What’s wrong with my Zebra? Is this normal?

[lovezebs]

ShannTmw

Hi Shann,

The girls will lay eggs like chickens, and no they don't need a male for that.. These eggs will be infertile of course.

You can throw them out, or place them in a nest for her to sit on, however providing a nest might just trigger more egg laying.

[lem2bert]

ShannTmw

Sorry to hear that your Zebra hen is having a hard time, I hope you get good news at the vet. Having birds in the family is almost like having kids, always something going on to worry you and keep you busy . I hope she is feeling better.

[Flight Feathers]

Is it egg binding? My female finch was egg bound once. She was normally very flighty and then suddenly she would just sit there and i could pick her up. So i brought her inside and there was definitely an egg stuck. We put her beside the fire in a box, and it did the trick. she got the egg out (shells egg ) and soon she was back to her normal self!

[ShannTmw]

She did lay one egg and so far nothing since. She seems almost back to normal but not as chatty. She sits puffed up still. But she’s eating a lot again and bathing. Just seems tired still. I have her vet appt for tomorrow. I’ve checked her and no egg there at all.
It’s so true, I adore these little guys. I knew nothing about birds until I started working in pet care at Petsmart and learning all the new animals is awesome. But for some reason I fell in love with the zebras. The little beeps. When I saw Kiwi in a small cage in isolation because of her wing I felt soooo bad. It took me almost two weeks of seeing her there and trying to get her adopted that I fell in love with her. She’d always be so excited when I can in the room to talk to her. Bobbing back and forth and beeping at me haha. So cute. Not she beeps at me when I say her name.
So I really do hope everything is okay. Thanks everyone!

[Sally]

ShannTmw I always recommend that anyone who has even one female finch keep some liquid calcium on hand. You can order some online, or sometimes you can find human-grade liquid calcium at a pharmacy. I prefer the bird-specific kind. Anytime you suspect egg binding, you can administer one or two drops of the calcium to the side of the beak. They will usually open their beak then and absorb some of it. You can repeat this after several hours too. The hen also needs heat and humidity to help pass the egg. You can use a heat lamp, which can be as simple as a 60w bulb in a gooseneck desk lamp. You can wet and wring out a small hand towel or dish towel, and lay it across the end of the cage opposite to where you have the heat lamp. Egg binding usually needs fast action, and these steps will not harm the bird if it is not egg binding. Better safe than sorry. Plus, heat is almost always needed with any illness anyway.

[sparrowsong98]

ShannTmw I am not the most experiecned, but when my hen laid her first egg, she lookelooked like she was dying for three days. Then she later an egg and perked right up.

[ShannTmw]

I have the lamp and 60w and she seems to have ore energy from that. I didn’t know about the cloth though. Thanks for that. I was going to ask the vet about the calcium so I can have it in case. She’s laid one egg so far and nothing since. She’s eating normal so far and devouring her cuttlebone, she has two in there. Perking up a bit too beeping at herself in her mirror.

[lovezebs]

ShannTmw

That's good to hear.

[ShannTmw]

Had my vet appointment yesterday and it isn’t good news... Her wing is the problem for pretty much everything. She’s in pain and is very stressed. I was lead to believe she was older then I thought. But in reality she is only 5 months old. And obv too young to be laying eggs. That’s why she only laid one, the vet said she was stressed because of her wing.
It’s causing her to not eat, to have undigested seeds, and sometimes diarrhea. She’s been pecking st the wing as well.
He said the problem is with the ‘wrist’ joint, there is either a fracture there or a small tomour. She’s on medication right now to help with any possible illness and I have a few days to figure out what to do.
He said roughly around 400$ for all the testing to see what the problem is. Then to fix the problem, I have no clue how much...
He gave me two options, to do the testing and pay the money. No payment plans and I work a part time job.... so I can’t come up with the money fast.
Or let her continue to be in pain and eventually die from pecking at it... I’m soooooo frustrated...
I’m VERY lost on what I can do. I want to pay for her to get fixed but I don’t have the money... trying to figure out way to come up with the initial 400$ plus everything else on top...
a lot of people are telling me that it isn’t worth it but I looooove my baby Kiwi...

[Sally]

So sorry you had such bad news from the vet. It is a difficult decision any time we have to choose between continuing medical treatment or facing the inevitable. This is a personal choice, one you will have to make, but I can give you my experience. I have always had a hard time letting go with any of my pets. There have been times that I have spent small fortunes keeping one alive, and in reality, I've done this for myself. I loved my pets so much that I couldn't let them go. Looking back, I should have let them go far sooner than I did. I kept them suffering so that I didn't have to make the big decision. If I had it to do over, I would not choose the path I did, I would have let the vet euthanize them rather than keep them going for myself.

As I said, it is a personal decision and know that you will be supported by members of this forum whatever choice you make.

[Babs _Owner]

ShannTmw Sally

I'm sorry for the bad news. I have to agree with Sally and this is an issue that hits home very deeply for her.

I'd give it a few days to see if the medication has a positive effect on Kiwi.

[lem2bert]

ShannTmw

I am so sorry for the bad news from the vet. It must have been devastating to hear . Maybe the medication will make her feel better... . As previously mentioned the decision is yours and yours only.....Standing by you what ever your decision is....Best wishes for you and Kiwi.

[ShannTmw]

Thanks everyone, this is really rough. I'm going to wait the ten days she's one the medication but he said that it was just to make sure she doesn't get an infection. It won't help with the actual problem, just to stop things from getting worse.
If i had the money I would do the initial testing then see what he said was wrong with her. Tumour or fracture... But I can't afford it.
I'm going to call and talk to them, ask them what all of my options are and an estimate on all of it. Just so I have a clean view of where I can go.
I'm SOO sad... Thanks for everything tho!

[lovezebs]

ShannTmw

So sorry to hear that you had such bad news from the Vet.

How does this wing present?
What is happening with it? Is it right close to the tip?

Here is an image of the bone structure, where is the problem presenting?

I ask, because I have a lovely Zebra Finch boy, who some years ago lost a leg and a wing in an accident. Also have a beautiful Society girl, who hatched with only a partial wing.

Max can't fly at all, and Kelsie, can fly only a little (she has mated with a Socie boy, and raised 3 beautiful babies). They are well adjusted happy birds. They can live with a partial wing, and adapt quite well.

Don't write her off yet.

[Fraza]

lovezebs I used to have a society that couldn’t fly and I had to learn him by getting the whole flock in one space then holding him up high in the air so he can glide to them.

They was a lot of fails and falls but eventually after patience he just flew one day and it was so good it made my many months of trying it also created a bond with us in a funny way haha I now have him named coco and he is my main society’s and the dominant one who always breeds.

He now lives in my aviary

Last bit he also lost his tail twice once being attacked by 3 magpies whilst outside in cage then inside the house when I picked him up every time the tail grew back he got better Maybe you coukd do this with Kellie

And you zebra is amazing and no way did your society breed with your spice what’s the outcome look like