Sour crop or “crop stasis” is a condition where a baby parrot has a crop or some food in its crop that is causing the bird to become ill. The crop is a small bag of skin on the stomach that stores food before it is pushed down into the stomach. If the food the bird eats is bad or if the food in the crop spoils, then the parrot suffers from ‘sour crop’. Sour crop leads to many other diseases within the parrot that eventually result in death and that is why such a symptom needs to be identified before it produces the effects of sour crop.

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 treated 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 fungus.
• 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 hand-fed birds may show a change in a symptom like this due to extreme temperatures in the feed, improper feed consistency, or even weather conditions that might not be right for the bird.

Symptoms:

• Vomiting, diarrhea, or regurgitation
• Crop is overextended
• Decreased Appetite – Birds will not be fit to eat and you may notice a decrease in their appetite.
• Lethargy: Sleeping too much, keeping head under wing, ruffled feathers indicate birds are too weak to stay awake and an immediate call to the vet is necessary.
• Less active: the 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 they can immediately remove the spoiled food from your body as quickly as possible. In most birds, food is removed through a tube that is passed orally. But this specifically depends on the size of the food and the condition 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 seen 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 are not always able to feed as easily and are not always aware of how much they have eaten and the quality of what they have eaten. That 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.