Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 12/31/2007

Question
hi!
i have 6 parakeets and 2 mated. i just wanted to check if the parents are feeding the babies enough food. i heard people say that you needed to check a babies crop. how do you do that?

Answer
Hi again, Katelyn,

To check a baby bird's crop, you look at/gently feel the crop to see if it has food in it and, if so, how much.  In order to do this, you have to be able to see the baby's crop/body completely.  When I check crops, I prefer picking up each baby, I look at the crop to ensure the baby is being fed.  Usually, parent birds keep their babies crops full.  However, there may be periods of time, particularly when there are many babies, that some babies may not have full crops because mom just hasn't gotten to that baby yet.  This is why you need to check on them a couple times per day.  Each baby should have a full crop most of the time.  A full crop means you should be able to see food up to the top of the crop...the bird's "belly" will stick out really far!  The top of the crop is the end of the bird's neck.  You can find pictures on the internet/WWW.  Another reason I like to hold each baby is so I can feel the crop.  The crop should be soft.  If the crop is hard, crop statis has occurred and medical attention is required ASAP or the baby could die.  I also like to look babies over regularly and check for splay-leg, developmental problems, to see if they are growing, etc., etc.  Babies should also be weighed daily, as weight loss is a good sign of illness.  

If you research some websites on the internet/WWW, I'm sure you will find some babies with full crops so you can compare these to your babies.  Perform a Google search using the string "handfeeding baby parrots" or "parrots' crops" or something similar.

Chrys