# Possible Slow Crop Question



## vampiric_conure (Jul 8, 2012)

So yeah... Fuzz Ball _might_ have slow crop. Their crop isn't emptying completely between feedings, which means I'm feeding the formula too thick or the formula is still too cold when I feed it. **Grumble of frustration** Everything else checks out okay..no yeast and no overstretched crop...or so I presume. I'll post a pic of Fuzz so the experts can tell me if I'm screwing that up, too, LOL. I've gone through a lot of old posts about this subject and studied Sr Tiels graphics, but I'm still paranoid that I've missed something. 

Anyways...Question: if I suspect slow crop, how long do I wait to see if the crop is emptying? It seems the crop **IS** moving food, just slowly as every time I check the crop is emptier. I've read on the forum 12 hours, somewhere else it says 24 hours. I'm worried Fuzz Ball might not make it if I wait 24 hours! Ain't it fun being a paranoid mother? 

If worse comes to worse, I can always take Fuzz to the vet  

Here's the promised pix:

At last feeding. Please excuse the terrible shot.

IMG_2787 by Vampiric Conure, on Flickr

And from earlier in the day: 

IMG_2786 by Vampiric Conure, on Flickr

Thank you ahead of time everyone


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

What temp are you feeding the food at? How thick are you making the food and how much are you giving him? Sometimes just making the food a bit thinner can get things moving again as can feeding the food a few degrees warmer... Are you using a thermometer to test the food while feeding it? I use a digital meat thermometer... I test the food frequently while feeding and if it cools down I pop it back into my bowl of very hot water to rewarm it a few degrees.


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

Sprinkle cinnamon, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and baking soda with your hand feed once. Then remove baking soda from the mixture and continue feeding the rest of the spices. Its one of srtiel's old remedies and works wonders.


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## vampiric_conure (Jul 8, 2012)

ParrotletsRock said:


> What temp are you feeding the food at? How thick are you making the food and how much are you giving him? Sometimes just making the food a bit thinner can get things moving again as can feeding the food a few degrees warmer... Are you using a thermometer to test the food while feeding it? I use a digital meat thermometer... I test the food frequently while feeding and if it cools down I pop it back into my bowl of very hot water to rewarm it a few degrees.


Thank you ParrotletsRock! I'm feeding formula between 102-106 F. The formula is as Sr Tiels describes - about the thickness of baby applesauce. And yes, I've got a Thermometer to measure food temp  I use a digital thermometer. Soooo glad I invested in a waterproof one! I find my formula cools down very fast because there's only one chick. Maybe I'll boil the water before setting aside the bowl of hot water to keep formula warm. Up to now I've been letting the water in the kettle get really hot, but not boiled. I've also been making extra just so the formula will keep its temp even!



Darkel777 said:


> Sprinkle cinnamon, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and baking soda with your hand feed once. Then remove baking soda from the mixture and continue feeding the rest of the spices. Its one of srtiel's old remedies and works wonders.


I tried it this morning. Works like a charm! Poor bird shook their head like it couldn't tolerate the food's taste. It was quite comical to watch 

I've been feeding the formula thinner, which seems to be helping. And making sure the Brooder stays warm. I'm checking Fuzz Ball every 1/2 hour to see if they've improved. So far the crop's doing its job


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

vampiric_conure said:


> Thank you ParrotletsRock! I'm feeding formula between 102-106 F. The formula is as Sr Tiels describes - about the thickness of baby applesauce. And yes, I've got a Thermometer to measure food temp  I use a digital thermometer. Soooo glad I invested in a waterproof one! I find my formula cools down very fast because there's only one chick. Maybe I'll boil the water before setting aside the bowl of hot water to keep formula warm. Up to now I've been letting the water in the kettle get really hot, but not boiled. I've also been making extra just so the formula will keep its temp even!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I boil a large pyrex dish of water and take some out to cool a bit before I mix my formula... The rest I leave in the heavy Pyrex dish and it stays hot an amazingly long time... I take that dish with me to the table where I feed the birds and pop my cup of formula in and out as needed to keep it hot... Make sure you cover the dish tho so not bouncy babies end up scalded. And take the temp before feeding once remwarmed...


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## Phoenix2010 (Sep 15, 2014)

I feed using a syringe so I prepare the formula and draw up the amount for that feed into syringes and sit them in a cup of water at the correct temperature so they are ready as I need them.


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## shaenne (Apr 19, 2014)

Ugh I had this problem with chicken this morning! He was taking a long time to empty out all yesterday so I gave him some spices and I figured he'd dump it all overnight, but he still had food in his crop this morning. I had to do a crop flush. Well, i'm in the process of it lol. I've sucked most of it out, i'm just giving him a little rest before I flush it again and suck the rest out.

I think I may have been mixing his formula too thick or something. The temperature isn't a problem, i'm religious about keeping it at the correct temperature. The food in his crop wasn't hard either, and he seemed to be digesting well other than that little bit. I don't think his crop is over stretched. Hmmm. There was no yeast in it either

Oh well, hopefully he'll start feeling better once it's all out.


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## Darkel777 (Jun 7, 2013)

Its an ongoing problem I have noticed with formulas. The directions tell you to mix it way too thick, even when mixed to a thinner consistency there are crop issues unless I add the spices. It doesn't matter what formula I try either, though this problem is less so since changing to higgins intune. Using the nasty smelling exact was far worse; constantly flushing the crop with baking soda. Haven't really tried all of them out there yet, but I notice they grow and look healthier with higgins as well. That makes me somewhat hesitant to try something else.


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## shaenne (Apr 19, 2014)

Yeah I pretty much decide for myself what thickness to make the formula because the package instructions make it way too thick. I've started putting a sprinkle of the spice mix in his food at each feed. I did it with zoe and I'm pretty sure that's what stopped her getting crop infections. Im pretty sure if i didbt put the spices in I would have been flushing her out constantly. srtiels is a freaking life saver lol.


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