Please help... sick society finch (eggbound?)

[sokje]

Hey,

My last topic is still open but I have opened a new one because I am so ashamed with myself.

For a while I thought my society finch was just constipated and hoped it would be over soon. But the last few days she had a dirty vent, so I picked her up and tried cleaning her vent with some warm wet Q-tips. What I then discovered because the feathers were all sticking together was a red bald spot that seemed like a lump. I then noticed the lump was egg-shaped. I didn't need to know anything more: she's eggbound.......

I feel so very ashamed because I thought she was doing fine... Mainly because she seemed to be very cheerful... But her vent got dirtier and she seemed a bit weaker overall... And now I discover this... I feel so sorry ...

Now can someone please tell me what I have to do? I have read about it and you have to put her in a hospital cage (which I don't have...), a heatlamp (which I don't have...), and mainly keep her warm. Also it was adviced to give her Calcium Plus. I am from Holland and wasn't able to find it... Is there some kind of a scientific name?

Now I do have a smaller separate cage so I will put her in there probably. Can I place one side of the cage near the radiator or will this be too hot for her? Is there something that contains a lot of calcium too I can use?

Please help because it seems she is doing worse... And yes, call me an idiot please. It sucks I didn't check on this earlier.

Bart

[Kamoodle]

Looks like your bird might have the same problem my BeeBee did. She was egg bound and unfortunately I found out about it too late. During the period she was ill, she had dirty vents like that which I cleaned.

[Sally]

First of all, don't beat yourself up, Bart. We have all made similar mistakes, and I can assure you that you are not alone. It is not easy to diagnose finches.

You don't have to have a heat lamp, just put a small lamp like a desk lamp next to one end of the cage. A 60w incandescent bulb will give plenty of warmth. You can also wet a small hand towel, wring it out so it is not dripping, and lay it over the top of the cage. If you can find human liquid calcium at a pharmacy, that will work in a pinch. Unflavored is best, but my pharmacy just had cherry flavored (I think it is geared towards children). A drop or two on the side or tip of the beak, and the hen will open her beak and take in that calcium.

Warmth, humidity, and liquid calcium are about all you can do for now to help your hen. I wouldn't place that smaller cage near the radiator, unless you don't have any kind of lamp you can use. If you do decide to place the cage near the radiator, you will have to watch to make sure it doesn't get too warm. Heat is one of the best things we can give any ill bird, but we always have to give them the option of being able to move away from the heat if it gets to be too much. Good luck, and please keep us posted.

[sokje]

Hey Sally,

Thanks for your kind response. I dug up an old smaller cage, cleaned it and put her in.

I went to the local pharmacy and they didn't have any liquid calcium. The pet store did have ReptiVite however, reptile vitamins including calcium and D3. They said it was safe to use on sick birds too. When I came home it wasn't a liquid but a powder! It was almost impossible to dillute, so I wet it a bit then applied some of it on her beak. I hope this will do the job... She sits on the nest near the heat lamp, fluffed up and looking pretty ill suddenly, now that she is separated from the other 2 societies (they are in the cage next to her however).

Is there anything more I can do to help? I tried to clean her butt using some Q-tips (very gently of course), will this help passing the egg, and are there other things to make the whole egg passing a smoother process?

I would be broken if I lost her... she was my first society finch and she is handtame for some reason.

[Diana]

Poor baby. I thought I saw an egg when you posted the picture but then I thought I may be mistaken... I wish I said something 2 days ago. I hope it is still not too late for the little one.

[sokje]

Hey I have opened another topic because she is egg bound. Can this one be closed?

[Sally]

Hey I have opened another topic because she is egg bound. Can this one be closed?

Actually, I'm going to merge the two topics, since it is about the same bird with basically the same problem--an undiagnosed illness. I question whether it is truly eggbound, or if there is some other problem, since eggbound hens normally recover within 24 hours or they die. I'll change the title a bit, but let's wait and see if someone else can come up with any ideas.

