Is a soft bump normal if my baby cockatiel's crop won't empty?

What you are likely seeing is your bird's crop (an outpouching of the esophagus that acts as a food storage area as food slowly makes its way through the GI tract) filling with food then emptying. This is normal!

A full crop will feel like a giant, fat balloon just under the chin/neck, and in birds that don't have their feathers in yet may be visible. An empty crop will just be a flat, normal looking neck. Keeping a full crop in a baby bird is best as it means they always have something for nutrients and to keep them full and happy. If they constantly have empty crops they need to have their feeding throughout the day increased to keep them full. Following the guidelines on your baby bird formula can help you make sure you're feeding enough and often enough.

It is normal for birds to store some food, seeds or whatever they are eating, in their crop. As long as the food does not become impacted and your bird is still eating regularly should have nothing to worry about. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

A bulging crop may indicate a full crop and that you may be giving too much food at a time. If it doesn't return to normal after a few hours, reducing the amount of food, or making sure that Sailor doesn't have an impacted/obstructed crop is best. Feeding smaller meals more often may also help reduce the crop being overfull.

Thanks for reaching out about Rick and including a photo. An over-sized crop can be due to over-eating or a disease. Crop infections (bacteria, fungal), ingested foreign bodies and obstructions, systemic illness are all possibilities. Check and correct husbandry, as baby birds need to be kept warm. If the crop appears firm, offering small amounts of water and massaging the crop might help. If Rick appears ill, a veterinary visit is recommended. Good luck.

Hi and thank you for your question, The crop does look distended, especially if this is not right after a feeding. I don't recommend stopping the formula at once regardless of his age. You should reduce it gradually and only stop it once he is getting very little (5-10ml once daily) and is eating well on his own. Hopefully the crop will come down to a more normal size. Regards

A bird's crop will naturally disyend when the bird eats or drinks, it goes down as the contents move into the proventricularis. The time to worry is if the crop stays large, this would indicate infection or impaction of the crop.