If the crop is not working properly, or has an infection like sour crop, then this can be bad for both the bird and it’s young. This article looks at everything you need to know about sour crop in pigeons 

Pigeons can develop sour crop. Sour crop happens when food becomes backed up in the crop and starts to break down and ferment. This food breakdown is what causes candida to thrive and overgrow in the pigeon’s crop. This is sour crop

Sour crop in pigeons:

Many birds have a crop, including pigeons. The crop is an important part of a pigeon’s digestive system.

This organ is where food is stored before it passes into the bird’s two stomaches, namely the proventriculus and gizzard, these two organs do the heavy lifting when it comes to digestion.

The crop is helpful as it enables birds to quickly eat food and have a place to store it so it can be digested later. This is helpful if the bird has to eat quickly and leave the area in fear of a predator attack. 

This organ is also where pigeons make crop milk to feed their young soon after birth.

How sour crop develops:

It is normal for food to be kept in the crop for a few hours but if food is left in the crop for too long, sour crop can develop.

When food is left in the crop it begins to break down and ferment. The normal balance of bacteria becomes imbalanced when the candida fungus, which already lives in the crop, begins to overgrow.

The result is a yeast infection (sour crop) and this causes your bird to produce a foul odor. This odor smells sour, this is why this ailment is called sour crop

How do I know if my bird has sour crop?

Enlarged crop:

After a bird eats, its crop will naturally increase in size, the crop usually goes down by the next day if the bird is not given any additional food or water. If by the next day your bird’s crop is still enlarged, then the bird may have sour crop 

Sour smell:

The smell of sour crop may not be that noticeable even if you stand near the bird. You can better tell if the bird has sour crop by putting your nose close to its beak, at this distance the smell will be a dead giveaway. If a bird has sour crop you’ll be able to smell an odor of fermentation 

White plaque in the mouth:

This is a sign that the sour crop is more serious and advanced. Overgrown candida shows up as white patches in the bird’s crop, if the white patches grow into the esophagus and mouth you can safely assume that the bird has a sour crop infection

Other signs:

Less obvious signs that your bird has sour crop include a loss of appetite, decreased egg production, the bird being hunched up, weight loss in the bird, weakness or lethargy in the bird, a change in the eggshell quality and diarrhea coming from the bird 

How do you treat sour crop in birds?

You can choose to treat your bird at home or treat it using commercial medications, here are options for both: 

At home treatments: 

• Massaging the crop to break up the food blockage 

• Giving the bird diluted apple cider vinegar 

• Giving the bird a mixture of Epsom salts and water 

• Feeding the bird diluted molasses 

• Syringing oregano oil and olive oil into the birds throat 

Commercial medicine: 

• Giving the bird 2% miconazole cream 

• Giving the bird nystatin 

• Giving the bird fluconazole 

• Treating the bird with antibiotics 

If the bird is not responding to your treatments you’d need to take the bird to a vet. The vet will be able to assess your bird and recommend the best treatment option for it 

Conclusion: 

In conclusion, pigeons can develop sour crop if their crop isn’t able to empty. If the food is left in the crop for too long it will break down, ferment and develop an overgrowth of the candida fungus. This causes the smell associated with sour crop. Both at home and over the counter treatments can be given to your bird but if these do not work it is important to take the bird 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 treatment: apple cider vinegar, effective or harmful, 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?