Its a Girl!

[CrayZbirdlady]

Its official, its a girl and she laid her first egg today.
Help! This is my first female bird and how to I handle this? Do I let her have her egg? It was laid outside her cage, do I put it in her cage so she can sit on it or get rid of it? I'm petrified of her getting egg bound and how can I prevent that from happening and if it does what are the signs to look for?

 

[jenphilly]

Red raspberry leaf herbal tea supplement is a great add if you are worried about eggs...

Here is a listing of teas that are suggested for birds... Tea Time

As for letting her have the egg, if she did not nest and it was outside the cage, I would remove it. If she is acting like she is looking for it or continues to lay, you can purchase fake bird eggs and give them to her in place of the eggs she laid.

 

[RavensGryf]

I've never had a hen lay and only have males now, so I can't give advice there, but I wanted to ask what kind of bird you have?
I can just imagine what you're going through. I'd be the same way with the same questions. I typically love female bird personality but I'm scared to have one! I know there will be more answers here, and they will give you more tips on what to do. Good luck.

 

[TessieB]

I usually remove the egg from the bird cage and make an ornament out of it. I empty the egg of its contents, and turn it to a work of art. Well, according to me its a work of art.

 

[CrayZbirdlady]

Thank You everyone!
KC is a yellow sided green cheek conure and my first female. She is our little Diva! Thank you for the recommended teas. She really likes her camomile tea that she has everynight before bed time and I'm sure she will like many of those other kinds too. I have emptied the egg and I'm letting it dry. I'm gonna paint it and keep it somewhere special. Its so close to Easter I have to decorate it, lol.
Luckily there have not been any more eggs and I hope this doesn't happen a lot. I'll be so worried if it does happy frequently.

 

[jenphilly]

If she keeps laying eggs, you might want to talk to you avain vet about Lupron (spelling?) shots. We have a female tiel that was a chronic egg layer and we lost her due to health problems because her system became so compromised. Knowing what we do now, I would insist on the shots if we had a female keep laying eggs. Rukia was our first bird and it was the hardest lesson to learn. Tiels have more of the chronic egg laying tendency, so don't worry too much, just a thought to stash away in case she keeps laying.

I would check her belly once in a while too to feel for an egg bump to make sure she does not get egg bound. Again, not that its likely, but having a female bird, its one of those things to be aware of and check for. Preventative poke could save her life! The red raspberry leaf is excellent for this tho, apparently some zoos actually use it for their female birds as a treatment. I just purchased a lb bag of the red rasphberry leaf and we have started all the birds, not just girls, because it is also an excellent source of calcium, so helpful to everyone!

Hopefully its a one time seasonal thing and she just gave you a wonderful keepsake!