First time dealing with egg laying and worried

[milliegirlsmama]

Hi!
So I have a female lovebird and I did not know she was a female until she laid an egg two days ago. I of course immediately started reading a bunch of stuff and have already started putting her in darkness for 16 hours out of the day to put her in the Winter/non egg laying mindset. I have also put some calcium supplement in her food to combat any potential calcium deficiencies that would lead to egg binding.
Speaking of which, that is my biggest fear and I am an anxious person and I really don’t want her to die from any egg complications. She is eating like normal and still jumps around her cage so there is no lethargy present in her BUT this morning I noticed her tail wagging a lot and that is allegedly an often reported symptom of egg binding. Anyway, she laid the egg in her little bed that I have in the cage. I know I’m supposed to take anything out of the cage that encourages nesting but when should I take the bed out?? Also, she gets very defensive about the egg so it would be hard for me to take it out of the bed. I’ve read that I am supposed to let her be with it for 3 weeks before I take it out and that I’m supposed to do the 16 hours in the dark thing for two weeks.

I am sorry for the long post but any and all advice would be appreciated, thank you!

 

[LaManuka]

Welcome to the forums, milliegirlsmama, I'm sorry that it's under these worrying circumstances however.

What have you been doing with the eggs that your lovebird has laid so far? They should be left with your little hen for her to work off her maternal yearnings on, as taking them away too early will generally result in her laying more to replace them.

My lorikeet Lilly is a notorious little chronic egg layer. In 2019 she presented me with three clutches of infertile eggs, because apparently for six months of the year I'm her mum but for the rest of the time I am her “boyfriend” You can buy fake eggs from dummyeggs.com and swap her own eggs out, that way your hen can sit on those to her heart’s content until she loses interest and it *should* help to prevent her from laying any more. You can also boil the eggs that she's laid in order to make them a bit more durable, because she really should be left to sit on those eggs until realises they're not going to hatch and she loses interest of her own accord, which might take three or four weeks.

Once this cycle finally comes to an end, you should then remove anything from her reach that is even remotely nesty in appearance - that "little bed" that you mention is probably going to have to go - and try to decrease highly energy dense food, so more veg and less fruit for example. I know how worrying this can be so I wish you all the very best!

 

[milliegirlsmama]

Welcome to the forums, milliegirlsmama, I'm sorry that it's under these worrying circumstances however.

What have you been doing with the eggs that your lovebird has laid so far? They should be left with your little hen for her to work off her maternal yearnings on, as taking them away too early will generally result in her laying more to replace them.

My lorikeet Lilly is a notorious little chronic egg layer. In 2019 year she presented me with three clutches of infertile eggs, because apparently for six months of the year I'm her mum but for the rest of the time I am her “boyfriend” You can buy fake eggs from dummyeggs.com and swap her own eggs out, that way your hen can sit on those to her heart’s content until she loses interest and it *should* help to prevent her from laying any more. You can also boil the eggs that she's laid in order to make them a bit more durable, because she really should be left to sit on those eggs until realises they're not going to hatch and she loses interest of her own accord, which might take three or four weeks.

Once this cycle finally comes to an end, you should then remove anything from her reach that is even remotely nesty in appearance - that "little bed" that you mention is probably going to have to go - and try to decrease highly energy dense food, so more veg and less fruit for example. I know how worrying this can be so I wish you all the very best!

Thank you so much for your reply! She’s only lain one egg thus far, and I have left alone as advised from different articles! I am just wondering if she’s going to lay anymore and also just hoping the tail wagging isn’t a negative sign. If anything, in the next couple weeks I’ll take her to the vet to make sure everything is okay. I will leave the bed in until a couple weeks from now when she should hopefully lose interest in the egg. Thanks again!

 

[LaManuka]

You're most welcome!

From what I can gather from the interwebz, lovebirds can lay up to 4 or even 6 eggs in a clutch, so there is a good chance there may be more eggs on the way. I am not sure about how long the interval is between eggs, but someone else may have some info for you about that.

If you're going to leave the eggs that she lays with her, my recommendation would be that you boil them to a) give them a bit more durability and b) so that if she does manage to break the shell through determined sitting, it means that you won't have a nasty smelly mess to clean off of your birdie! My Lilly managed to break hers after a week/10 days or so, so I replaced hers with a dummy egg to prevent her from laying any more, and she was perfectly happy sitting on that. Keep an eye out for signs of distress like laboured breathing, sitting at the bottom of her cage or prolonged straining which may be an indicator of egg-binding, in which case you will need to seek medical attention urgently.

Keep us posted and let us know how she goes, won't you?

 

[Emeral]

It's safer to be on the cautious side and there is a first time for everyone and everything. So, I am glad you asked.

However, egg binding can go away as soon as she lay the egg. I recommend, helping her to lay the rest by..........

1) letting her out to fly and to play outside of her cage, as much as she wants. Moving her legs and wings helps in laying the eggs.

The most difficult one is the first egg for the first time. But she had already done that so I think, she will be fine to lay the rest.

Birds wagging tail also means, "I am so happy I am so proud, come and see this."
They also do this after a shower or after receiving treats. So no worries.

2) it's good to give calcium supplements, well done. I would also give her high energy, easy to digest food such as boiled pumpkin, banana, boiled chicken egg every morning. (If she never had any, you might have to show her that it is delicious by eating it and making lots of yummy noise to make her curious.)

3) do not remove any thing in her cage. So she can feel relax and laid out the rest of all her eggs.

It's a good idea to locate bird's vets before you needed one. Read their reviews. But I wouldn't take her there unless it is necessary. Let's wait and see. Because I want her to relax and let she lay her eggs at her own pace. You may see her bottom is visibly expanded, or is seen bulged out. Take a photo every morning for comparison. You may see her walking more slowly. This is normal. This is not egg binding.

4) when will it be necessary? When will egg binding seems a serious health issue?

4.1)....she stands on the cage floor, bending, fluffing, not walking, refusing to come out

4.2)....there are big piles of poop in her cage, about 3-4 times bigger than her normal poop. You will know when you see one.

When you see this, count this as a day 1.
Make an avian vet's appointment. Meanwhile, keep her cage warm with lots of food and drinks. She is to be allowed an undisturbed time to concentrate while still need to move about to excercise every morning.

I would still, give her at least 3 to 4 days from day 1 to try on her own. (If she is on all seeds diet, do not wait more than 3 to 4 days to take her to the vet.)

If she is eating and drinking well, plus moving about even though much slower. From day 1, depending on her strength, I will probably try to give her more time, as much as 5 or 6 days in total. If she is able to lay her egg by herself, it is much better than letting the vet do it.


(If it comes to the vet, removing the egg is done by hand squeezing (risk breaking it and cutting her inside) or other equipmental procedures under anesthetic. Ask about the recovery time if you have to choose. These invasive procedures are Not my first choice. So I would take her there only when she clearly can not lay and is in pain.)

5)Afterwards, she will be sitting, keeping them warm for another 2 to 3weeks. Hopefully she will loose interest soon. Then, you can remove and give her cage a big cleaning.

Hope this helps

 

[milliegirlsmama]

It's safer to be on the cautious side and there is a first time for everyone and everything. So, I am glad you asked.

However, egg binding can go away as soon as she lay the egg. I recommend, helping her to lay the rest by..........

1) letting her out to fly and to play outside of her cage, as much as she wants. Moving her legs and wings helps in laying the eggs.

The most difficult one is the first egg for the first time. But she had already done that so I think, she will be fine to lay the rest.

Birds wagging tail also means, "I am so happy I am so proud, come and see this."
They also do this after a shower or after receiving treats. So no worries.

2) it's good to give calcium supplements, well done. I would also give her high energy, easy to digest food such as boiled pumpkin, banana, boiled chicken egg every morning. (If she never had any, you might have to show her that it is delicious by eating it and making lots of yummy noise to make her curious.)

3) do not remove any thing in her cage. So she can feel relax and laid out the rest of all her eggs.

