Found an egg at bottom of cage. Help..?

[haylo]

Today, during cage cleans, I found this little broken egg. Bailey is a female budgie and had been very weird this past month or so, and I actually had a vet appt. In the works due to some slight panting, but only on occasion. Then. I found the reason for the weird behavior!

(Chapstick is for size reference ) I've never had this happen before, I think I set up his (well, "her") cage in too close of a way and encouraged this unfortunately. This is the only one I found (unfertilized because my boy and Bailey don't interact enough for that.) I checked Bailey out and saw nothing else, or at least no obvious signs he had more.
(tl;dr/my question: )
Should I be expecting more eggs? I'm still going to plan that vet appt., but what should I do to make him more comfortable for now??

Appreciate any help.. just worried about him.

 

[GaleriaGila]

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Avian Veterinarians

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In my opinion, any of the vets listed here should be better than a regular vet.
International contacts, too.
If none are near you, maybe you could call and ask for a recommendation for somebody in your area.
And... sometimes, distant vets will offer brief thoughts or advice...
Or... sometimes I find a place to start just by Googling "avian veterinarian near ((your location))"
Or maybe a local breeder might help... again, maybe Google?

Another thread on vets from Terry57...

Thread 'Avian Vet Resources'

Feb 24, 2022

After a suggestion by a member, @Abu Colo, the Mod Team decided to create a list of veterinarians around the world who see birds. This was something we had discussed a few years ago, but the task seemed so large that we didn't get very far. However, the need is there and we decided that the time was right to get it done.
Not all the vets listed are CAVs, but all treat birds from what we could determine.
To find out if a vet is a CAV, you can search the websites of the ones in your area.
We started working...​

• Terry57
• Replies: 59
• Forum: General Health Care

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Good luck!

 

[haylo]

Thank you! I have one nearby I have been too, and one who is actually a walk-in emergency vet (albeit they take many animals, they have an in-house avian certified veterinarian. I may try and get an appt. with them if possible. Appreciate it. Do you know anywhere credible I could maybe look/ask to get information on what to do in the meantime, before a vet?

He is acting more normal now, and I think changing his cage decreased some of those hormones which is nice. But, he still should be seen ofc.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

A couple of my budgies are laying eggs right now, too. The panting you describe is often part of a females hormonal behavior but get her checked out anyway. You may also notice that Bailey's poops are huge and wet. That's normal when females are laying eggs. They usually lay one every other day so you should expect to see more. The "usual" number of eggs is about 6, but there could be more or fewer.
Ask your vet about how you should handle her egg laying. You may need to add a good calcium supplement to her water so she doesn't become deficient. It could lead to egg binding which is usually fatal in budgies.

I have two unwanted egg laying situations right now. I have a large cage with 4 females and at least one of them is laying eggs after "mating" with another female. I find an egg broken on the cage floor every two days. I throw it away when I find it. Last month I found one every other day until 6 were laid, then it stopped for a couple weeks. It just started up again because I found another egg this morning. I'm not happy about this but there isn't much I can do.

The other is a 6 month old female Joey that I hand raised. She started going hormonal and when I let her out of her cage, two males try to mate with her and she encourages it. I'm isolating Joey and replacing her eggs with dummy eggs with a plan to let her complete her clutch and sit on them for a few days before I remove them and hope the cycle breaks. Right now she's half heartedly sitting on four dummy eggs.

Unless Bailey is hanging around the egg I would just throw it out, not replace it with a pastic dummy egg, and discuss it with her vet.

 

[haylo]

usually lay one every other day so

A couple of my budgies are laying eggs right now, too. The panting you describe is often part of a females hormonal behavior but get her checked out anyway. You may also notice that Bailey's poops are huge and wet. That's normal when females are laying eggs. They usually lay one every other day so you should expect to see more. The "usual" number of eggs is about 6, but there could be more or fewer.
Ask your vet about how you should handle her egg laying. You may need to add a good calcium supplement to her water so she doesn't become deficient. It could lead to egg binding which is usually fatal in budgies.

I have two unwanted egg laying situations right now. I have a large cage with 4 females and at least one of them is laying eggs after "mating" with another female. I find an egg broken on the cage floor every two days. I throw it away when I find it. Last month I found one every other day until 6 were laid, then it stopped for a couple weeks. It just started up again because I found another egg this morning. I'm not happy about this but there isn't much I can do.

The other is a 6 month old female Joey that I hand raised. She started going hormonal and when I let her out of her cage, two males try to mate with her and she encourages it. I'm isolating Joey and replacing her eggs with dummy eggs with a plan to let her complete her clutch and sit on them for a few days before I remove them and hope the cycle breaks. Right now she's half heartedly sitting on four dummy eggs.

Unless Bailey is hanging around the egg I would just throw it out, not replace it with a pastic dummy egg, and discuss it with her vet.

Thank you so much -- this was super helpful! I've had Bailey for four years but this is the first time this has ever happened. I'm still gonna get them a vet appt. but I'm a little less worried. I was wondering if I needed to replace them but thank you for that note, too.

In terms of a calcium supplement yes that was part of my agenda for the day, I know it's a big thing to get calcium supplements but wasn't sure if there was anything else big I should be aware of.
I plan to keep an eye on the bottom of the cage, she seems better now/ less hormonal or weird, but I don't know if there's more to come or not. I checked her yesterday and she seemed less chunky and (what I was worried I'd missed) not egg bound, thankfully.

Bailey lives alone since my male is partially blind, so that takes one concern away. Unless she shows interest I am just going to keep removing any other eggs, should I find them. Thanks again.... hearing someone who's seen this happen was really reassuring haha. I knew it wasn't totally crazy, but I hadn't ever heard how to handle it!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

The horrors of egg binding! I've lost a budgie to egg binding and it's not something I'll ever forget. It always seems to happen after hours or on a weekend when help is not available. Since then I've studied egg binding to try to be prepared in the event it happens again. I don't want to scare anyone, but anyone with a female bird that may lay eggs should know about egg binding and what to do if it occurs.

Symptoms of being egg bound are pretty obvious. Being chunky or heavy near the vent isn't one of them. An egg bound hen will at first be restless and appear to be straining. An egg that's expected (usually every two days) doesn't appear. If she's sitting on a partial clutch in a nest box she will stop brooding them, kick them aside and climb around the cage. She will finally settle to the cage floor and lose the ability to use her legs (paralysis from the egg pressing on the nerves and vessels in her lower pelvis). She will pant and struggle and finally either pass the egg or die. Usually she will die. This all happens over a period of a few hours. It's a painful horrible way for her to die and horrible to watch. If you can get her to a certified avian vet immediately she can possibly be saved but it's hard with small birds like budgies. Larger parrots can be saved more easily. If you suspect your bird is egg bound call your avian vet right away to get her in. There isn't a good substitute for professional help when it occurs.

Home remedies include putting her in a warm humid environment like a steamy bathroom and putting lubricant like olive oil on her vent. They seldom work but are worth a try.

Egg laying requires muscles of the reproductive tract to contract strongly to expel the egg. Muscle contraction requires adequate blood calcium. If egg labor lasts a long time or she's calcium deficient to start and her blood calcium can drop too low for the muscles to contract strongly and the egg will get stuck in the lower pelvis.

The only medical remedy really proven to help is to give the egg bound hen a few drops of straight liquid calcium supplement directly into her mouth (Calcivet is perfect). Her blood calcium will rise rapidly and her muscles may be able to contract strongly enough to expel the egg and save her life. This is probably the first thing a vet will try in an emergency. If that doesn't work they can try to manually expel the egg by feeling for it in her lower abdomen and pressing behind it until it's pushed out the vent. Don't try this yourself because the egg can break inside her causing egg peritonitis (inflammation and infection) and the shell fragments can damage the tissues.

Make sure your female birds have a lot of calcium in their diet to try to prevent egg binding. However, it doesn't always prevent it because during egg labor she needs immediate adequate blood calcium. The normal range for blood calcium levels is pretty narrow and her level can drop quickly during egg labor. Her long term calcium stores in her bones are a source but her body can't always access them quickly enough to raise her blood calcium during active laying. That's why liquid calcium in her mouth can help faster. You should have a bottle on hand at all times if you have female birds that are, or may in the future be, laying eggs. If you don't have an avian vet please try to establish a relationship with one
It's easier to be seen in an emergency if your bird(s) are existing patients.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I forgot some other things. Egg binding is more common in birds that are overweight. Excess fat in the abdomen crowds the cavity making egg laying more difficult. In addition, a bird that isn't physically fit from frequent out of cage time to fly and get other exercise is more likely to get egg bound. If you can't let your bird free fly in a room, make sure they have a cage that's large enough for them to get exercise in their cage and don't overfeed them high calorie foods.

 

[rheashard2]

I enjoy reading about what to do for egg laying/binding. I have a female CAG that I keep on the alert.

 

[haylo]

I forgot some other things. Egg binding is more common in birds that are overweight. Excess fat in the abdomen crowds the cavity making egg laying more difficult. In addition, a bird that isn't physically fit from frequent out of cage time to fly and get other exercise is more likely to get egg bound. If you can't let your bird free fly in a room, make sure they have a cage that's large enough for them to get exercise in their cage and don't overfeed them high calorie foods.

Thank you tons. This is honestly exactly the kind of information I need just to stay alert incase something does happen. I've been working on their diet, Baileys especially , which is part of why my concern is there. She does have a flight cage though, and gets outside time to atleast slightly balance a less-than-ideal diet. Planning on picking up a new pellet brand to try one more (roudybush this time) to keep working on the diet, but i might want her to be 100% okay first. I'm lucky in the vet department - theres one my other bird has seen, though I want to establish both as patients. The other is a local emergency vet that takes only day-of appts. or walk-ins, but they have an in-house CAV... hoping I never need them but its really nice to know they're around. I'm planning to order the calcium supplement you mentioned and possibly find another in the meantime to keep around just incase of an emergency/possibly to microdose until I can get her into a vet? But I don't want to supplement too much without the consultation of a professional, of course.

I'm hoping I'll never need it but 100% appreciate all the information. Should I have some kind of lay/nest box in there? since the one egg I've seen so far was infertile, and she didn't seem to mind it landed on the floor, I didn't think it was smart to add one but I'm not sure if having something would make it easier for her to pass the eggs? Nest or flat perch, etc..

 

[DonnaBudgie]

A calcium supplement in her water dosed as it says on the bottle is a really good thing to do while a female is in egg laying mode.

It's very common for females to lay eggs in a cage or aviary. I asked a gentleman who has an aviary how often he finds eggs on the floor of the aviary and he said it was pretty frequent. She will just lay the eggs on the bottom of the cage, from a perch, or in a food dish. You don't need to add a nest box. If you want to add a flat platform perch that would be good and it may make laying the eggs more comfortable for her. They make corner shaped ones.

It's great that she's seeing a good vet soon. I don't think you should worry too much. Budgies lay eggs safely all the time. Egg binding isn't common but it isn't rare either. Bailey, at over 4 years old, is past her prime for breeding and that may make her at higher risk than a young bird especially if she's overweight and out of shape. I'd discuss all of this with her vet. Let me know what he says. I'm always trying to learn as much as I can about budgie health and well-being.

 

[haylo]

A calcium supplement in her water dosed as it says on the bottle is a really good thing to do while a female is in egg laying mode.

It's very common for females to lay eggs in a cage or aviary. I asked a gentleman who has an aviary how often he finds eggs on the floor of the aviary and he said it was pretty frequent. She will just lay the eggs on the bottom of the cage, from a perch, or in a food dish. You don't need to add a nest box. If you want to add a flat platform perch that would be good and it may make laying the eggs more comfortable for her. They make corner shaped ones.

It's great that she's seeing a good vet soon. I don't think you should worry too much. Budgies lay eggs safely all the time. Egg binding isn't common but it isn't rare either. Bailey, at over 4 years old, is past her prime for breeding and that may make her at higher risk than a young bird especially if she's overweight and out of shape. I'd discuss all of this with her vet. Let me know what he says. I'm always trying to learn as much as I can about budgie health and well-being.

