It’s been a few days since my last update, so here is a great topic – burping a baby bird.
I had noticed that sometimes after feeding my little guy’s crop would look normal and sometimes it would look like I overfed (and panicked a bit) only to find that it was air! My method especially (syringe feeding) can result in quite a bit of air swallowed in the process of feeding. The crop which should feel more like a bean bag when filled with food feels more like a filled helium balloon in contrast AND if the crop is filled with air, you can see a visible clear bubble on the shoulder area. Air isn’t bad for the bird, but having a crop with a lot of air can make it difficult to judge when the crop is truly filled or not (or, overfilled). Also, much like us, if you get air in your system it makes digesting your food much more uncomfortable.
The solution is to burp the baby bird. How do you do that? Well, there are a couple of methods. The first is to get the bird to open its beak as though you are going to feed it, then gently squeeze the area where the bubble is and it should be burped out. I have tried this method and have found it to be a hit or miss. If you end up not getting the air out, the baby can actually swallow even more air, which doesn’t help.
My method is simple but may require a bit of time. Gently massage the crop where you feel air and occasionally get the baby to stretch its neck upwards as though you are going to feed. (Do NOT get him to open his beak). The stretching of the neck helps emulate the way the baby will normally burp. The results may be several smaller burps or one large burp. But you know when to stop when you only feel the gushy contents of food only. The best thing to do is to burp some air out, then continue to feed so the space that previously had air will get filled with food instead. So I usually burp 1/3 of the way through, feed, and then burp as air bubbles appear. Then I burp for a final time once feeding is all done to ensure that there is no air in the system prior to digesting.
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