I recently got a couple of new baby budgies (8-12 weeks old) and have noticed something odd with one of them. Pippin seriously stuffs his crop. Most of my budgies have been complete piggies as babies and would go nuts in their food dish so that much doesn't surprise me. But I've never seen a budgie stuff his crop so much that it literally bulges. Everything else is normal. He's not losing weight (gaining a bit, actually) and by morning his crop is always back to normal. The other baby, Peregin, doesn't have this problem. Then again, Peregrin seems to stretch his eating sessions out throughout the day whereas Pippin seems to have fewer but longer pig-out sessions. I'm going to give the vet a call in the morning but am just curious about what you guys think and if you've ever seen something like this? I'm not a breeder and I've never handfed so I really don't know how long food is supposed to stay in the crop, how long it should take to empty, or if "bulging" is an actual problem.

 

Here are a couple of pictures:

 

Pippin (the budgie in question) is on the left. Peregrin and his normal crop are on the right.

 

 

 

This one shows Pip's bulge even better. It's freaking me out but as I said, by morning it is right back to normal size.

 

 

I'm not sure what to make of this so if you've got any ideas, let me know? Like I said, I'll give the vet a call in the morning too. As far as behavior goes, Pippin is almost as ADHD as Phizzy. He plays hard with toys already and wants to see everything when he's out of the cage. My instincts tell me that he's fine and just a piggish baby but I'm no vet and have never seen this before.

My rescue birds eat like this Terri. He may come from a background of an inconsistent supply of food, so he stuffs himself as much as he can, as he never knows when the supply will be replenished

Thanks Lin. :hap: I posted this in another place and after everyone finished laughing at my poor little pudgeybudgie they agreed that it's normal and they've seen it in lots of babies. Apparently they grow out of stuffing themselves silly.

 

Thanks, your PM made me feel MUCH better. I was so worried that he was going to explode. (okay, my real worry was something like slow or sour crop.)

 

Yay, he's just a hog.

 

I called the vet about an hour ago before getting the replies though and he's supposed to get back with me later. Hopefully he says the same thing.

Jangles looks like that some times, I tell her she needs a crop bra

what did the vet say Terri?

He said what several others have said to me, that it's not uncommon for a baby to stuff his crop to capacity for a while after weaning. He should stop doing that soon, if not I'll take him in to be looked over just in case. But it sounds like it's fine and normal and Pippin is just incredibly enthusiastic about his food. :grbud:

Oh Terri, I'm not looking forward to you having a human baby! We'll have to commit you to a loony bin before the birth I think :grbud: :grbud: :grbud:

I'd probably freak out the first time it burped. :grbud:

Oh dear Terri, you wouldn't even last the pregnancy :grbud: :grbud: :grbud:

I wish I could say you were wrong but not only am I paranoid but I'm also a wimp! I would die!

:(Laughing out loud): :grbud: :grbud: :grbud: