Egg Binding

[kme3388]

I wanted to make a post about egg binding. I’ve read quite a few posts in here the past few years about egg binding, and female parrots passing away. I’m sorry for anyone’s loss. I wish there was a better way.

I myself am in a predicament because I have 2 conures who are in love. They do everything together. I kept them in separate cages for a few years. This past fall I decided to let them share a cage. Now they are mating, and my female is trying to lay an egg. They are so incredibly happy. I’ve pulled out anything that could be considered nesting material from their cage. She’s now trying to make a nest in a food bowl. She’s being relentless. I’d prefer to not run into an egg binding situation if anyone has suggestions. I am trying to not encourage egg laying, or mating.

For those with personal experience with this topic please do share your experiences.

Are there things to help these situations?

 

[JjEjFjF]

To HELP prevent binding, calcium is of the utmost importance.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Calcium and overall good diet and physical fitness. Overweight, sedentary hens are much more likely to egg bind. Excess Intra-abdominal fat crowds the organs and narrows the passageway and weak muscles make it harder for hens to lay the eggs.
Egg binding is a very painful way for a bird to die and it's tragic to watch.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

One thing we as humans need to keep in mind is that athough birds can bond very strongly, their reproductive behavior (mating, laying eggs, raising chicks) is driven by hormones, not love, and breeding birds are not "happy" doing what they're doing. They have no choice. Breeding is hard work, physically draining, and can be dangerous to or even kill the hen. Once their "kids" leave the nest and are weaned, any bond with them is broken- they're just other birds to them.

The difficult part is stopping them before you're overrun with birds or their health suffers. In the wild, breeding is seasonal, based on avalability of adequate food and water and ample daylight hours to forage and feed chicks. They mate "for life", but the death of a mate from predators, injury or illness is fairly common, and the survivor usually pairs up with a new mate and continues to breed. Stopping the cycle in captivity can be very challenging, and may require physical separation if removing any nesting sites and materials doesn't help.

 

[kme3388]

I just wanted to get a thread going on egg binding as it can have deadly consequences. I think it’s a very important topic for people that have female parrots. There has been so many sad story’s on here. I’ve heard of a few at shelters too. Hopefully people with a lot more experience than me can comment on what to look for. What actions can be taken. Obviously finding a vet is important, and should be the first priority. This can be close to impossible on a weekend at midnight for a parrot owner.

 

[jeaner]

Azure's first emergency visit was being egg bound. Fortunately she is not one to hide herself or how she feels. After speaking with her vet I decided to drive up (her vet is about an hour away.) I was stuck in traffic so ended up going to the exotic emergency clinic. When they saw a large image, they had no clue it was even an egg. They did all kinds of tests of course and $3000 later I was told she was in fact egg bound and they were giving her everything they could to help her. As always, there is so much more to the story but in the end we took her home and she laid the egg. It was not normal. It was, as silly as this sounds, an abomination. It had 2 shells and looked like it had feathers sticking out all over. It did not of course, but I can't imagine the pain she was going through. We took pictures to send the vet who we saw 2 days later with egg in tow and also sent them to the emergency clinic. Everyone was pretty freaked out except my vet. So, we put her on the drug that turns off her hormones and so far so good. No more of that terror for anyone.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

What a nightmare! I hope Azure is okay. lease post those pictures of the egg.
How did they treat her egg binding? Did they give her something to help her pass the egg?