FINCHforum

Hi,

I was handfeeding a gouldian finch baby who was abandoned and it was doing fine until today i found there is a hole in its crop. Whenever I feed the formula it leaks out of the crop.

Would it heal itself and the hole will close or is there anything I can do to close that hole ?

I had handfed and raised several gouldians before and I have no idea how this hole happened to come there.

Appreciate any help !!!

Sorry to hear that and I'm afraid I have no answer for you.
Personally I wouldn't attempt to raise finch chicks...if you have successfully...congratulations.
Many times if the parents abandon a chick it is because they sense a problem...Mother Nature and all that....
I can't see a repair being possible...maybe just keep feeding and hope it heals itself.
Good luck.

Sorry - I have no idea how to repair the hole but best wishes for a speedy recovery. Don't know if that's possible. Please keep us posted.

Oh....so sorry to hear that!

From what I understand...a Vet would have to sew it up or the chick likely won't survive.

This may sound bad but I wonder if trying putting some super glue to hold it shut? I know I have done that with some deep cuts hubby and I have had it it worked fine...but for a little bird it may not be the right application but his chances of survival are pretty low so maybe it is worth a try?

FeatherHarp wrote:..This may sound bad but I wonder if trying putting some super glue to hold it shut? I know I have done that with some deep cuts hubby and I have had it it worked fine...but for a little bird it may not be the right application but his chances of survival are pretty low so maybe it is worth a try?

I would also try the superglue. My vet uses it for very minor surgeries to close small wounds. Boy, you'd have to be careful though to be sure both edges of the wound are as dry as possible, and that you don't get stuck to it yourself. Good luck with the baby.

I was thinking super glue to.but would probably ring vet before trying.The problem though they will say bring it in to be looked at.I have not had any luck with vets myself,No avian vets within five hours drive here.Some super glues may irritate the skin?

I think the super glue is about your only choice other than a vet good luck with what ever you try

Maybe you can put a tiny patch of something and super glue the edges to the skin that way you're not irritating the actual wound area? Let us know what happens....poor baby bird

It's been almost 2 days since the first post - is the baby still with you? How is he doing?

How is your baby doing, and what did you decide to try? Were you using a crop needle to handfeed the baby? Handfeeding finches is so incredibly difficult, too many things can go wrong. If using a crop needle, it is very easy to puncture the crop. I can't offer any more advice than what you have been given--sometimes we have no choice but to let nature take its course.

sorry for not replying.

The baby is still alive. I am using a crop needle to hand feed. What i did was, I made the feeding formula really thick, so that it doesnt leak from the hole in the crop. So far its fine, it leaks , but just a little bit.

The problem is, the leaked food get stuck in the feathers of the baby and it cant move the wings much. I will try to soak the feathers, get rid of the dried food on its feathers and apply super glue on the hole.

I will let you know how it goes and hopefully pics as well. Thank you so much for a the super glue suggestion.

That is good to hear your little Gouldian is still alive...that is a good testament to your perseverance and care. I hope the chick continues to do well for you....keep the updates coming when you get a chance.

Yes, thanks for the update - great to hear. Keep up the great work!

Good News !!! The hole seems to be healed ! I didnt even apply super glue.

What I did last few days was give it very think formula with just little bit of water and I fed him only a little each time but fed him often. Whenever I saw there was a leak from that hole, I put some formula powder on top of the leak so that it will become solid and cover the hole temporary. I also added anti-biotics to the formula to keep the wound from getting infected.

Since the food didnt seem to be coming out of the hole in the crop, i gave him some liquidy formula several times yesterday and today and there seems to be no leak. So I got a wet tissue and removed the dry formula outside its crop to see if the hole is still there. And it seems to be covered with skin and healed.

I will not count the chickens yet, and see if there is a full recovery. But it seems fine now and i will not apply super glue yet unless i see the crop leaking again.

Will keep you guys updated. I never thought the Crop hole will heal !!!

well done,and good luck with it.that's one to put in the memory bank.