Female finch has egg hanging from butt

[Cassieorsaps]

I'm new at all of this and have a pair of society finches who have babies. I've not bothered them much since i realized they had eggs in the nest. Yesterday I picked in as I thought I'd heard bqbiesnans sure sure enough there are four and they already have feathers. Today the mom was out and I was shocked to see an egg hanging on her butt - at least that's what it looks like. What in the blazes do I do.

[cindy]

is it broken and stuck because of the goo or is it encased in tissue/the uterine lining/prolapse..

if just broken stuck to her bottom from the sticky egg contents simply wash the vent area in warm water and gently loosen the egg off her feathers.


If prolapse ....Hens passing large eggs can also risk PROLAPSE, pulling the uterine lining/organ out...If this happens DO NOT PUSH THE ORGAN BACK IN THERE MAY BE TOO MUCH SWELLING IN THE BELLY.... very important!!! If the bird has swelling the hen will have pain if you try to push the prolapse back in right away and it will not stay in, coat the exposed organ in a water soluble gel like KY, do not use Vaseline or oils. Coating the exposed organ will keep the organ from drying out and dying until you get to the vet, give a heat lamp to one side of the cage.... if you have an avian vet seek help immediately!!! She will need care.

[cindy]

prolapse will look like a dark pink tissue/organ protruding from her vent... picture is courtesy of a member from my group.

[Hilary]

Chances are you had an unhatched egg in the nest and it's now stuck to your hen's butt - nests with chicks are messy. Societies are pretty tolerant, but since her chicks are still in the nest I'd just leave it alone if it's just a poopy egg. She'll either pick it off herself, or you can catch her when the chicks fledge (which should be soon if they're feathering up) and gently loosen the egg with a wet tissue as Cindy said.

[Cassieorsaps]

Thanks - it fell off on its own a few minutes ago. I hadn't planned on having babies can you all tell me what I should be doing?

[Sally]

Cassieorsaps

Glad to hear the egg fell off. With babies that are starting to feather, the chances are that this was just an infertile egg that was still in the nest, and it got stuck to her bum (Societies are pretty messy birds with poopy nests!)

If you have a male/female pair of Societies, it is not easy to keep them from breeding, but you can do it. First, once the babies are weaned, remove any nest and nesting material from the cage. Societies love to sleep in a nest, but they also love to make babies!

If these are new birds, you might even consider swapping one of them out so that you have a male/male or female/female pair, which eliminates the baby problem completely. If you don't want to do that, then eliminating nests/nesting material will go a long way to slow down the breeding. She may still lay eggs from time to time, and I would recommend just tossing the eggs if you aren't interesting in breeding. The problem with breeding is finding new homes for the babies, not always an easy feat.

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at www.finchinfo.com, where you will find articles on Societies and how to keep them from breeding. If you put your general location in your profile, it helps members when giving you advice.

[cindy]

If the egg fell off you still might want to check the vent area, if egg matter is stuck to her it will need to be washed off to prevent irritation and bacteria growth. A warm container of bath water can be offered or if really stuck to her you can use a mild antiseptic soap, warm water and clean it off, pat dry and maybe give her a heat lamp to dry off and warm up under if needed.

[Flight Feathers]

If you aren't wanting babies, remove any nests or possible nesting sites. Glad to hear the egg fell off.