Hi Brenda,
Good day to you.
My 3 weeks cockateil baby had slow crop. Mean to say, the food/formula in baby’s crop still remain a little, not empty at all even my last fed was 12 hours.
1) What could be the reason for slow crop?
2) How to prevent slow crop?
3) What are the treatment or medication for slow crop?
Thanks,
Joy
Hi Joy,
This can indicate an infection in the crop. You would need to take the chick to an Avian Vet for a diagnosis and treatment. It can also happen if the food is too thick, not warm enough, or if the chick isn’t warm enough, or if you are feeding too much at one time. But once it slows down, it can allow an infection to begin, so really Vet care is the best option.
Is this chick from the same pair that you had a chick from in January? If so, you really need to rest that pair. You should only allow two clutches per year from a pair – in the wild they only have one. To maintain their health, and the health of any chicks, it is best to remove the nest box after each clutch, and rest the pair from breeding for 6 months. If you keep letting them breed without the rest, the parent’s health can get poor and the chicks can be less healthy each time. We just had a webinar on Avian Reproduction this past Friday, and Dr. Lamb discussed the toll that egg laying can take on the health of the female, and the importance of not over breeding a pair. I’ll give you the link to the video. It was a great presentation and really helpful for understanding how the eggs are formed and what the female goes through.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
