FINCHforum

I've had a male Zebra for several months now with this symptom.

He's puffy around his neck as if he's pumped air under his skin which makes his feathers stick out. The other symptom is twisting his head which seems as if he's trying to dislodge something from his crop. He's had these symptoms since I got him. Some days are good, some bad. There's been days that I thought he'd die for his stressful breathing with his little tongue sticking out sometimes.

I'll try to attach a video here of him with his puffy neck and twisting as if trying to get rid of something:

]Puffing Neck With Twisting[/url]

When I first got him about 3 months ago, I put him through a course of Ivermectin. Yesterday I put a drop of Scatt between his wings.

Along with the other Zebras, I've had him on Zupreem Fruit Blend pellets & a fortified seed blend for Finches. I also blend a combo of fine (bird) charcoal with homemade baked & ground eggshells & bird grit from the store. A cuttle bone is always available & of course fresh water daily. Every morning I scrub the plastic water bowl then spray itl with apple cider vinegar to lightly disinfect it then shake it out & add the water from the cold faucet.

Yesterday I moved him to his own cage & gave him only the bird seed mix, fresh water & a finger feeder with only the charcoal/eggshell. I also put a 40w Reveal bulb at the side of his cage for some warmth & UV. So far he's not showing any improvement but no different than he's been for so many other episodes in the last few months.

I noticed 2 other posts with some of the same symptoms. I'll keep y'all informed how he's doing with what I'm trying to do for him. If you have info for me to try please don't hesitate to offer it.

Oh my! The poor little guy! I've never seen anything like that - I wonder if it's some kind of tumour? When you applied the Scatt did you have a chance to look between the feathers at that puffed up area? He does seem uncomfortable.

It seems to be just air. The days that he's feeling fine, there's little or no puffiness. It's as if he pumps air under his skin. I can't feel any abnormalities & the skin is pliant & normal.

Were you able to view the video or only the pic in the post? I'm sorta new at this posting pics & videos.

I saw the video just fine... poor boy. I guess it might be air but I don't understand how he could have so much.

Sometimes I see some air in the crop of chicks being fedby their parents - I don't know how much air is okay. Maybe it's normal for the chicks but this really looks 'big'.

Maybe you are right, that it is actually just air under his skin. Birds do have a totally different lung system, and do have air cavities in their bones even. So it's possible that one of these air cavities has a leak and some is getting under the skin. Then just like when I have had to give my cat subcutanious fluids when she was dehydrated...it gradually gets absorbed (or re-absorbed) ...just a thought. Maybe a hole in the crop would somehow let air leak under the skin, as I'm sure they swallow some air when feeding ...

Yes this seems reasonable about a hole in the crop. I just have no idea. I just ache for him everytime he goes through a "phase" because he definitely is uncomfortable. I'm hoping just seed might alleviate his symptoms.

I have read (a few months ago) someone on here had a chick with a hole in its crop and she 'glued' it closed. As far as I know that chick survived quite well.

Wow that's remarkable that someone could fix their bird like that. Good thing she gave it a try.

If it's a hole, this lil guy's got it internally because when I caught him to treat then put into own cage, I tried to gently press the air out but it wouldn't deflate.

Wow, he really looks sick, yet you said this has been going on for several months now? Hard to believe he is still around. I would have first thought impacted crop, but I don't know if they can live this long with that condition. Is the bird grit you are using oystershell grit, or is it bird gravel? If it is gravel, I would not let him have that, he doesn't need gravel. He can absorb the oystershell grit, but not bird gravel, and it can impact the crop.

So if it IS an impacted crop, how do I help him empty it? I've removed the bird grit. None of them have it any longer.

Suenell wrote:So if it IS an impacted crop, how do I help him empty it? I've removed the bird grit. None of them have it any longer.

I found this info on the Hamilton & District Budgerigar and Cage Bird Society site: It was written for cockateils, but it could possibly apply to smaller finches, too:

" IMPACTED CROP Occasionally food will get stuck in the crop and you can remedy this with a very thin solution of baby cereal with one or two drops of black strap molasses or a laxative. Too much fibre such as oatmeal is a cause for this in most birds since it is also very low in nutriments and the functions of the gut is impaired. A more concentrated, easily digested diet should be given for several days after the problem is fixed such as soaked or sprouted seed, greens or vegetables. Severe cases can be broken down by using the fingers through the intact tissues of the neck and lightly squeezing upwards a bit a a time through crop and oesophagus to the mouth to prevent asphyxiation of the bird. "

If you can't take your little guy to a vet, you might want to try this.

I also found on an old thread in this forum that a vet had recommended using baking soda in the water, but gave no information on the dosage. I wonder if you offered the bird things like cucumber, which would have a lot of liquid to it and may have a laxative effect. Maybe take all seed away and just offer soft food for the time being. Sorry I can't help more, have never had to deal with this problem.

Sally wrote:I also found on an old thread in this forum that a vet had recommended using baking soda in the water, but gave no information on the dosage. I wonder if you offered the bird things like cucumber, which would have a lot of liquid to it and may have a laxative effect. Maybe take all seed away and just offer soft food for the time being. Sorry I can't help more, have never had to deal with this problem.

Yes that site I was on also recommended baking soda, but for sour crop. Would sour crop include swelling? Does the bird have a bad breath smell when he's swollen?

No bad breath.

I've got some bird seed wetted down to sprout. Do I feed this just as sprouts or put them out to sun for a day or so to get more nutrients as a sprouted green?

Soaking for 8-12 hours, then rinsing well and draining will soften the hulls, or you can keep rinsing and draining for another day or two till you see a tiny white root come out of the seed. Just always make sure that the soaked or sprouted seed has not gone bad--should smell sort of nutty or clean, if there is any sour smell at all, dump it.