My cockatiel's crop feels full of seeds. Is this normal or a concern?

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.

Odo is gorgeous!! I am not overly concerned about this as there is a bit of spare tissue to allow the crop to distend so I think all this is is the extra tissue lying when the crop is empty. As long as it is not getting impacted with fluid or food and Odo s in good form I wouldn't worry about it.

The amount will depend on species, age and weight. The crop, when full, will become distended. When you see this, stop feeding. In young chicks, you can see the full crop through the skin. Do not overfeed and do not palpate the crop roughly as this may cause regurgitation.

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.

Thanks for reaching out about Charlie. Crop infections or impactions are common in cockatiels. A veterinary visit is recommend to assess and provide a treatment plan. Provide heat support in the 80-85 F range for support.. Offer small amounts of water in an attempt to loosen or dilute crop contents. Good 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.

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!