FINCHforum

Posted: **Tue Nov 04, 2008 4:20 am**

it had to happen I suppose but how I wish it hadn't.
have my first case of an egg bound finch today, one of my painted's.
she is now in a cage on her own with plenty of food and water available.
other than waiting I'm not sure what else I can do. she had access to plenty of shell grit and cuttlefish(ground & whole).
always had fresh green food and live food available.
any suggestions on extra stuff I could do for her?

Posted: **Tue Nov 04, 2008 4:53 am**

Warmth Mick...essential.

Posted: **Tue Nov 04, 2008 5:13 am**

thanks Paul. she is in a wooden cage, approx 2/3 of the front is wire the rest is totally enclosed. there is an old towel covering the wire for tonight so that no drafts can effect her. if she's still alive in the morning I will put a heat lamp adjacent to the cage as well

Posted: **Tue Nov 04, 2008 8:31 am**

I understand humidity can also help quite a bit. Wet a towel with hot water then wring it out just so it isn't dripping. Drape the hot/wet towel (it will cool a lot by the time you get it to the cage) around 3 sides of the hosp cage. You can have the heatlamp on the fourth side. Give 1 drop of calcium in her beak and make sure she gets additional calcium in the water.

Hope that helps. Good luck and keep us posted.

Posted: **Tue Nov 04, 2008 11:39 am**

MickP....that is too bad about your eggbound finch. I hope she comes through alright. Let us know how things are going when you get a chance.

Posted: **Wed Nov 05, 2008 1:16 am**

I went out to the aviary early last night & put the heat lamp on her cage.
the cage temp was steady at 24 - 25 celcius.

this morning when I went to check she had died over night.

have to find her partner a new mate now as he has been singing and calling her all day

Posted: **Wed Nov 05, 2008 6:17 am**

oh my..... so sorry for your loss. Haven't had that happen yet and sure do hope it doesn't.

Posted: **Wed Nov 05, 2008 3:04 pm**

So sorry for your loss, mick, and a Painted at that. It is not always possible to save them when they are eggbound, by the time they show they are in trouble, they are pretty far gone. Heat and a drop of liquid calcium directly in the beak are the only things I found that seemed to work.

Posted: **Wed Nov 05, 2008 11:51 pm**

It's so important to prevent this from happening with supplementations

chris

Posted: **Thu Nov 06, 2008 5:05 am**

it's the first time I have had that happen to any of my birds in all the years I have had finches.
I dont add any supplements to their feed or water, have never needed to. try my hardest to ensure that the aviary is as close as possible to the conditions they would confront in the wild.