FINCHforum

I need some help asap. I probably could have looked everything up, but time is critical. My owl hen showed signs of egg binding yesterday 9/12 I took her out and I only have liquid calcium filled capsules so I cut it open and cave the equivalent to a drop to the hen. It was pasty, so I hope she got enough. I also have hard calcium pills and I scraped a little and put in her water. I put her in a warm bath but she wasn't having it. I put her in a hospital cage with heat lamp and left her. This morning 9/13 she is still bound. I need to do something and I know that putting vegetable oil or olive oil on the vent helps, but I am not used to handling these little finches and I only had them about 6 weeks. I know I need to get her out and massage her, what else can I do for her??? Please HELP

I just caught her and added a little oil to her vent. I didn't quite feel a lump by her vent, but that doesn't mean there is no egg. She is extremely weak and catching her stresses her out immensely. She is sitting at the bottom of the cage now, but she fell on her side when I put her down. My male is absolutely distressed.

the oil on the vent is not going to help in getting the egg out.... it is the liquid calcium... the pill you used can you mix some of that in water using a dropper or syringe beak dose her, do not pry the beak open but simply drop a drop to the back side of the beak.

1 drop first hour
1 drop second hour (noticed an improvement)
Then 1 drop 3rd hour.
Then give 2 drop 2hrs later at least get 3/4 drops into the bird first day if you can.

Direct heat from a heat lamp is best... you want the area at least 85 degrees.

How far down in the body is the egg is it right at the vent?

Baths cool off and you run a risk of the bird getting chilled which works opposite in getting the muscles to relax. You can if you have to hold the bird upright turn the tap water to warm, not hot and hold ONLY the vent area..you will have to hold her upright on a slight angle ...run the warm water over the vent area. She may pass droppings as you do this, that is good. do this for a few minutes, if she relaxes enough the constant warm water may allow her to pass the egg. If nothing dry her off a bit and get her right under the heat lamp.

Is she eating and drinking and passing any droppings?

not sure where you are located but if you can get liquid human grade calcium with D3 at the pharmacy you can use this in emergency situations like egg binding. The D3 helps to deliver the calcium to the muscles faster.

She is drinking the water that I put the shaved calcium in. I just ordered calcium plus, but it will be here too late. I don't want to handle her any more than I have to. It stresses her completely out. She is not eating and has pooped very very little. She is perched and looks like she is straining to give birth to that egg. Eyes are closed and she is in front of the heat lamp which reads 91 degrees. She can move to a cooler spot if needed.

Cindy:
I gave her the calcium with the D3 yesterday. I had to cut the capsule and draw out a little of the paste. I think she got it ok. Looked like she did anyway. Should I give her another dose?

where are you located? if in the states some of the drug stores carry liquid human grade calcium....

the pill you used, if a paste it might be difficult for her to get down, not familiar with dosing a bird with the pill contents... the fact she is perched, passing little bits of droppings means the egg is not completely down and blocking the vent... the egg might be higher up. Sometimes the egg can be a bit too big.... how long has she been like this?

If you have an avian vet they can access her

24 hours and I am 1 1/2 hour away from any good avian vet. Walmart doesn't have the liquid calcium, but I can try another pharmacy a little further away

She just died!

So sorry you lost her. Without liquid calcium, it is difficult to save the hen, and even with liquid calcium, you can still lose them. Egg binding is a serious condition and is often fatal. If you put your general location in your profile, it helps members direct you to where to get supplies in an emergency.

So sorry you lost her.

In the future when your hens go to nest prior to eggs being laid start them on liquid calcium in their water and remove it when they are completely done laying. It helps as a preventative with some of the issues with egg binding. There are some things like eggs that are too large to pass that can be really rough on hens.

Owl hens have an easier time of breeding if they are a year old at least.

I got these guys from The Finch Farm (never ever again will I get finches from them)in July.
Anyway, I don't know how old they are but her eggs were considerably large compared to her body. I wasn't quite sure when they started breeding as I never saw it. The other pairs that I have are not nesting. Either way, I know now but what a horrible way to learn a lesson. I raise chickens and had a few egg bounders that I have successfully saved, but the finches are a whole other experience.
My male has settled down and I hope that he will be ok with the cordon blue's. I can't afford another female and I hope he is ok being the only one of his kind. If not, hopefully someone will let me know on this forum. Thanks for the help Cindy and thank you and Sally for the condolences. Not a good day.

romien

I'm so sorry you lost her

romien

Sorry you lost your little hen I lost a society hen to egg binding last year laying her first clutch. Even with her daily liquid calcium and crushed egg shells sometimes we just dont know if a hen is worn out before we get her, or if mother nature throws a rotten curve-ball and it happens even with the best care.

slwatson and Babs, thank you!

I've had a few get egg bound and I haven't lost one yet.

At fist I put them directly on a heating pad and syringe feed them by the drop out of a .5cc syringe with a mix of baby bird formula from PetSmart, water and liquid calcium. Water like consistency. The baby bird formula has electrolytes that I think helps perk them up.,

After they've had a few drops of the mix, I put them in a small hospital cage with a washcloth on the bottom and put the cage direct on the heating pad. I have them on a small bathroom thats heated with aceramic heater.

if you get a drop of the water mix on the end of the syringe you can hold it up to the tip of the birds beak until it touches and the water will fall into the beak. It is literally by the drop.

Once she's had several drops, I let her sit for 10-15 minutes alone and then I go back in and give a few more drops. Once she's had enough liquid that I know she's not dehydrated, I let her sit overnight with a shallow container with liquid beside her. They'll usually pass the egg within 24 hours. I think the key is keeping them hydrated.