HELP crop issues?

[Oedipussrex]

Could someone maybe post a picture of what a really full crop of a healthy eclectus is supposed to look like?
Pickle is bald down his chest becaus he picks, so i might just think it looks weird because i wouldnt usually be looking at it like this

but to me it seems that he is much more swollen on the right than the left (i know the oesophagus goes down on the right hand side of their necks) but it just looks weird.

I have looked up possible causes and i really hope he hasnt swallowed anything. his crop is still emptying in a timely manner, he is still eating as much as he used to, his faeces look ok, and it doesnt smell sour or anything, but he had the worse day he has ever had today with being spontaneously nippy and plucking. so he has me worried.

i already have him booked at the vet. but i couldnt get an appointment for a week. and would like some peace of mind or to know if i should bring the appointment forward. :/

 

[greycloud]

A week is way to long to wait if something is wrong. It would be easier if you can post a pic of him so we can see what you mean. Sometimes in older birds(not babies) the food will settle to one side. Being that he is plucking and nippy he may not feel well. Can you post a pic and how old is he?

 

[Oedipussrex]

ummm i dont know if these attatchments will work. ive never done this before on this site.

the first two were after he had a bit of beans/colyflour/broccoli/rice mix, but his crop wasnt really full at all, and theres a lump on the side.

and the last one is after he had a big meal, crumbles and mueslu and some veggies and these little "bird cakes" we bake for him out of crumbles nuts veggies fruit and some egg and water to hold it together- because we find if we dont mush everything together he just picks out his favourite bits

 

[MaraWentz]

Take him to the vet. Crops are not something to be taken lightly and yours' does look a bit enlarged. Even if he seems alright, take him. Rather be safe than sorry. Most birds don't show symptoms until the hours before their death.

 

[MaraWentz]

They can get you an emergency appointment at the vet.

 

[Oedipussrex]

:/ thanks for the advice, the place i have an appointment at does call themselves an 'animal hospital' so i do expect they keep a few spaces free every day for emergencies and should be able to get me in. hopefully its ok

 

[greycloud]

The first two pics do not look normal but the 3rd does. As I said, I definitely think he needs to see a vet. Please update when you get back. What type of wood is the perch he is standing on?

 

[GiosMom]

Nobody knows your bird better then you....always better to be safe then sorry! If your asking us because something doesn't feel right then you already know your answer. Hope he's ok keep us posted....

 

[Oedipussrex]

its a really hard wood, i think its pine. we steal them from the medium strip when trees lose their branches. all of his other perches are eucalypt, but once they dry out he has trouble standing on them because theyre all so smooth and oily and after a few falls earlier in his life he just started avoiding them.

worst case scenario he has swallowed a little square of that bark that you can see cracks in a pattern. The first two weret aken this morning, he had only eaten soft food and i could definetly still feel something solid in there when he let me touch it.

also, hes turning 2 in a month, and hes been with me since he was a few months old.

 

[MaraWentz]

Good luck and try to get him an emergency appointment, if not look around for clinics or other hospitals. Keep us posted. Good luck! Praying for you and your bird.

 

[greycloud]

I don't think that is pine. Pine is a soft wood. Try and find out what wood it is as some are toxic, esp if he is perching on it.

 

[PortaPerch]

I'm not familiar with parrot crops, but chickens are healthiest with some small bits of gravel in the crop to help grind up their food.

 

[greycloud]

No, parrots do not need grit!!

 

[suncon97]

Here is a link to safe and toxic trees along with plants.I don't think that is pine either.
Safe and Toxic Plants for Pet Birds List, poisonous and toxic plants for pet birds, safe herbs for pet birds, safe flowers for pet birds, safe garden plants for pet birds, safe garden flowers for pet birds, safe seeds to grow for pet birds, safe hous

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

:/ thanks for the advice, the place i have an appointment at does call themselves an 'animal hospital' so i do expect they keep a few spaces free every day for emergencies and should be able to get me in. hopefully its ok

I would call ahead and see if they have Avian Certified Vets. A good avian vet should do the exam and explain to you everything they are doing and why they do it. You are the one paying the money so make sure they can explain their services.

When I took my baby to the avian vet for the first time she asked me if I was a new parent for fids and she then spent 45min to and hour explaining how life would now be different and how to take care of my birds needs and things to look for. BTW, the vet took blood, took poop, weight, listened to heart beats, put a stick in the mouth and with a flashlight examined the throat, looked at the eyes, vent, toes, beak, ears, and examined the wings. I think there was more but I cannot remember. Please make sure you're getting what you pay for!

 

[Oedipussrex]

Just an update. he went to the avian vet. And i am glad we gave this new avian vet a go. She was actually not afraid to pick him up and examine him properly unlike our previous vets even though he lunged at her first off. She examined his crop and tummy and everything and said that if i did see/feel anything there that it wasnt there anymore, and that he felt fine so it is likely he managed to pass it through normally.

we are also sure that the perch is some kind of gum, just not the kind that im used to seeing everywhere, i always forget that it is quite a large and varying group of trees.

I am glad that she actually took the time to listen to me and heard his whole history, however it also managed to bring some more worrying things to light.

I was just asking her to demonstrate how to clip his nails properly because he gets very overgrown nails, and i am sick of people telling me that if i give him the correct sized perches and stuff that he should wear down his nails and beak by himself. His beak is also much longer than it should be (so much though that it snapped a couple of weeks ago, really worried us, but it didnt bleed at all so the other vet didnt worry about it.)

and she commented that in a bird only 2 years old she would never expect such a problem with the beak and nails being that long, and agreed that they shouldnt need trimming. even though she could see for herself that they did.

She was very reassurring with the feather picking and went over the diet we are feeding him as well as his lifestyle, and she didnt seem to think that there should be any cause (besides separation anxiety) that was our fault contributing to the picking.

she then went on to weigh him. he has been a steady weight for the last 6 months when we started checking him, around 345-360. he is a new guinea eclectus, not a solomon island one. so this is quite small for the average. However on her examination she did not deem him to be underweight. It seems he is just a small runty or stunted bird..

This, along with the beak and nails, and the feather picking, made her decide that an existing liver problem, or possibly heavy metal poisoning in his youth before we got him may be an underlying issue to all of his problems

(i have to add here that all the blood tests/gram stains etc listed by you guys here on the forum would cost a few grand to get all of them done in australia, because half of the samples have to be sent over there to america) - so we try and narrow down reasonable cause as to why each bird may have the disease related to each test before anyone bothers to test them. :/

> BUT she is the first vet who i have met who is happy to actually get a sample from him, she was just concerned i wouldnt be able to pay for them.

So i have asked her to look into how much a test for a liver condition, as well as chlamidia would be, and she is going to call me in a week. In the meantime she has given him an injection of vitamin b12 and told us to make note of any changed we see this week while that is in his system, as it may help further indicate whether there is in fact a liver issue.

So once again i guess we will see how it goes. but at least now i know i have an avian vet i can go to when he needs it, who actually knows more about his health than me. just too bad that she is an hour and 20 minutes away.

I am glad that we have found such a competent vet who also happens to be a woman. Im not a crazy feministic person or anything, but he definetly is a sexist bird who is more so******ed with women (and is scared of beards!) so it is a great thing for him. lol

 

[greycloud]

Sounds like she is great! I am glad it went well!

 

[Boysmom]

So glad it turned out to be a good Vet experience ! Ruby's Vet visit went well also, we are awaiting cultures to grow to determine the cause of the stinky crop issue.