Can anyone walk me through flushing out a crop with water?

[kcan2]

I am trying to address a potential crop issue with my bantam rooster, who has been swallowing, reaching, and shaking his head in discomfort for months now (video below). Based on what I have read, flushing his crop with water seems like a natural and somewhat gentle solution to try to resolve this issue for him. However, I can't find anything very clear regarding the following questions:

1. How to actually get the fluid down his throat, without choking him
2. How much water
3. What to do following water dosage administration (crop massage, withhold food for 24 hours, turn him upside down?)

Here is a video of constant attempts at crop adjusting:

He is otherwise healthy, poops, eats, just this swallowing issue.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you feel of his crop in early morning after he has gone all night without eating and drinking, to tell us if his crop is empty and flat, full and hard, doughy, or puffy/soft?

 

[aart]

Based on what I have read, flushing his crop with water seems like a natural and somewhat gentle solution to try to resolve this issue for him.

Where did you read that?
It's good way to drown him.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

Where did you read that?
It's good way to drown him.

It's done occasionally by avian vets for parrots and smaller birds with crop infections, but it's in a sterile environment with a professional. I had a pigeon who had to have it done many years ago.

I wouldn't recommend doing it at home since it's too easy to aspirate and drown the bird or cause aspiration pneumonia.

 

[kcan2]

Can you feel of his crop in early morning after he has gone all night without eating and drinking, to tell us if his crop is empty and flat, full and hard, doughy, or puffy/soft?

He goes up with a full crop at night, seemingly empty in the morning. Although I'm no expert, at times the crop does seem extremely firm with absolutely no flex. Like a little hard ball and not until eveningtime. It is never doughy or puffy. His keel bone seems more prominent than in the past, before this issue started.

Where did you read that?
It's good way to drown him.

Scary! It was something along the lines of using water or administering olive oil in the case of an impacted crop. I'm not comfortable with forcing him to throw up, but thought administering a bit of water or oil could help move things around for him. This particular issue started around last October (2021).

 

[kcan2]

I wouldn't recommend doing it at home since it's too easy to aspirate and drown the bird or cause aspiration pneumonia.

Thanks for this info. Does it look like a crop adjustment issue to you? As another option, do you think I could put him in a crate with water only for 24hrs to help him clear a possible impaction?

 

[aart]

As another option, do you think I could put him in a crate with water only for 24hrs to help him clear a possible impaction?

This is what I do when I have a bird who is acting 'off'....

I isolate bird in a wire cage within the coop for a day or two....so I can closely monitor:
-their intake of food and water,
-crop function(checking at night and in morning before providing more feed),
-and their poops.
Feel their abdomen, from below vent to between legs, for squishy or hard swelling.
Check for external parasites or any other abnormalities.


Best to put crate right in coop or run so bird is still 'with' the flock.
I like to use a fold-able wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller mesh(1x2) on bottom of crate under tray.
Then you can put tray underneath crate to better observe droppings without it being stepped in. If smaller mesh is carefully installed, tray can still be used inside crate.

 

[Eggcessive]

If his crop is empty by the next morning before he has eaten or drunk water, he is probably fine, and I would not do anything. If his crop is full and hard in the morning, or soft full and puffy, then there may be a crop issue. It does look like he is adjusting his crop, but that can be normal in birds, just trying to move the food through.

 

[kcan2]

In the crop issue article, it states the following regarding impaction:

"After getting the oil into the patient, you want to massage the crop gently in a circular and slightly upward motion. This will direct the contents toward the crop "drain". Massage for five to ten minutes. If the crop refuses to empty, repeat the oil and massage again in 30 minutes. If the crop still refuses to empty, then give a stool softener such as Dulcolax (docusate sodium). Wait 30 minutes and massage the crop. The crop should empty. Add more oil if it doesn't and massage again. This should do it."

1. How do I get the coconut oil "into the patient" if he won't eat the full dose of 2 tsp?
2. Dosage of Dulcolax?
3. "The crop should empty" - does this happen internally, or is this procedure meant to induce vomiting?

 

[kcan2]

I just wanted to update this thread and state that what I originally thought was crop impaction is turning out to quite possibly be an ear infection!

New thread for this issue is here:
Ear infection thread

His crop did appear pronounced and hard, making me think possible impaction, but it could have been due to weight loss associated with the ear infection, making the crop stand out like it hadn't before.