I'll absolutely update as soon as I go. I'm hoping to get out to a store today, and get the vet planned for hopefully sooner than later or I'll go to the walk-in. Thanks again

 

[haylo]

Just an update, I got a vet appt... for may 28th. Not as soon as I would've liked but it was only even that close due to cancellation. If Bailey shows signs of any worse health, especially that are related to egg-binding or further illness unrelated to being broody/laying, I'm going to that walk-in, but for now I'm just keeping a keen eye day by day. Calcium supplement should hopefully be here within the next day or two, along with a flat perch, a "PRIME" brand multivitamin/supplement which I've heard good things about. Benj also got a new toy I need to replace. (and something for my frog, but that's hardly relevant to y'all lol) I'll keep this updated with how it all goes. Thanks again for everyones help

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I love frogs! I used to have a baby snapping Turtle named Snappy!
I'm sure all will be okay. It good to have information and a plan.

 

[haylo]

I love frogs! I used to have a baby snapping Turtle named Snappy!
I'm sure all will be okay. It good to have information and a plan.

Aw that's cool! I've got a little tomato frog. Maybe someday I'll post pictures here in the "unrelated to birds" areas lol. Turtles seem super fun! I've toyed with getting one, but for now.. i am out of space for more animals. Someday, though.

Im feeling better about it, the information you gave was genuinely really helpful and it let me make that plan. So, it's out of my hands (for now!!) and just a waiting game. But I've got high hopes it'll be all good.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I had to share the Giant Budgie Potty my little egg layer deposited for me today during a break from sitting on her plastic eggs, Coke bottle cap for scale!

 

[haylo]

Jesus. Can't say I've ever seen that... it's pretty crazy.

Although Benj' occasionally dropped some interesting ones (later investigated by vet, he's fine.) just from sitting a while.. not like that!

Also came here to report supplements have arrived. And Bailey, although clearly still in a broody mood (was allowed outside and immediately sat in empty food dish. Cute, but... preferably no. I turned open dishes upside-down for now. I'm assuming I want to discourage *more* nesting behavior?)

She hasn't laid any other eggs, so I'm not sure if I should be expecting anything, but Bailey has seemed okay or even a bit better now. Playing more (pictures included of her adventure today) but I assume will relax on the new flat perch that came in, too. She hasn't been moving much *inside* her cage so I'm getting a bit of both signals.

Obv still waiting till that vet appointment to call it all good, but with supplements around and my ridiculously playful girl back in full swing -- I'm more optimistic now. Still keeping eyes wide -- every morning and every night at minimum, I check. But seems we'll good for a while, now. I'll update this if anything crazy happen/ any other responses / and after to mention what the vet says. But thank you all again, for your interest and especially help. Feeling a lot less nervous then I was, and I hope Bailey is feeling more comfortable, too.

(<-the star of my concerns all week. I'm just happy she seems to be doing okay. )

 

[DonnaBudgie]

What is she standing on?

 

[haylo]

What is she standing on?

Its a cat scratcher, actually! Bailey was shredding cardboard I keep under Benj's cage a lot, so I bought one to keep her occupied. It's cardboard with these plastic jingle-bell balls in the slots in the middle. She hasn't touched it once since i brought it home but had a sudden interest today.

I actually ended up adding about a million more plastic balls to those little slots because she kept trying to go inside of them (and was actually fitting...) and I didn't want that so I made it so there was no room and she could only shred the cardboard. Right now its just on top of Benji's cage, where she often plays.

Since it's just cardboard, I never worried about it much. Although I never expected her to try crawling inside the little slots, it was an easy fix and she was still enjoying it. Now I've just got to watch that none of those balls break.

Is there any reason its unsafe though? Just checking haha

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I'd love to get one for my beaver budgie Rocky to chew on. She will destroy it very fast. Maybe I'll get one and take pictures of her progress.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Judging from the color of her cere she doesn't look like she's very hormonal right now. It's usually browner and crusty when they're breeding. She looks very healthy.