[sokje]

Hey guys, just a lil' update.

I filled her bath with pretty warm water and she went in it directly. Apparantly something happened, because she has a harder time pooping now and is lying in the nest. It's clear she is pushing very hard. I hope she will get it out today ... I really do!

[tinysparrow]

I hope that she will pull through My female fire finch just went through the same thing and she passed the egg thank God. I gave her drops of liquid calcium directly to her beak.

What you can do is mix up the powder with water, and then hold the bird in your hand. If you make it so that she is on her side and drop the water onto the side of her beak, she will open her beak and drink the calcium. I use a little plastic dropper. She only needs one drop at a time... (you have to be careful and only give her one at a time). I gave her a drop in the morning, and at night, then the next morning, and then she passed the egg.I also wrapped a damp towel around my bird's hospital cage and put a bowl of water in it so that she would have lots of humidity. The calcium, humidity and warmth will do it

[LuxandLolita]

Hey, how's the little gal doing now?

I really hope to see good news, it almost feels like what i went through with Lolita, i did everything right about getting her warmth except for the calcium... My lack of a car and i had a lack of money kept me from saving her.

So i'm rooting for the little one, i hope to god she has pulled through!

[sokje]

Hey guys,

Unfortunately, still no progress... She does sleep a lot more though. She still seems to be doing worse and worse.

The ReptiVite is very hard to dillute, so i added a bit of water and Combex V (multivitamins for birds, with an orange taste added) to it and made it into a gooey mess, then I applied this to her beak. She drunk it, but haven't noticed anything about it yet. It's a shame, I have visited 3 pet stores now and the best thing they had was this stuff...

She still poops, eats and is still pretty active. From what I have read the 'usual' eggbound finch will be too weak to even sit on a perch. This is not the case with mine. She is however plucking a lot at her bottom and the spot is slowly balding. I can clearly see the lump of the egg.

Is there something I can safely put inside the cage to keep her warm? I put a bowl of boiling water near the cage and refresh it every hour, she loves the warm damp the water releases.

[sokje]

Also thanks a lot for the support everyone!!

[debbie276]

I thought egg bound hens either had large wet droppings or no droppings at all because the egg could block the vent. Are you sure this is egg binding? She sure has been going on for a long time now not feeling well, I thought egg bound hens either pass the egg quickly or unfortunately die.
best of luck, I hope you are able to help her.

[Sally]

I'm wondering if what you are seeing is a cyst or a tumor, not an egg. It is hard to believe she is eggbound for this period of time. When I have had an eggbound hen, they go downhill very quickly. They usually wind up on the bottom of the cage, puffed up with drooping wings, squinty or closed eyes, and they just flat out look miserable. They aren't eating or perching or doing anything but sitting there looking like they want to die. And unfortunately, they often do die. Normally, the next day after being eggbound and passing the egg, the hen will be back on the perch, looking happy as can be, like nothing ever happened.

[LuxandLolita]

I thought egg bound hens either had large wet droppings or no droppings at all because the egg could block the vent. Are you sure this is egg binding? She sure has been going on for a long time now not feeling well, I thought egg bound hens either pass the egg quickly or unfortunately die.
best of luck, I hope you are able to help her.

I'm wondering if what you are seeing is a cyst or a tumor, not an egg. It is hard to believe she is eggbound for this period of time. When I have had an eggbound hen, they go downhill very quickly. They usually wind up on the bottom of the cage, puffed up with drooping wings, squinty or closed eyes, and they just flat out look miserable. They aren't eating or perching or doing anything but sitting there looking like they want to die. And unfortunately, they often do die. Normally, the next day after being eggbound and passing the egg, the hen will be back on the perch, looking happy as can be, like nothing ever happened.

IF you guys were to look through my thread for Lolita, she refused to sit on the floor. If she sat, she was in the sleeping nest or perching at all times. She did still poop and still eat and she still tried to push the egg out until the end.
Her eyes were drooped and she had squinty eyes, but she lasted days like this...