Sour crop or “crop stasis” is a condition whereby a baby parrot has a crop or some food in its crop that is causing the bird to become sick. The crop is a small bag of skin on the stomach that stores food before it is pushed into the stomach. If the food the bird eats is bad or if the food in the culture goes bad, then the parrot suffers from ‘sour culture’. Sour harvest leads to many other diseases within the parrot that eventually result in death and this is why such a symptom must be identified before the effects of sour harvest take place.
One of the most common problems a parrot encounters is sour crop and it gives a red flag to the vet as it needs to be dealt with immediately.
Reasons:
There are many causes of crop stasis and some of them include:
- fungal infection: The food that you could have given the bird could be infected by fungi.
- bacterial infection: Poor food intake can cause a bacterial infection in any part of the bird’s intestinal tract.
- Obstruction:This is the indigestion of any food or foreign objects inside the parrot given during the day.
- Viral diseases:This explains proventricular dilatation disease.
- Metabolic diseases: Diseases such as liver malfunction and pancreatitis can also be a cause.
- inadequate diet: Improper feeding of young birds could also cause an infection like this. Young birds that are hand-fed may show a symptom change like this due to extreme temperatures in the feed, improper feed consistency, or even weather conditions that might not be suitable for the bird.
Symptoms:
- Vomiting, diarrhea, or regurgitation
- The crop is overstretched
- Decreased Appetite – Birds will be in no condition to eat and you may notice a decrease in their appetite.
- Lethargy: Oversleeping, head tucked under wing, ruffled feathers indicate birds are too weak to stay awake and immediate vet call is necessary.
- Less Active – Birds will be less interested in food and will not respond to any type of sound.
Treatment:
If you notice any of the effects of sour harvest listed above, you should immediately contact a veterinarian so that he can immediately remove the spoiled food from his body as quickly as possible. In most birds, food is removed through a tube that is passed orally. But this depends specifically on the size of the feed and the state of the bird.
When a bird has been suffering from sour harvest, it will also suffer from dehydration and fluid intake is essential. So once the parrot has been cared for by the vet to make sure there is a good supply of clean water for the parrot to drink.
Sour picking is more prevalent in baby and young parrots, as they cannot always feed with the same ease and are not always aware of how much they have eaten and the quality of what they have eaten. That being said, it can also occur in older birds, so a parrot owner should regularly monitor their parrot in terms of eating habits, lifestyle, and health. Any change in your usual habits should be taken into consideration immediately.
