Bids can suffer from a variety of illnesses that are unique to them, one such illness is sour crop.

There are many ways to treat this ailment, one such remedy involves serving apple cider vinegar to the bird, but is this effective? This article explores the question of ‘ Sour crop treatment: apple cider vinegar, effective or harmful’ 

Apple cider vinegar can definitely be given to birds to treat sour crop. Humans use apple cider vinegar to neutralize an acidic stomach and heartburn. Sour crop is acidic and apple cider vinegar is alkaline, thus, it can be given to birds to neutralize early-stage sour crop.

Sour crop treatment: apple cider vinegar, effective or harmful

What causes sour crop:

We know from bird anatomy that bird digestive systems include an organ called the crop. The crop is where food is stored before it travels down to the birds first stomach, the proventriculus. Sour crop is an illness that affects a birds crop.

Sour crop is an infection that causes a birds crop to become inflamed and painful. When food becomes stuck in a birds crop for too long it will begin to ferment and break down.

Eventually, the normal balance of bacteria that inhabits the crop becomes disrupted and an overgrowth of candida (a fungal species) occurs. This causes the bird to emit a horrible smell.

How apple cider vinegar can help:

Sour crop can cause the bird to produce foam, this foam is acidic and can burn the bird’s mouth. Apple cider vinegar is used to neutralize overly acidic stomach acids in people, in addition, it is said to promote an alkaline environment in the body.

If the bird is in the beginning stages of its sour crop infection, adding apple cider vinegar to the bird’s drinking water will help keep the bird’s crop more alkaline rather than acidic. One tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to one gallon of water will suffice.

In addition, apple cider vinegar has antifungal properties. Vets usually suggest that you give apple cider vinegar to birds if they are in the early stages of sour crop.  Apple cider vinegar kills off the overgrown Candida fungus in your bird’s crop

Note: Apple cider vinegar can help in treating sour crop in birds, however, if the bird has sour crop for more than a week you should take the animal to the vet. The vet will assess your bird and give it the appropriate medication, this being antibiotics or fluid injection.

Picking the correct apple cider vinegar:

When purchasing apple cider vinegar to give to your bird, be sure not to purchase the type that you find at the supermarket. The appropriate apple cider vinegar to give to birds is the type used for horses.

This type can be found at equestrian centers, farm shops or online

Is olive oil good for sour crop?

Yes, olive oil is good for sour crop. The oil can be used as a lubricant when trying to break up the blockage of food in the birds crop.

To do this, warm up some olive oil and add the warm oil to a syringe. Proceed to syringe some of the oil, drop by drop, down the side of the bird’s throat and wait 10 minutes.

After the 10 minutes, massage the crop in an upward direction. Doing this three or four times a day can help break up the blockage in the bird’s crop.

You can also use olive oil as a carrier oil to dilute oregano oil to treat sour crop. Oregano oil is a natural antibiotic that can work in place of conventional antibiotics. Adding cinnamon to this oil mixture will also be helpful. 

Is sour crop contagious?

Thankfully sour crop is not contagious, one bird having sour crop will not cause other birds to catch it, that being said, sour crop can sometimes be the result of another illness that is contagious.

Taking your bird to the vet to seek treatment for sour crop can also be an opportunity to have your bird checked for any other illnesses it may be carrying 

Conclusion

In conclusion, apple cider vinegar can be used to treat early-stage sour crop. However, if the bird does not recover after a few days of taking this at-home treatment, you would need to take the animal to a vet.

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, Is sour crop contagious?, Antibiotics for sour crop, are they needed?, Sour crop medication, safe and effective ways to cure your bird, Baking soda for sour crop, does it work?