Ask Lafeber

Parrot crop exam & feather condition

If someone feels the crop can they accidentally push food out and potentially cause aspiration? Is this more likely in chicks?
Info on feather conditions and discolouration?

Hi Mary,

Yes, this is absolutely a concern with a handfeeding chick or a parrot that is on a soft diet for some reason. You should never push upward on a full crop. A crop should be felt very gently, such as touching a balloon. With a handfeeding chick, it should feel like an underfilled water balloon – soft, but not tight. If the crop feels tight, and especially if you leave an impression where you touch it, then the crop is too full and possible impacted. With an adult bird, the crop will feel a bit tighter since the bird is presumably eating a hard diet such as pellets. Most adult birds do not stuff their crops, but there are always exceptions. A sour or impacted crop is very common with handfeeding chicks, but very rare with a self feeding adult. In either case, an immediate vet visit would be recommended.

Feather discoloration or poor feather condition is almost always related to a deficiency in the diet. But it can also be caused by a deficiency that is caused by the bird’s system failing to function properly and assimilate the nutrients in the food. In this case, some sort of disease process would be suspected. Stress that happens at the time the bird is molting can cause lines in the feathers. Odd color feathers can also be linked to liver or kidney disease. But an odd feather is not always a cause for alarm. If there is a health issue, it will affect a lot of feathers, and not just an odd one here and there. Once the Vet determines the cause and treats the bird, you will not see the results in the feathers until the bird molts the affected feathers.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda