Lolita is sick. Please help!

[LuxandLolita]

SO it's official. She's sick and i have no doubts about it. The past day she has been fluffed up but not to the extent that she has been for two hours(since i got home)
I was so worried that i would go in and find her dead because i didn't get help soon enough.
She is showing signs of egg issues. the first one being the other day, in their sleeping nest(that she does not lay eggs in ever) there was a whole egg but it had no shell. like if you cracked it into a pan but obviously it wasn't turning into a sunny side up... NO TIME FOR JOKES

I highly doubt it's egg binding. she her abdomen is NOT swollen but i fear an impacted egg, or worse, egg shells? maybe she was egg bound and the egg broke? That would explain the shell less egg...

I have a hospital cage finally but i need something warm for her! i don't have any lamps, the only warm thing i have is a candle warmer but i don't think your supposed to leave them on for extended periods of time.
I really do not want to lose another hen. especially now that Lux is 5 years old, when he dies of old age(in a few years hopefully!) i can't get another hen, as she will live past him and i will have to get another male. and until i live on my own and have a constant income, i can't keep doing this.
Lux has already lost his first mate, i don't want him to stress losing Lolita to.
Please help!

she is sitting in the food dish currently, not feeling well but Lux is always by her side. how sweet


When provoked, she still flies up to the perch and un fluffs for about two seconds, once she has landed, she huddles up again.
I was so excited about Tahny laying an egg without egg binding as it was her first, but i can't lose her mother. i feel like i jinxed it!

[L in Ontario]

She needs extra heat right now and a drop of liquid calcium to her beak. You may not be able to feel an egg inside her and I do not suggest you try to feel for one. Put her in the hospital cage with extra heat / warmth even if you have to warm a towel in the drier. Good luck.

[LuxandLolita]

If i put the hospital cage next to the candle warmer, will it work as a heat source?
Also, i don't have any liquid calcium, and i can't get her to a vet!

[L in Ontario]

I don't know what a candle warmer is. If it gives off heat and is safe, then use it - carefully. Can you get some liquid calcium?

[LuxandLolita]

I have no way of getting it unless it is at a local pet store. i don't have a credit card,i carry cash..

A candle warmer is warm..obviously, it melts candles with a small heating element that you set the candle on(some use light bulbs, i have both kinds but the heating element one sounds safer)

[Sally]

Do you have any kind of lamp, like a desk lamp? That is the safest thing to use as it is safe to leave on all the time. I have one of those candle warmers that I sometimes use to keep handfeeding formula warm, but those things can get hot. A 60w or even 40w bulb in a lamp placed next to the cage near the end of one perch is the safest thing to do. You can cover part of the cage with a damp towel to keep heat in and create humidity, but be careful that the lamp does not touch the towel at all.

You can get liquid calcium for humans at a drug store and use that in a pinch. The fact that she passed a softshelled egg shows she is depleted of calcium.

[LuxandLolita]

Just now she went and she pecked at some seeds(for about 3 seconds) and then went back. Here is the set up. the black round thing is the candle warmer. She was sitting in the green sleep nest(the one that i said she didn't lay eggs in) when i was going to move her to the hospital cage, so i put that in there to. it's the only place she ever sleeps. she has trouble sleeping without it(a lot of night frights)
The hospital cage is on a bin because i wanted to make sure the candle warmer was not sitting on the wood floors(you never know) it won't set stuff on fire, but it will make it smell bad! so the candle warmer is on a metal bucket and the cage is on a bin. She has food and water, a wooden perch, and her fuzzy


I am not putting the candle warmer directly on it, i don't have a desk lamp. I will go to a drug store and get some liquid calcium!
are there any brands that are good?

*EDIT* just so you don't worry, the candle warmer has no wax, or smells from candles on it! it's almost brand new! So don't worry about candle fumes

PSS. there was no egg shell whatsoever. i think she might have broken the egg in the process of laying it

[Sally]

Here is one thread where kenny66 talked about the human liquid calcium. When you go to the drugstore, just tell the pharmacist that you need liquid calcium for humans. You can even tell him what it's for, I did when I got some at the drugstore. Sometimes when they realize it is an emergency, they are a little more helpful.

http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php ... 2&start=15

[Sally]

Kaite, your setup looks like it will work. You can test the temperature coming off that candle warmer by putting your hand between it and the cage. If it feels too hot for your hand, it is too hot for Lolita. Just don't touch it, I'm sure you know those little warmer things can smart.

[lovemyfinch]

I have to agree with the others here hun. I think she is probably eggbound. It is quite possible that she ate the shell knowing herself that she is lacking calcium.
Hope she is able to pick up strength and get well soon

[LuxandLolita]

Thank you everyone! i really hope she improves as well
she laid one successful egg and then laid the shellless or eaten shell one, that was two days ago.
i hope she is not egg impacted

[L in Ontario]

I don't think she broke the shell while laying the egg - I believe she did not have enough calcium in her system to build a shell around the egg. Good tip from Sally - get the human grade liquid calcium and follow Kenny66 Post.

[LuxandLolita]

What am i supposed to do if i can't get to Walgreens or CVS on time? what if the meds thing is closed? it's 8:00pm now

How much on average is liquid calcium?

[Sally]

Softshelled eggs can be caused by a lack of calcium or by a lack of vitamin D3 (or sunshine) to utilize the calcium. If she already laid a softshelled egg several days ago, she could have another now, or she could be eggbound. Liquid calcium and heat are the best things for her.

My drugstore had the liquid calcium in the vitamin section, so you don't have to worry if pharmacy section is closed, and it was not expensive, maybe $5-6?

[L in Ontario]

Check online or phone and ask what their hours are. Sorry, I am in Canada and don't know the price of things in the USA. Ask them over the phone.