possibly laying an egg?

hi people

sadly haven't been on here for a bit and more of a quiet reader, hardly ever posting, but now I need a bit of help from you more experienced owners...

my 7yo female sun has been horribly hormonal for a month now and we tried not to go eith it, but it was hard, she's normally a complete snuggle bug... for quite a few days all she wanted to do was get under my shirt and act like a crazed chicken, digging aroung and biting whenever I did something to not allow her under my shirt... but I noticed today that her abdomen was swollen, she was even mmore hyperactive than the last few days and she acted constipated, she did poop inbetween, but not always and it stuck to her rear feathers (tried to clean it off with bathing her in warm water)... I read a lot on the internet but the more I read the more confused I am and the worse of a parrot owner I feel :17: now I really fear that she might be carrying an egg in there, it's the first time it's happened and it's the first time I had anything to do with anything like this... I always only had budgies and there was no egg in all 20 years of owning them, but my sun is my first 'big' bird so now I'm pretty much freaking out over this... she's already tucked in for the night and went to sleep normally like always, but I'm sitting here really worried...
anyone got any tips and tricks? I feel like a bad owner

OKe, deep breath etc. - whatever is going on only will get worse if you panick.

see...already one thing you can controll

Having a bird going a bit weird (and scary) is usually not your fault, so you are not a bad owner.

Usually the first thing we will tell anyone: When in doubt get your bird to a certified avian vet.
Do you have one near you?
( I do not know anything about Slowenia, so I am bound to ask stupid questions / sorry about that)

But if your bird is eating, drinking and sleeping like normal ... that is a good sign.
(Yup, always keep an eye out for the positives as well, they are just as important)

Did the poop look very different?
(apart from sticking to the feathers- that is not notmal of course)
Colour, texture.

There a few threads about eggbound birds and there are a few tips you can try if your bird really is in trouble (getting the bird in some warmish water to help relax etc. -> read the full story and intructions plze before you try anything like that!).
You need a proper diagnosis first!!!

A load of parasites for example also cause blockage and straining and weird poop.
Thats why : vet! would be good.
(even an ordinary chicken-and-cat-vet can look at poop for you using a microscope -> not sure if he/she would be able to give the right treatment, but it will help with defining the problem)

I'd second the Avian Vet.... Find one, if you don't know Avian Vet then try to contact the Zoo in the nearby - they might point you to the right Vet that specializes in birds.
If she's about to lay eggs, make sure Sunny's diet is right - probably some more experienced breeders will kick in.
Cross my fingers that Sunny'll turn out perfectly healthy. That whole Conure's egg laying is somewhere on the back of my head with Cytrynka......

well the one thing about Slovenia is that there are barely any vets that know how to handle birds... most do chockens, so they pretty much grab the sweetest bird my the neck and treat it like a chicken... very bad...

there is one an hour by car from here and another one that's like 4 hours away, that's it... even the veterinary university clinic doesn't really have an exotic vet that knows how to handle parrots...

also I fear that it might stress her out a lot, she was in a car only 2 times till now and she is afraid of the carrier

*deep breath* I tried to stay calm while with her, but after covering her cage my anxiety started acting up... really badly...

yes, she was eating normally, just drinking a bit less, still throwing her pellets into water and eating them soft, so she was drinking... she went to sleep normally, we have this short ritual every night and didn't have any problem today... she should be asleep by now and I'm just scared that if something happens I wouldn't notice it cause it would be ME that's asleep my sleep is normally very deep and I don't even hear her calling early in the morning, how can I hear her in the middle of the night?...

her poop was a bit smaller than normal and a tad softer, if it was just that I'd just think she had a weird day, it happens, but still... not all of it wass ticking to her feathers, about every fith or so? from what I could notice... the colour depends very on which pellets she prefered to eat that day, so some days it's really green, brown the next and some days really red (it freaked me out a lot just after I got her, but I noticed it's the Zupreem stuff that makes it change colour) ... today it was brownish-red, but I didn't notice any blood at all...

