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Vomiting, Regurgitation, and/or Swollen Crop

Oftentimes when you see a vomiting or regurgitating bird, it is a sign that something is preventing food and water from passing through the oesophagus or crop at a normal rate. This could be a primary problem affecting the crop itself or a secondary problem from another disease elsewhere in the body. In this section, we will review what is normal for the crop and some tips for troubleshooting where the problem lies.

When to see a vet

Your birds need to see a vet if you see any of the following signs:

These are often signs that the crop problem needs veterinary intervention to treat.

Normal Crop Function

Remember that the crop is just an outpouching of the oesophagus sitting at the base of the neck that acts temporary storage bin allowing birds to eat very large amounts of food very quickly and then move somewhere safer to start digesting it properly at their own pace.

It is completely normal for the crop to feel large and doughy for about 2 to 3 hours after birds have eaten a large meal. If is still feels full after that time period, particularly first thing in the morning when birds have just woken up from roosting overnight, there may be a problem with crop stasis. Crop stasis just means that the crop contents are not emptying at a normal rate and is a clinical sign of an underlying disease rather than being a specific disease itself.

If food and water stay in the crop for too long because of stasis, they can start to ferment leading to a condition called sour crop where there is overgrowth of yeast that damages the lining of the crop. This in turn makes it harder for the crop to empty leading to worsening problems with stasis.

Problems Affecting the Crop

We divide the causes of crop stasis into two main categories:

Primary – disease or damage to the crop itself that prevents it from emptying normally
Secondary – disease happening in another part of the body that stops an otherwise healthy and normally functioning crop from doing its job properly

Click on the hotspots in the picture below to learn a little more.

Crop Impaction

Crop becomes blocked with foreign material usually from birds eating long, tough, fibrous plants, baling twine, and/or strings.

Pendulous Crop

Crop wall muscles become stretched and damaged if the birds gorge themselves on food and/or water or the gizzard is not functioning properly leading to a back-up of food in the crop

Physical Trauma

Physical damage to the lining of the crop usually either from eating sharp objects or from thermal burns after eating hot food

Trichomoniasis

Adult worms burrow in the lining of the crop causing inflammation, swelling, and reduced function of the crop muscles. Increased risk if eating earthworms that act as intermediate hosts.

Crop Worms (Capillaria)

Protozoal parasite that feeds off the mucosal lining of the GI tract. Increased risk if sharing food and water sources with pigeons or doves.

Sour Crop (Candidiasis)

Yeast infection caused by change in crop pH when bacterial populations are disrupted either from the crop contents fermenting when they don’t empty fast enough or when birds are treated with antibiotics that kill off normal bacteria.

* Can be a primary cause of crop stasis or a secondary effect of crop stasis due to one of the other underlying diseases.

Intestinal Compression

Excess fluid, foreign objects, or space-occupying masses in the coelom can compress the gastrointestinal tract and prevent digesta from passing through.

Intestinal Obstruction

Roundworms, tumours, or foreign bodies further down the GI tract that causes all the ingesta in front to become backed up.

Neuromsucular Dysfunction

Systemic diseases that act on the smooth muscle of the gastrointestinal tract preventing it from contracting normally to pass ingesta through.

Marek’s Diease: Neurological form can cause paralysis of muscles in the gastrointestinal tract and visceral form can cause tumours in the GI tract that leading to physical obstructions

Lead Poisoning: High lead levels can stop muscles in the gastrointestinal tract from contracting normally to move food through

Working Up Crop Problems

There are several diagnostic tests that your veterinarians perform to help work out the cause of crop stasis:

Physical Examination

Mouth (Oropharynx) – checking for foreign bodies or masses that might prevent the bird from swallowing normally or white plaques that could mean a yeast infection.
Crop – feeling the crop for masses or objects that may mean a crop impaction
Abdomen (Coelom) – feeling for fluid (ascites), masses, or pain that could be putting pressure on the gastrointestinal tract preventing food from flowing through normally
Vent or Cloaca – checking for the presence of an egg that may be stuck and blocking outflow from the gastrointestinal tract

Crop Wash

A crop tube is passed down the oesaphgus into the crop then 20-30mls of saline or Hartmanns solution is flushed into the crop and then 1-2 mls of fluid is sucked back out as a diagnostic sample. The fluid is examined under the microscope to check for inflammatory cells, budding yeasts, large numbers of bacterial rods, worm eggs, or moving organisms that may indicate bacterial, yeast, worm, or protozoal infections.

Faecal Examination & Egg Count

Looking for intestinal parasite eggs (capillaria and ascarids) that could mean there are adult worms blocking the intestines

Radiographs (X-rays)

Looking for signs of an obstruction in the gastrointestinal tract and other masses or fluid that may be compressing the gastrointestinal tract

Crop Surgery

Surgically opening up the crop to look for foreign bodies, to inspect the lining of the crop for inflammation or damage, and/or to take samples for histology or bacterial culture.

Abdominal (Coelomic) Surgery

Surgically opening up the abdomen (coelom) to inspect the gastrointestinal tract, reproductive tract, and other abdominal organs for signs of disease and to collect samples for histology or culture.