I am a aspiring breeder of cockatiels, but I have no breeders near me so I can't go and ask them these questions, so I came here! I have questions about emptying crops. Do I empty the crop manually all the time or only if they are sick? Any advice at all is very helpful!
Is this just a general question or do you have a sick bird?
Manual crop emptying would be an emergency procedure (not routine) that would need to be done by a vet or taught to you in a mentoring situation (yes it is a skill a breeder might have but not something that one would want to experiment with without proper instruction).
There are less invasive 'treatments' but it totally depends on the situation. Healthy babies' crops will empty on their own as part of normal digestion.
Proper husbandry is key to preventing problems in the first place. You absolutely need a way to brood babies and control temperature and humidity to do it right. Also formula has to be just right.
I almost lost a couple of caique chicks to slow crop that was caused by improper temperature and humidity. Two weeks of intense at home care (one week was round the clock care), hundreds of dollars in vet visits and meds, daily fluid injections for dehydration. All because my brooder was the wrong temp and humidity for the species. The vet could not even figure out the cause. It was not until a future clutch and getting more advice from an caique experienced breeder did I figure it out.
In the end, the babies grew up healthy and strong but it was stress upon stress, sleepless nights and intensive care. I had the support of two vets, a vet tech/breeder and another caique breeder and a human nurse to help me.
Simply, not something to learn via internet. Not that you should not ask. You should always ask, but in this case there is no substitute for professional help.
Do you have a baby that needs help, now?