I'm sorry you have something maybe scary going on right now.
The points I take that are concerning are the straining. That her poops stuck to her feathers, that's not normal. The swelling of the abdomen. Aslo that the poops sometimes have red in them. Poops can look red after red fruit. But I don't think they should look red from colored zupreem. I feed colored zupreem and it has not made red poops. With all of those things I would be concerned. I'm very sorry you don't have access to a good vet.
If egg binding is what she is experiencing, the only thing that can be done is to find an avain vet to treat her. I hope this isn't the case. Or if she does have an egg she will pass it.

thank you for the answers <3

I noticed this today afternoon... anyone know how long till it really can get serious or really dangerous?

cause if it's not better by morning I'm taking her to the one vet that os an hour away from me, just hope that he is in tomorrow...

Hi Sunny girl,
There really isn't a way to tell. If you felt very concerned based on what you are seeing, you could take her to a place that that can do an x-ray, do not let them do any anesthesia or injections to make her calm. Instead ask them to place her on the x-ray plate and then place a small cardboard box over her and take the x-ray. You can demand that you place her in the x-rays room yourself and you put the box over her. Then leave the room while they take the x-ray and you retrieved her yourself afterwards. They can use tape to hold the box down if needed. This may let you know if an egg is stuck, it may also not work if the egg is too soft. This is not the best way to do an x-ray, and the pictures of the x-ray may not give you information. And you are stuck if you do find out it is an egg, until you can see a vet you trust and who can help.....So you might do best to take her in the morning. Certainly none of this is your fault. It is a fear for all of us with female birds!! You must remember it may not be an egg at all. I feel for you. I wish you best. Keep us posted.

well it's 6am and my vet appointment is at 8am... I could only wish to have a vet that I trusted, but as said before, there are barely any and those are far away from where I live... I was recommended the one that lives about an hour away and is a vet for the Zoo too... I contacted tem yesterday evening and they told me to come in first thing in the morning as I had no idea if this was serious or was just panicking cause I'm an enxiety filled beanball... I'll put her in the travel carrier (whick I luckily bought even if she never goes outside, it's not a place where I can just walk around with a bird on my shoulder...), put a soft towel on the bottom and take some food and water with me so she can eat and drink while in the car...

for now she was making her normal morning birdie noises that she makes every time I wake up this early, she's normally covered till at least 8am (when mum gets up) but mostly 9am (when I normally get up), so we'll see... I'll let her sleep for a bit more and go get the car nice and warm in the meantime...

I'll post again when we're back home... hope for the best

Please update us after your visit. Hopefully all will be good with Sunny. Looking at the Maps, you're probably going to Ljubljana with her?

Please, please, please, Sunny, be OK!. ..

Wishing you a succesfull visit!


I hope you find a great vet and no serious problems.
Best wishes joining you on the way there (and back again).

thank you everyone :60:

yes, I took her to the vet near Ljubljana... I woke her up early, 2 hours before she normally gets up cause we had to be there very early... she was confused and sleepy, but a good girl, no screaming, no trying to eat the transport carrier... I tried to keep it warner than normal in the car for her and she seemed ok but sleepy the whole drive... when we got to the vet and she was out of the blankets that I wrapped around the carrier to keep her out of the nasty wind and snow falling, she started acting more normal, curious and active... she was a bit confused to she was calmer than her normal crazy and loud self, but she was doing fine...

she got an ex-ray made and then got a calcium shot... turns out she was carrying this humongous egg inside of her small body so normally she had such problems... luckily she wasn't eggbound yet as the egg wasn't even fully formed and hardened yet... leaving her there for the day (possibly til morning if needed) was the hardest decision ever, but I just knew that I'd freak her out too much if I drove her up and down twice a day and also panicking at home for every step she'd make as I am prone to overthinking and panicking all too early and for things that normally turn out fine in the end, I can't help myself... luckily she's a very active birdie, flying around every day so she has very well developed muscles and we also feed her good (apart from the veggie hate, but this will turn radically, I'm putting her on a partial diet change to get her to eat more green stuff!)

