crop needles

[Diane]

Where is the best place to buy crop needles and how much are they roughly ? The type Im thinking of is the ones with the little metal ball on the end.

[jusdeb]

I got mine from my local pet shop , he hand rears and knew what size I needed ....the reccomended sizes are good for feeding but if you need to clean out the crop you need to go bigger to get right in there.

My vet gave the thumbs up on the sizing also.

Lentra Direct should sell them or your vet can order them for you.

[west finch]

I got mine from the vet but they came from vetafarm .A 18 gauge for the finches very handy tool.

[Diane]

Thanks, cant hurt to have these things on hand.

[gomer]

Vetafarm mine are from aswell.I think they are 18gauge. Buy two if you can,Then if you miss place one you will always have a back up in a emergency.I have 4 the same size two still unopened,A bit overkill.

[Diane]

Is this the whole thing or do I need some kind of syringe too? I noticed they sell them too.

[jusdeb]

A syringe is needed , I use the disposable ones from the chemist 5 cents each .

[Diane]

Thats a lot cheaper than the ones on the site.
So if I got a couple of these
http://www.vetafarm.com.au/products/MED ... -TUBE.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
in the recommended sizes I can use the syringes from the chemist on them?
Just noticed they call them medication tubes, can these be used for feeding or are they just for medication?

[jusdeb]

I havent had much luck with their syringes however mine are boiled several times a day which would shorten the life of the rubbery bits .
I go with disposables as I can use a fresh one for each chick thus preventing cross infection .
The 5mls fit a parrot size crop needle so maybe you would need to trial a few sizes to get it right for a small gauge one ...the syringes start at 1 ml so are quite small .
I have heard of people heating the end of the syringe but I havent tried it .

Of the reusable syringes I found the Bovet ones to be longer wearing . Again mine are boiled and boiled and boiled so perhaps with better treatment they will last longer ...Oh and if you buy a reusable check you can get replacement O rings .

I will give Vetafarm credit for this ....I returned 2 syringes that karked it and they replaced both no questions asked .

My tip would be to have a reusable and a few disposables on hand ...cant hurt . See which suits you best .


Wow just read this back and its all over the place isn't it ....

[Diane]

The thing is I understand perfectly was you are getting at.