If you’re raising birds, maintaining their health is of utmost importance. Birds can come down with a variety of illnesses that can never affect humans, one such illness is sour crop. The crop is a very important part of a birds digestive system and without it, the bird will not be able to digest food properly. If your bird develops sour crop, you may be considering antibiotics to treat it, but are antibiotics needed to treat sour crop? This article looks into it 

If the home remedies you’ve tried simply aren’t working, you may have to give the bird antibiotics. Oregano oil is a natural antibiotic that can be given to your bird, but if this doesn’t work commercial antibiotics may be needed 

Antibiotics for sour crop, are they needed?

Sour crop can develop in any bird that has a crop. This ailment is basically a yeast infection. When food gets stuck in and blocks a birds crop, the food breaks down and ferments. What follows is an overgrowth of candida which disrupts the normal bacteria that belong in the crop. The result is a foul smell coming from your bird. There are many treatments available for this ailment including antibiotics 

If natural methods of treating sour crop in your bird fail then it may be time to give it antibiotics. This is usually not something that bird owners like to do but giving your feathered friends medication may be their only hope. Just as in humans, antibiotics work to kill the bacteria that causes the yeast infection. It is important to speak to your vet before giving your bird antibiotics as they will be able to guide you on the correct dose of antibiotics to give your bird as well as the frequency. Antibiotics are able to kill the overgrown bacteria in your bird’s crop, but the wrong dose can kill off beneficial bacteria in other parts of the bird’s body including the crop  

If you’re not too keen on giving your bird commercial antibiotics, you can try to give the animal natural antibiotics. Oregano oil is a natural antibiotic that you can feed your bird. It is also an antifungal, this makes it even more helpful in treating sour crop. This oil (an essential oil) needs to be diluted in another oil (a carrier oil) before being given to your bird. A commonly used ratio of carrier oil, like olive oil, to essential oil, like oregano oil is 1 teaspoon of carrier oil to one drop of oregano oil 

Is olive oil good for sour crop?

Olive oil can be good for sour crop in that it can help get the food stuck in your bird’s crop to migrate out. Olive oil can also be used alongside oregano oil when massaging a bird’s crop. The massaging can help dislodge the food blocked in the crop. When massaging your bird’s crop, it is important to be very gentle and massage in an upwards motion 

Is apple cider vinegar good for sour crop?

Apple cider vinegar is definitely good for sour crop. This product is usually recommended for birds who are in the early stages of suffering from sour crop. This vinegar has antifungal properties making it a perfect treatment for your bird’s ailment. 

Note: The apple cider vinegar produced for human consumption and found in supermarkets is not meant to be given to birds to treat sour crop. The correct apple cider vinegar for sour crop is the type that is sold for horses, you can find this type online, in farm shops or at equestrian centers. Also, this product needs to be diluted, the correct ratio of apple cider vinegar to water is 5ml (a teaspoon) of apple cider vinegar to a liter of water 

Can sour crop go away on its own?

If the birds everyday activities aren’t allowing the crop to empty on its own then the sour crop will not go away on its own. If this is the case, it is up to you as the bird owner to help the bird recover from sour crop. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, if push comes to shove, and the variety of natural sour crop treatments and remedies have not cured your bird’s sour crop, then antibiotics are likely needed. A natural antibiotic that you can give to your bird is oregano oil, if even this doesn’t work, you may have to take your bird to a vet to be treated with commercial antibiotics. 

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other crop related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Do crows have a crop?, Treating an impacted crop with olive oil, does it work?, Sour crop in pigeons, how this happens, Sour crop treatment: apple cider vinegar, effective or harmful, Is sour crop contagious?, Sour crop medication, safe and effective ways to cure your bird, Baking soda for sour crop, does it work?