Female owl- feathers look wet, any ideas?

[nelloyello11]

My female owl has been very weird all day. This morning, I noticed that her breast feathers looked kind of clumpy, and I thought maybe an egg had broken and gotten on her feathers (looked like there might be yolk stuck to them). I immediately offered a bath, thinking she would clean herself up. She normally goes right in, as soon as I put it in, but this time she didn't even though her mate did. She's been preening her breast feathers most of the day, and sort of shaking herself off, as if she had bathed.
She was also standing a little funny, her feet spread apart more than normal, and standing taller on the perch (more upright), so I thought maybe she was trying to lay and egg. I put liquid calcium in their water, and also a small dish on the floor (highly concentrated), in case of egg-binding. She always has calcium available, cuttlebone, and ground oyster shell, and they have also been getting mashed egg regularly, which they chow down on.

I offered an open bath too, which she eventually got in to, but didn't really bathe much, just kind of stood in it for a few seconds.
Her feathers were starting to look a little better, tighter, and less wet, for a little while, but they went right back to looking wet and clumpy, sort of sticking straight out under her "chin" area. I have a heat lamp near their favorite perch, but she hasn't been using it very much at all.

I can't tell if she is actually missing any feathers on her breast or not, as they are clumped together.
The nest has been taken out, in case it is egg-binding. They haven't actually started laying yet though, so I'm certain she's not worn out from breeding.

Her breathing seems heavier than normal, but that may be just more noticeable because of her feathers being messed up.
I want to put her in a hospital cage, but I think that catching her would be MUCH more stressful than she might be able to handle, and may do more harm than good.
Her mate looks 100% normal, and is preening and cuddling with her on the perch.

Trying to get a good picture

[nelloyello11]

Untitled by Nelloyello11, on Flickr


Untitled by Nelloyello11, on Flickr

[nelloyello11]

Her eyes are closed on both pics but she hasn't been overly sleepy or lethargic

[Angela&Shalamar]

I'd catch her and take a closer look, make sure there's no wound or anything. How is her stool? Have you seen her eat and drink?

[cindy]

Is she shaking her head vomiting at all? Vent wet?

[nelloyello11]

She has been eating and drinking, and mostly active, all day. Stool looks pretty much normal, but maybe a little watery. I have seen her drinking a lot today, so that may be the cause of that. Her vent is a little wet but does not seem messy. but the wet look sort of continues down her belly so it's tough to say whether it's actually her vent or due to the same cause as the messy breast/belly feathers.

I should also say, that about 10 min after I posted the pictures, she went back to looking almost completely normal...

I DON'T GET IT!!

[wildbird]

Does the area become wet after drinking? Could she have a puncture wound allowing food & water to escape? Or possibly a draining infection. With constant fluid loss, she will drink a lot of water.

[wildbird]

Does the area become wet after drinking? Could she have a puncture wound allowing food & water to escape? Or possibly a draining infection. With constant fluid loss, she will drink a lot of water.