Egg Binding :-(

saragoescrazy · Post by **saragoescrazy** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:54 pm

I've had one female white zebra die from this.. and my new female (well, a few months ago I got her) I think she might be doing it as well... while my other female hit hard and died pretty quickly (within a few hours) when I got home from the shops my female was on the ground, I checked her out and she had problems flying, which happens sometiems when they're about to lay an egg, or too wet from taking a bath..

...I checked her out when she finally got to an upper perch and she had something protruding... I think she might be trying to lay an egg, but when we really checked it out, it had gone back inside...

/ She has problems flying still and nothing seems to be going right with her, she can fly on top of an ice cream container we use as a quail cave thing, and then jump, but other than that nothing...

Is there any advice? Is this normal for egg binding? And yes I do have shell grit I give to them on occassion as well as a cuttlebone that I see her chewing on all the time... so it kinda scares me, I don't want another bird to die from this!

It's so horrible... is there anything I can do!?

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 2:53 pm

Put your hen in a hospital cage with heat and humidity ASAP. Clip a reading lamp to one side of the cage with a perch nearby. Drap a damp towel over the cage. Your hen should pass the egg within a few hours.

It is a good idea to offer the egg/oyster shell at all times along with the cuttlebone. If you continue to have this problem with your hens, I suggest you get Calciboost or a similar product to replace the lost calcium. If you already have Calciboost, then add it to the water now, and give her a few drops in the side of her beak.

Hope your hen survives.

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 3:19 pm

hi sara
you could try a little olive oil round the vent to ease its passing .if she strains to much she will prolapse without any assistance the heat and humitity should be enough for her though good luck

ken

saragoescrazy · Post by **saragoescrazy** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 12:48 pm

Okay, I tried olive oil around the vent today and I put her in the hospital cage with a few tea towels wrapped around it (all damp obviously) and had her sit in there for a while and she didn't do anything.. there's just something pink sticking out.. and shes still having a bit of trouble flying? Is there any hope!

She's been pulling out her feathers left adn right and shes' starting to look a little bit naked, I'm just more worried about her hoping she gets better... but she's beeping and everything and I saw her poo, but is she still trying to lay an egg, or what?

Any more advice?

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 12:53 pm

the little pink thing could be her vent,and if she has been pecking it..she could have made it sore...a prolapse is more purpley in colour with blood vessels in she may not be trying to lay an egg but may be irritated by something round her rear end try to see if she has any mite there..

ken

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 12:57 pm

sara
look at this think..half way down there is a section on eggbinding that is very helpful and it may help with the diagnosis

ken

http://macaw.axisdata.com/May03flyer.htm

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 1:15 pm

It is not abnormal for tissue to briefly prolapse when the egg passes outside the body, then the egg is released from the tissue and it immediately withdraws back inside the bird's vent.

Look on the cage floor again, she may have laid a soft shell egg and you don't realize it.

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 1:19 pm

Here's an earlier discussion on prolapse....

http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=26

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 1:26 pm

if it is a prolapse it will need medical attention i have put prolapses back myself but on quail which are a lot bigger

ken

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 1:14 pm

hi sara
is there any news about your birds health yet

ken

saragoescrazy · Post by **saragoescrazy** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 12:55 pm

Sorry it took so long. We've been watching her for ages and ages. What happened was I think she had a lot of stress, so she pulled out all the feathers around the area where it was prolapsed I guess... and I think pulled a whole bunch more out.

I think she may have pulled out her flying feathers, so we gave her a branch to get up to the higher levels... she had a hard time flying for a long time...

..and today was the first day I saw her fly from one side of the cage to the other with ease, she still takes it easy, but none the less she's eating and drinking normally.

We just used the olive oil around the vent and gave her a warm area to sit in, although I never saw an egg, it's obvious she's getting better. So that's a great sign.

Thank you guys again for all your advice. It saved Peace's life!

tammieb · Post by **tammieb** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 4:55 pm

Great news!