk peritonitis) or stroke from fatty parts of the egg getting into her blood stream. If what you are feeling isn't simply food in her crop, then she really needs to see a vet ASAP because there's not much you can do for either of these conditions on your own.
> 
> As far as her current eggs, I would leave them alone for the moment, because removing them will only cause her to be more stressed. Right now you want to keep her as quiet and relaxed as possible until you can get her medical attention.



She laid an egg the day before she crashed against the window so I'm sure there couldn't have been an egg in there.
And I have tried and tried to prevent her from doing it but it still happens once in a long time.

It may be the crop but it has never felt this way before or maybe I just never noticed before. Is it normal when they are trying to hatch eggs? 
And is it normal for her to have so many watery droppings?
I have marked the picture where it feels sligtly swollen.

I have tried several vets but most are just over packed right now and others don't even answer the phone but I'll keep on trying.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

That is the crop area. If she ate within the last several hours, it's normal to be able to feel food there. However, the crop should empty regularly. If her crop seems more swollen than normal or if it never empties (in which case you shouldn't be able to feel anything there), it's possible she has an infection that's slowing her digestion. Since you've noticed something there that may or may not be abnormal, you should monitor the area and see if it changes.

It's hard to say whether the watery droppings are normal or not. In some cases, watery droppings can be caused by stress or hormones. However, if all of her droppings remain watery over an extended period of time, that could be indicative of illness. Can you post a picture of her droppings? I know it sounds gross, but it can be really helpful in determining whether your bird is sick or not.


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## Namyi (Jan 9, 2012)

enigma731 said:


> That is the crop area. If she ate within the last several hours, it's normal to be able to feel food there. However, the crop should empty regularly. If her crop seems more swollen than normal or if it never empties (in which case you shouldn't be able to feel anything there), it's possible she has an infection that's slowing her digestion. Since you've noticed something there that may or may not be abnormal, you should monitor the area and see if it changes.
> 
> It's hard to say whether the watery droppings are normal or not. In some cases, watery droppings can be caused by stress or hormones. However, if all of her droppings remain watery over an extended period of time, that could be indicative of illness. Can you post a picture of her droppings? I know it sounds gross, but it can be really helpful in determining whether your bird is sick or not.


I have checked the crop and it is indeed full of seeds ( I didn't know the crop was a bit translucent). 
She has been eating regularly through the day so I'm not sure if it's emptying because she keeps eating bits here and there.
She has been breeding for 17 days so she probably thinks that the first few eggs are going to hatch soon. For how long would it be normal for her to have a full crop?

At first her droppings were translucent with a bit of white which is normal for a few droppings a day, then it was almost all translucent and now it's just a big dropping with green, white and some water.
I only have a picture of the most recent dropping she had which is also the most normal dropping she had since this morning. 

The most recent dropping:


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

This sticky has a bunch of information on egg laying and how to handle it: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=32330

If she's been eating throughout the day, it's normal for there to be material in her crop. Generally, the crop only completely empties overnight. If she woke up with a full crop tomorrow, I would be concerned. That dropping doesn't look super unusual for a bird that's laying, at least as far as I can tell, but if you think you're seeing things that are abnormal for her, I'd trust your gut and at least monitor her some more (and consider a vet check if possible). 

Here's another sticky on abnormal droppings, which might help you know what you're seeing: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=10100


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## Namyi (Jan 9, 2012)

enigma731 said:


> This sticky has a bunch of information on egg laying and how to handle it: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=32330
> 
> If she's been eating throughout the day, it's normal for there to be material in her crop. Generally, the crop only completely empties overnight. If she woke up with a full crop tomorrow, I would be concerned. That dropping doesn't look super unusual for a bird that's laying, at least as far as I can tell, but if you think you're seeing things that are abnormal for her, I'd trust your gut and at least monitor her some more (and consider a vet check if possible).
> 
> Here's another sticky on abnormal droppings, which might help you know what you're seeing: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=10100


Well that puts my mind a bit more at ease, I'll check to see if her crop is full tomorrow morning and if so I'll try to take her to the vet immediately!

Yeah the last dropping was the most normal dropping so far but I'm glad it stabilised. Thank you so much for the information!


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## Namyi (Jan 9, 2012)

enigma731 said:


> This sticky has a bunch of information on egg laying and how to handle it: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=32330
> 
> If she's been eating throughout the day, it's normal for there to be material in her crop. Generally, the crop only completely empties overnight. If she woke up with a full crop tomorrow, I would be concerned. That dropping doesn't look super unusual for a bird that's laying, at least as far as I can tell, but if you think you're seeing things that are abnormal for her, I'd trust your gut and at least monitor her some more (and consider a vet check if possible).
> 
> Here's another sticky on abnormal droppings, which might help you know what you're seeing: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=10100


I've just checked on her and her crop was empty and back to normal, she also laid her fifth egg this morning.
I'm glad to see that everything is back to normal, I'll keep an eye on her.

When I first saw her yesterday I assumed the worst with all the horror stories on the internet but thanks to your help I managed to stay somewhat cool headed about it and I learned something new about cockatiels.
Thanks again for all the information and messages!


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

I'm glad she's doing well!


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## Francesca (Apr 30, 2015)

That is such good news, it is scary when new things happen that you have never dealt with before. Glad she is doing well!


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## northernfog (Dec 14, 2010)

How is Raiden doing?


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