New bird - is she OK?

[jmc]

I have two new birds that I brought home on Saturday. They are both bright and active, but the female is acting a little different and I'm unsure if it's an issue or not. She was perfectly fine this morning, so this started sometime today, while I was at work.

She's still bright and active, but has a tendency to remain fluffed up. Just now, I watched her bounce her butt a bit, then groom her tail head (since I started writing this, she's done it twice). I don't know what they fed at the pet store, but they have a mix of seeds and pellets, and also have been eating romaine, shredded carrots, and maybe some strawberries. They also have grit, a mineral block, a cuttlebone and plenty of water.

I have no idea what eggbound looks like, not even sure if these two are mated, though they do cuddle. Right now they're fighting over the food, they only just discovered the tube feeder and are quite taken by it, apparently.

Do birds get constipated? Should I do anything more for her?

[cindy]

You can look at her bottom as she sits low on the perch...usually the tip of her bottom to the abdominal will look like it is an angle. If she is carryig an egg the bottom will look heavy and have a buldge that is roughly the size of the egg.

Can you get a picture, a side shot of her sitting without disturbing her much?

In the mean time put a heat lamp over or next to perch she is sitting at.

[Sally]

And sometimes new birds are simply stressed from the change in environment. A heat lamp can do wonders in this situation. Some also like to give new birds a liquid boost, like NV powder, Thrive, Guardian Angel for the first few days.

[L in Ontario]

Birds can get constipated. What kind are they - Zebra finches?

You could put a pinch of vitamins in their drinking water as Sally suggested and provide a heatlamp at one side of the cage (near the end of one perch) as Cindy said.