If your bird is suffering from sour crop it is important that you help the bird recover from it. So with all the over-the-counter medications and DIY treatments for sour crop, which should you give your bird?

This article explores the question of ‘sour crop medication, safe and effective ways to cure your bird 

Sour crop can easily be managed and cured at home using a variety of methods including: massaging the bird’s crop, giving the bird diluted apple cider vinegar, diluted molasses, miconazole cream, nystatin, fluconazole, or antibiotics prescribed by a vet

Sour crop medication, 8 Effective Ways To Treat Your Bird

Massaging:

The food in the crop may simply need some help moving down the bird’s digestive tract.

To do this, massage the crop by gently rubbing the area. Massaging can help break up the food stuck in the crop. This is more effective if you catch the sour crop problem earlier on.

When rubbing the crop, always rub in an upward motion. Using a syringe to pour warm olive oil into the side of your bird’s throat can help this process along.

Massaging can be done for 30 seconds at a time, a few times a day, remember to allow the bird time to rest between massages

Epsom salts:

A mixture of 1 teaspoon Epsom salts to 1 cup water can be given to your bird to help clear out sour crop. When treating your pet, give the bird this mixture through a syringe 2-3 times a day.

Molasses:

Serving your bird a molasses solution is an easy way to help flush the sour crop out. This method is scalable, so it is convenient if you need to treat several birds that are suffering from sour crop.

To dothis, dilute and mix 1 pint of molasses to 5 gallons of water and serve it to your birds, have this mixture out for no longer than 8 hours.

Note: expect runny poop if you choose this method. 

Apple cider vinegar:

Sour crop is a yeast infection, apple cider vinegar is an anti-fungal. If you’re looking for an all-natural product that you can give to your bird to solve its sour crop issue then this is one way to go.

Vets often recommend using dilute apple cider vinegar for early-stage sour crop in birds to avoid having to take the bird to a vet 

Oregano oil and cinnamon:

Oregano oil and cinnamon are everyday household items that may already be in your kitchen.

Oregano oil is often used as a natural antibiotic to treat fungal infections on the skin, to help clear sinus infections and to reduce inflammation.

Cinnamon can also be added to oregano oil to treat sour crop, cinnamon improves this treatment’s efficacy

Miconazole cream:

This treatment is often used by women to treat yeast infections, sour crop is simply a yeast infection in a birds crop. Miconazole cream is effective in humans and will work to treat sour crop in birds as well.

To treat, give the bird 2 cc of miconazole cream two times a day for three days. The best way to administer this medication is through a syringe

Nystatin or fluconazole:

Both of these medications are antifungal medications that can greatly improve your bird’s sour crop issue. They can both be prescribed by your vet, your vet will also advise as to how to administer each to your bird and for how long.

Antibiotics:

If none of the above sour crop treatments cure your feathered friend, then you will have to feed your bird antibiotics. The first step to getting antibiotics for your bird is to take your bird to a vet, the vet will assess your bird and prescribe the correct antibiotic.

Conclusion 

In conclusion, there are a variety of ways that sour crop in birds can be treated at home.

This includes massaging the crop, giving the bird cinnamon and oregano oil, giving the bird a mixture of molasses and water, giving the bird apple cider vinegar, diluted molasses, miconazole cream, nystatin, fluconazole or antibiotics prescribed by 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, Sour crop treatment: apple cider vinegar, effective or harmful, Is sour crop contagious?, Antibiotics for sour crop, are they needed?, Baking soda for sour crop, does it work?