It's a good idea to locate bird's vets before you needed one. Read their reviews. But I wouldn't take her there unless it is necessary. Let's wait and see. Because I want her to relax and let she lay her eggs at her own pace. You may see her bottom is visibly expanded, or is seen bulged out. Take a photo every morning for comparison. You may see her walking more slowly. This is normal. This is not egg binding.

4) when will it be necessary? When will egg binding seems a serious health issue?

4.1)....she stands on the cage floor, bending, fluffing, not walking, refusing to come out

4.2)....there are big piles of poop in her cage, about 3-4 times bigger than her normal poop. You will know when you see one.

When you see this, count this as a day 1.
Make an avian vet's appointment. Meanwhile, keep her cage warm with lots of food and drinks. She is to be allowed an undisturbed time to concentrate while still need to move about to excercise every morning.

I would still, give her at least 3 to 4 days from day 1 to try on her own. (If she is on all seeds diet, do not wait more than 3 to 4 days to take her to the vet.)

If she is eating and drinking well, plus moving about even though much slower. From day 1, depending on her strength, I will probably try to give her more time, as much as 5 or 6 days in total. If she is able to lay her egg by herself, it is much better than letting the vet do it.


(If it comes to the vet, removing the egg is done by hand squeezing (risk breaking it and cutting her inside) or other equipmental procedures under anesthetic. Ask about the recovery time if you have to choose. These invasive procedures are Not my first choice. So I would take her there only when she clearly can not lay and is in pain.)

5)Afterwards, she will be sitting, keeping them warm for another 2 to 3weeks. Hopefully she will loose interest soon. Then, you can remove and give her cage a big cleaning.

Hope this helps

That was so helpful thank you so much! My anxiety is way lower because at this point she’s lain 3 eggs so I’m pretty sure she’s got it lol! I was keeping her cage closed because I read something saying that if she is used to being out all the time then not to let her out as much, but I’ll have the door open and let her do her thing in the morning. In the actual cage she jumps around and eats/drinks normally so she’s definitely active and I think everything will be fine

 

[milliegirlsmama]

You're most welcome!

From what I can gather from the interwebz, lovebirds can lay up to 4 or even 6 eggs in a clutch, so there is a good chance there may be more eggs on the way. I am not sure about how long the interval is between eggs, but someone else may have some info for you about that.

If you're going to leave the eggs that she lays with her, my recommendation would be that you boil them to a) give them a bit more durability and b) so that if she does manage to break the shell through determined sitting, it means that you won't have a nasty smelly mess to clean off of your birdie! My Lilly managed to break hers after a week/10 days or so, so I replaced hers with a dummy egg to prevent her from laying any more, and she was perfectly happy sitting on that. Keep an eye out for signs of distress like laboured breathing, sitting at the bottom of her cage or prolonged straining which may be an indicator of egg-binding, in which case you will need to seek medical attention urgently.

Keep us posted and let us know how she goes, won't you?

Hi!

so I just wanted to provide some updates! She ended up laying a total of 3 eggs and I let them stay there for 3 weeks and took one egg out every other day until her bed was empty and then I took out the bed (to discourage nesting)! So I’ve recently moved and this morning I just drove her from my parents house to my apartment. What are the recommendations for moving your bird to a new place? My plan was to leave her in the cage so she could just get used to the space and then in a couple days I was going to let her out. Please provide any other advice you may have!

 

[itzjbean]

bed seemed to be the culprit here!

No beds, nesting materials, or anything like that. Keep her on a shorter day cycle, this is what I find helps my female kjeep from laying -- I turn their lights on at 6:30am and then turn them off at 5:15pm. Keep her light schedule LESS than 12 hours, otherwise if its 12 horus or more light a day, she will be more enticed to lay.

Tips for moving a bird to a new place....start a routine as soon as you get her home. Keep it quiet and calm for the first few days. When you take her out of her cage, keep all windows curtains closed and walk her around the apartment slowly. Let her get used to the new apartment for a few days before letting her out on her own. Try to be with her as much as possible in your new apartment, it's unfamiliar and she'll be more comfortable with you there as much as possible.

Good luck!! My birds just had babies that are weaning so I get the egg laying thing!