Help Please - Baby Bird's Crop is still Full... (Update + 2 Pics)

[Fur&Feathers]

Thank you very much Giselle. That's precisely what it is. The vet last night wasn't very knowledgable about birds, he tried to say that at almost 2 months of age, he should be eating his own food and shouldn't be hand fed... and he also thought "hand feeding" meant eating pellets and/or seeds from your hand. . . Another veterinarian at that location was able to empty 2ccs of the contents in Draven's crop and said he should be ok until morning. So I'm at my mother's place, waiting until 6am, to take him to an excellent avian vet about 30 minutes away.

Edited to ask a question:
We believe the room in which Draven is kept is too cold for him to digest. Would anyone know of a bird-friendly heater? PetsMart doesn't seem to have anything. I've read that space heaters are dangerous. Thank you.

[Vela]

Space heaters aren't dangerous nowdays, and would keep the room he's in much warmer. I have a ceramic tower heater, looks like a regular fan but if ti even gets bumped a little it shuts off and there is no heating element, to start a fire.

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/602-7694873-8239016?asin=B000GULVPW&AFID=Nextag&LNM=B000GULVPW |DeLonghi_SafeHeat_Ceramic_Tower_Heater_with_Remot e_Control__Black_TCH6590ER&ref=tgt_adv_XSN10001

I have one like that, and it works great, it's not unsafe at all. I hope the little baby gets better soon, that's scary when they are so tiny!

[Fur&Feathers]

Thanks, Vela. We got a similar space heater for him, it turns off if it's lifted. 8 hours of waiting and $400 later... the Avian specialist thinks he has a digestive problem and is unsure of the severity of it. They found undigested food in his fecal matter. She did a crop swab and everything came back normal. She also found a parasite in his feces. He's on antibiotics and a medication to help crop movement. Draven eats so well and eats every time, but he's "extremely underweight." It's not looking too good for Draven right now, but I still have hope. Thanks everyone for your replies and help.

[Husky_mom]

I´ve heard about a vet doing some manual draining of the crop at other site I frequent which focuses only on birds...........you may wanna take a look as some other member could give some more advice

you can go to www.tailfeathersnetwork.com there are some very helpful topics about birdies...........

hope he gets better.........

[Fur&Feathers]

Thanks everyone for the replies. Husky_mom, the first vet that Draven went to attempted to drain his crop, which I read is only supposed to be done as a last resort. Draven went back to the vet last night because his crop isn't emptying as quickly as it should be. He got a shot directly into the crop muscle to help stimulate it. We're just waiting on the blood results to see whether or not he has an irreversible digestive problem. Thanks again, everyone.

[Fur&Feathers]

...it turns out all Draven needed was a little crop support. He didn't need all of those shots or blood taken. The Avian vet who apparently is clueless wanted to hospitalize him. I took Draven to Dante's vet today and he put some elastic bandage around his crop and now it's emptying properly. I guess it was stretched and just needed some support. Poor baby has been through a lot for nothing.

[Giselle]

Oh poor thing. I'm glad the cause of all this trouble has been found! One thing about space heaters is that they can cause the air to become really dry. Another option would be a hot water bottle punctured at the top and covered in a glove or similar item to avoid burning the chick's skin. A small towel should suffice, too.

Are you sure that the formula you're feeding is at the exact temperature? If it's too cold, it will cause sour crop so you might want to double check the temperature. And don't rule out the thermometer itself! Sometimes, they can be defective, too. I wish you luck! I was never too comfortable with handfeeding myself