Owl Finch health issue - egg binding or stressed out???

[a_gouldian]

Our pair of Owl finches yesterday laid there 6th, of their third clutch. We moved the eggs over to the Societies because the Owls are young (about 9 months old), and they were not following through on the breeding process after the eggs were laid for the last two clutches.

We split the pair up and moved them to two different flight cages in the same room that didn't have nesting material. While I was moving them I clipped nails that were long (did not hit the quick) and put her on the floor of the new cage. She laid there for about 30 secs. and did not move, like she was in shock, or just waiting to see if it was safe to move. Then she started flying around, eating and acting normal.

This morning she was sitting on the floor of the cage and bobbing her tail (and body) gently up and down like we have seen our Gouldian hen do each day, late in the day, before she laid her next egg in the morning. She did go on the lower perches occasionally. We put the male back in and it did perk her up a little and she was eating seed and drinking but still doing that bobbing motion. She was not puffed up at all.

After doing some quick research we decided to give her a few drops 1-2 of Morningbird Calcium Plus liquid, undiluted, and gave her a warm bath (bottom part of her, held her in the warm water for a few minutes). Also put a heating pad in the cage. When I caught her in the big cage, and then again in the smaller cage to giver her a soak bath she didn't try to get away and I was able to gently grab her. When we gave her the drops of Calcium she opened her mouth and drank them. The temp. in the room was about 80F through this morning and is probably up to 85F now.

Does this sound like egg binding or could it be stress? This is the first time we have tried to catch her or move her to another cage since we got the pair in April. Before moving her to the other cage yesterday she was completely normal, and except for the Star Finches she had lived with the other birds at one point before we got another large flight cage and spaced the birds out more. We didn't think Owl Finches laid more than 6 eggs so wondering if egg binding could really be an issue.

Since her bath she has eaten egg food and is sitting on the lower perches (F70 double breeding cage). We have Calcium Plus in the drinking water.

[cindy]

owls really should not be bred before 9 months... better at a yr old...could be why they do not sit, your hen was to young for the previous clutches.

[cindy]

since your hen was rather young when you first started getting clutches from her you may be experiencing issues with an egg being too big to pass, soft shell eggs or egg stuck higher up in the body.... do not give calcium into an open mouth, you run the risk of aspiration, instead it is dosed to the back corner of a closed beak, the side of the beak, it will seep in.

Warm baths will stress her out and you run the risk of chilling her which causes the muscles to constrict, not relax... instead use direct heat with a heat lamp to one side of the cage so she can move away from it. Take all nests away an left the pair rest for 5 to 6 months when they are more mature. Perhaps you will have better luck with them raising their own young when matured more.

They generally do better at a yr old to 14 months old.

[a_gouldian]

Thankfully she is better today. Yesterday afternoon we put her back in her old cage, along with the male.
Added a heat lamp, a heating pad on the floor of the cage, and a humidifier in the room. Couldn't find an egg this morning and she has stopped bobbing her tail and is going on the higher perches today and eating (she was eating yesterday as well). She looks like her normal quiet self today.

I think it might have been stress because when moving her to another cage and trying to clip her nails she got away and was flying around the room. She seems to get stressed out more easily than the male owl finch, and definitely more than our Gouldians.

We are done moving birds around for awhile. Seems to stress some of them out.

[a_gouldian]

We were lucky. It turns out she was egg bound and we found an egg this morning in the cage tray next to the where the heating pad is. She is acting completely normal now, flying around the cage, sleeping in her nest at night, etc.

[cindy]

I would remove the nest.... she is too young to breed as stated above and if she has already had two clutches I would rest her. Breeding her too young can lead to reproductive issue as she ages.

[a_gouldian]

I would remove the nest.... she is too young to breed as stated above and if she has already had two clutches I would rest her. Breeding her too young can lead to reproductive issue as she ages.

Right now we have dummy eggs in the nest and that seems to satisfy the male who is sitting on the eggs. They have always liked to sleep in a nest or nest box ever since we got them. They started sleeping in a nest box the first night the day they arrived. They didn't attempt to breed until 3 months later.

If we remove all nest boxes I think we will wait a few weeks so as not to stress her out further, although she seems perfectly fine this morning. I wonder if they will mate and lay more eggs if there is no nesting material and nest box in the cage?

[cindy]

The nest and the fact the male is sitting will only encourage eggs...they do not need nests to sleep in... I personally having raised this species for year would remove the nest now..she was and is too young for a third clutch at 9 months old.

[Sally]

We were lucky. It turns out she was egg bound and we found an egg this morning in the cage tray next to the where the heating pad is. She is acting completely normal now, flying around the cage, sleeping in her nest at night, etc.

Do you have some liquid calcium on hand? This is something I consider a must, as it can be a lifesaver in case of egg binding. Egg binding is very serious, often leading to a painful death.

Owls certainly can breed at an early age, but they probably shouldn't. It could be the reason their one baby that you hand fed didn't make it, he had something wrong internally. I had a brother/sister pair who produced one baby when they were only 3-4 months old. Of course, I had no idea they could produce a baby at that age or I would not have let them have a nest to sleep in. It would be best to remove all nests and nesting materials and rest them for now.

[a_gouldian]

Thanks for the replies. Yes we have liquid calcium and gave her two drops to the beak when she started to exhibit systems. We also put it in the water (but not every day unless birds are laying eggs).

We will follow the advice and remove the nest boxes. I hope this doesn't stress her out. The male just seems to go with the flow and not much bothers him.