I was shaking the whole time, I was so scared... this fluffball means everything to me... I just hope that this is the only egg and that she won't make any more than this one... now I need to keep myself busy and my head away from this, so I got some new toys and perches, will deep cleanthe whole cage and set up new things differently...

I'm so glad you managed to find help for Sunny! It's always terrifying when they're ill, especially when they need stay overnight with the next.

Hopefully it will put your mind at ease, knowing she's in good hands that know how to take care of her. Perhaps the vet can advise you on how to prevent, or at least take care in case, this happening again.

I feel what you're going through... First of all, seems like you've found a right Vet who knows what he's doing.. In this case it was probably the right decision to leave her at the Vet's especially it's winter time now so going in & out could be risky.

And I'm not surprised you're shaking and anxious, waiting for some good news from the Vet. I know these fluffballs meen everything to us, but I really hope and deeply believe that Sunny will be allright and things will get back to normal.
Send some best scritches from me to your little girl, get your head busy and please update us with some good news! I'm really looking forward for it.

it's a bit easier knowing what it was and that she seemed to do allright, but I'm still crazy worried... especially cause she's really attatched to us (I live with mum and gramps) and she was never somewhere new and alone, without either of us, this is the first time...


if I'm ever getting another parrot I'll be sure to get a male, no matter what kind it is... :52:

Oh...you did it!!!
You brave, wonderfull, decisive person you! :heart:

Good call!
No matter what happens: Always remember this: you are a great and wonderfull observent and caring parront.


So what is the plan?
They keep an eye on her to see if she can pass that egg-to-be?

SunnyGirl said:

if I'm ever getting another parrot I'll be sure to get a male, no matter what kind it is... :52:

Click to expand...

Heh.. the same thought came to my mind after learing all the egg-laying risks.. But what to do if the fluffball you love most is a hen?..

ChristaNL said:

Oh...you did it!!!
You brave, wonderfull, decisive person you! :heart:

Good call!
No matter what happens: Always remember this: you are a great and wonderfull observent and caring parront.


So what is the plan?
They keep an eye on her to see if she can pass that egg-to-be?

Click to expand...

haha thank you, this means so much :smile015: my mum wasn't even sure why I was making such a fuss yesterday... I mean, she loves the bird, but she somehow didn't see the need to go see a vet, that made my panicking feel even worse... I called her after to tell her and then she freaked too... she didn't even realize it could be anything that might make the bird sick or whatever...

yes, they will keep her well fed and keep an eye on her, hopefully she can pass the egg naturally, if not, the vet will wait till she openes up enough so he can break the shell and suck it out of her... hopefully no surgery...

I need to call in the evening to check the situation, but I have the feeling that she'll have to stay till tomorrow morning... I'd love to have it never happen, but as long as she's fine and doesn't get hurt or ill, god forbid die, it'll be ok...

Aratingettar said:

SunnyGirl said:

if I'm ever getting another parrot I'll be sure to get a male, no matter what kind it is... :52:

Click to expand...

Heh.. the same thought came to my mind after learing all the egg-laying risks.. But what to do if the fluffball you love most is a hen?..

Click to expand...

well even my breeder said that he wasn't really sure but hought it was a girl... it never mattered to me what gender it was... till today... if there is another bird in my life, I'm getting it checked for the gendeer before I get it...

but yes, I love this crazy fluffbutt with my whole heart, she's pretty much the love of my life, till then I'll try to keep this one out of trouble and away from anything that might trigger her like this, if I can...

I'm so glad to hear you got her to the vets. You are a great owner who is tune with their bird! Hopefully Sunny can get out of the hospital quickly, and back home with you!

I love the females

Just always make sure they have enough calcium in their food/ available as extraas-> that is where most problems arise.

(African greys are famous for being calciumdeficienct, so I got lucky and mine were oke with the whole egg-laying. Laying eggs is really is a huge effort for them, so no eggs = better. They really do sound like they are in labour/ I used to sleep next to the cage when it happened, just in case.)

If you are worried about more eggs: just weigh your bird every day at the same time.
(mornings are good: after poop, before breakfast)
Once they start forming eggs - they gain weight very fast!

You have an early warning that way.