Treat a crop that isn't emptying as urgent — and as an emergency in a baby bird, or if your bird is weak, regurgitating, or has a sour smell. The crop (a food-storage pouch at the base of the neck) should empty between feeds. If it stays full, feels doughy or fluid-filled, or smells sour, food is sitting and fermenting — a problem called crop stasis or sour crop. It's especially dangerous in hand-fed chicks. See an avian vet promptly.
## What the crop does The crop is a stretchy pouch at the base of the neck where food is stored before digestion. Normally it fills at a feed and empties within a few hours. When the crop stops emptying, food ferments, bacteria and yeast overgrow, and the bird can't take in nutrition — quickly serious in fast-growing baby birds being hand-fed.
## Causes and signs - In hand-fed chicks: feeding formula too cold, too thick, or too fast; a chick that is chilled or already unwell. - In adult birds: infection, a foreign body, heavy-metal poisoning, or gut disease. - Signs: a crop that stays full and doughy between feeds, a sour smell from the mouth, regurgitation, fluffing, weakness, and refusing food.
## What to do See an avian vet promptly — crop stasis needs the cause found and treated, and a chick can decline within hours. Keep the bird warm (chilling worsens crop emptying). Do not keep force-feeding into a full crop, and do not try to "milk" the crop out yourself, which can cause the bird to inhale the contents.
Get to a vet immediately if you see any of these
- A baby (hand-fed) bird with a crop that won't empty
- A sour smell from the mouth with a full crop
- Weakness, fluffing, or regurgitation with a full crop
- A crop that stays full and doughy between feeds
- Refusing food with a distended crop
Common questions
How long should a crop take to empty?
A healthy crop usually empties within a few hours between feeds. A crop that is still full and doughy before the next feed, or overnight, suggests it isn't emptying and needs veterinary attention.
I'm hand-feeding a chick and the crop is slow — what do I do?
Stop adding more formula, keep the chick warm (cold slows the crop), and contact an avian vet promptly. Feeding formula that's too cool or too thick, or a chilled chick, are common causes and a chick can go downhill fast.
What is "sour crop"?
Sour crop is when food sits in the crop and ferments, with yeast or bacterial overgrowth and a characteristic sour smell. It needs veterinary treatment, not home remedies.
Sources
This page is general guidance, not veterinary advice, and cannot diagnose your pet. It does not replace an examination by a licensed veterinarian. When in doubt, treat it as an emergency and contact a vet or your nearest 24/7 emergency clinic right away.
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