# Help baby sparrow - 'air bubble' in crop?



## BirdieMama513 (Jul 11, 2011)

I just happened upon this site as I was looking for info on air bubbles in the copo of a baby bird...... I was sad that Marshs posts ended ...... she spoke of an issue with Erwin... I pray he is ok  I myself am raising 4 baby house sparrows.... successfully raised 3 from the last clutch..... they have made nests in recessed lighting out on the porch of my friends house..... the babies keep falling out.... on the first day this happened we found 7  we were so so sad! that we went and got hanging baskets to catch anymore that fell..... we were not aware that they mate more than once a year.... our first batch we saved 3 of the 4 that fell after the original 7 plummeted to their death  The smallest one died, were not sure why  we feed them bird formula.... we were feeding dry kitten food soaked in water..... but from what I had read the formula was the best.... I may try some sardines though after reading this..... I have one who is very much smaller than the others.... today I noticed a small air bubble in his crop..... thats why I was on here lookin for answers..... is this normal? its noting like the pics Ive seen in here, so Im guessing its probably ok and will go away...... anyone ever see an air bubble in the crop? theres mostly food in there but I never saw a bubble in any of the others any advice would be appreciated.... also , what kind of anti biotics are suggested for these birdies?


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## BirdieMama513 (Jul 11, 2011)

after reading more, I am definitely on my way to the store to get sardines for my little guy!!! I now wonder if the smallest one that died aspirated some of the bird gruel :-O
..... he was only a day old... he was very alert but declined fast  his little head was as small as the tip of my pinky..... we fed him canned cat food.... but Im wondering if there was too much liquid.... I hope I was not the cause of his demise... but all the others have been fine  who knows, it will haunt me forever though


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## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

BirdieMama513 said:


> after reading more, I am definitely on my way to the store to get sardines for my little guy!!! I now wonder if the smallest one that died aspirated some of the bird gruel :-O
> ..... he was only a day old... he was very alert but declined fast  his little head was as small as the tip of my pinky..... we fed him canned cat food.... but Im wondering if there was too much liquid.... I hope I was not the cause of his demise... but all the others have been fine  who knows, it will haunt me forever though


BM513, there are only a few people on the forum with much experience with birds other than pigeons, but we try our best to help were we can.

I have asked a MOD to move your posts to their own thread, but if you could start by posting a clear photo or the little guy, and the area in question, and any fresh droppings he's done, this would be good.


Good luck,

Karyn


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

This site helps with sparrows too.

http://www.starlingtalk.com/


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Are you sure you are getting air in the crop. When you feed a baby sparrow, you will see a small lump in the crop, which is in the front of their neck. It's normal to see a small lump there. I have a video that shows this. Maybe watching it will help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JedLK3cXwBc&feature=related


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## BirdieMama513 (Jul 11, 2011)

how do I post a pic here? Do I need to save it to a website first?? And Jay... thank you so much for your reply  @ Charis..... Thank you  I think that is one of the sites I read before...... thanks for posting


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I use Photobucket to post here.


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## Dobato (Jul 3, 2008)

BirdieMama513 said:


> how do I post a pic here? Do I need to save it to a website first?? And Jay... thank you so much for your reply  @ Charis..... Thank you  I think that is one of the sites I read before...... thanks for posting


Here is a link on how to post up photos right here at Pigeon-Talk:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showpost.php?p=525049&postcount=15

As the link mentions, photos must be under 100kb in size or you will not be able to post them. Microsoft "Paint", a free program that comes with Windows can be used to reduce the size of a photo.

Karyn


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I found that link and PM'd it to her last night, so she has it.


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## Pidgey (May 20, 2005)

When trying to figure out whether bird crops are empty or whatever, it helps to understand how different postures that the bird can take will make it feel to your fingers when manually checking it. When they hunker down, their neck bones will fold into an "S" shape versus when they're standing up straight with their necks extended. Here's a rough illustration that I just made that shows the extended posture on the left and how the neck sorta' folds up on the right:



A lot of people mistake that lower, forward-jutting fold of the neck bones as stuff in the crop when they're feeling around down there. You actually have to find what's in the crop by feeling between that and the forward portion of the keel, which is also shown in the illustration and can be felt on any bird.

Pidgey


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