Urgent Kimi laid an egg, probably has more

[green&grey]

I'm so lost, I wasn't prepared for this and I have no idea what to do.I'm supposed to leave with my family on a trip soon. Like, a few hours soon.
This evening I walked into the bird room and saw an egg on the bottom of the cage. I presume it is Kimi's, as she seems to have an sort-of ''expanded'' vent and a bit of an egg-butt. The egg itself is intact, and looks well-developed. I removed it.
I don't know when she laid it, it could have been anywhere from yesterday to a few hours ago(I didn't have much time to spend with them due to finals approaching). I don't know how long it takes for a quaker vent to return to normal after laying.

What I'm most concerned with is leaving her alone. My aunt will be coming to check on them, feed them, etc. but I don't exactly trust her to handle the bird correctly to get her to a vet if needed.
My parents most likely won't let me stay home alone with the birds, and quite honestly I'm not sure if that's a good option anyway. I can't drive, and it's very hot out. I can't take her on my own.
Another thing is that she just crashed into a wall too. They got spooked and flew into a corner, and she fell down into computer cables between a radiator and my computer table, while Teri fell on the radiator. She didn't seem too phased by it and got out relatively easily, on her own actually while I was helping Teri out.

Her behavior is nothing out of the ordinary for her. Her poops are big, which I've heard is normal when laying.

I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. There is no way in h-e-double hockey sticks my parents will cancel the trip, and whether I go or stay I will have the same problem.
I'm thinking of setting up a car camera in the room and somehow hooking it up to the internet so I can monitor them. I'm not sure how that would help, though. Or if it could even work.

I'm also sorry if this gets hard to read, I'm gradually losing my composure.. It's been a very stressful day already, it's late and I don't know what to do.
I don't even know what to ask here.. Maybe how long the time is between eggs? Or what the symptoms are when an egg cracks inside a hen? I just need some advice, or calming words, anything.

Edit: I forgot to mention I cooked some cuttlebone I have, I will try putting it into their cage via skewer tomorrow morning.

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Talk about inconvenient timing

Did you actually toss away her egg? I think you're supposed to let them keep the egg.

 

[green&grey]

Talk about inconvenient timing

Did you actually toss away her egg? I think you're supposed to let them keep the egg.

No, it's still here on my table. I'll return it to her now. Thank you for responding.

I'm going to bed soon. Maybe it will help to sleep on this isue, maybe my mind will clear a bit... I just need a plan of action in case something goes wrong, more or less. but it's a hard one to figure out... It's already gonna be less than 4 hours of sleep but it's better than nothing I guess.

I've looked up egg binding and yolk peritonitis symptoms, will be relaying them to my aunt if I end up having to leave... How long can a hen stand something like this? A few hours? A day at most, maybe? Kimi isn't a terribly active bird.
Apparently their clutches can be up to 8 eggs!! That's so many!! And judging by her fluffy egg-butt another is coming tomorrow probably... and another one Sunday. That's at least one egg, possibly two while I would be gone. Does the risk increase with every next egg?? Can I stop egg-laying in the middle of production? Or should I try to encourage hormonal behavior until she passes an entire clutch?

I really hope my mind's just making mountains out of molehills and this wont be as dramatic as I'm picturing it... I've dealt with an egg-laying turtle, which is an even trickier situation than a bird but luckily she passed her eggs without issues. Birds are entirely new territory for me though...

 

[Catherine89]

What kind of bird is she ? I don’t think you can really stop it once they started but I could be wrong. I have a chronic egg layer and was given a lot of good advice from people on here so more people I’m sure will be along to give some advice.

One thing is if she’s laying she is too comfortable, you have to change up her environment , change out her toys, move her cage , change something in her surroundings. Hopefully that will help. Also I would ask your aunt to cover her up early. If you cover her up and don’t let her have more then 10 hrs of day light you might be able to trick her body into thinking it’s winter and that might throw her off and it might stop the egg laying. Definitely give her back the egg. You want her to sit on it . If you pull the egg she will just replace it. They count there eggs. They also have glands or something so that when they sit on them it tells there body to stop producing eggs ( at least that’s what my vets says) I hope this helps and good luck.

 

[Mizzely]

How hard for you!!

At this point I would let it run it's course as much as possible, with instructions to your aunt to put all the eggs in a bowl/nest in the bottom of the cage. Their body continues to produce eggs until it knows that it has a full clutch. Removing them triggers the body to keep producing. Obviously too late now but for the future you can get some fake eggs to flood the nest with to hopefully limit the number she lays.

Otherwise, the best thing is to let it run its course. If she is eating pellets, that will help a lot since all seed diets can be harder for them to lay with.

Try to remember that birds lay eggs all the time! Complications usually are in birds with poor diets and that get little exercise, or are chronic layers. If the first egg was well formed, you have a healthy bird and it should continue

Good luck!!

 

[green&grey]

What kind of bird is she ? I don’t think you can really stop it once they started but I could be wrong. I have a chronic egg layer and was given a lot of good advice from people on here so more people I’m sure will be along to give some advice.

One thing is if she’s laying she is too comfortable, you have to change up her environment , change out her toys, move her cage , change something in her surroundings. Hopefully that will help. Also I would ask your aunt to cover her up early. If you cover her up and don’t let her have more then 10 hrs of day light you might be able to trick her body into thinking it’s winter and that might throw her off and it might stop the egg laying. Definitely give her back the egg. You want her to sit on it . If you pull the egg she will just replace it. They count there eggs. They also have glands or something so that when they sit on them it tells there body to stop producing eggs ( at least that’s what my vets says) I hope this helps and good luck.

Thank you!! She's a Quaker/monk parakeet. I've done just that - closed the blinds in the room and reduced my turtle's UV light timer to about 8 hours a day. also put in a bunch of completely new toys I made for them, along with cuttlefish bone if she needs it.

How hard for you!!

At this point I would let it run it's course as much as possible, with instructions to your aunt to put all the eggs in a bowl/nest in the bottom of the cage. Their body continues to produce eggs until it knows that it has a full clutch. Removing them triggers the body to keep producing. Obviously too late now but for the future you can get some fake eggs to flood the nest with to hopefully limit the number she lays.

Otherwise, the best thing is to let it run its course. If she is eating pellets, that will help a lot since all seed diets can be harder for them to lay with.

Try to remember that birds lay eggs all the time! Complications usually are in birds with poor diets and that get little exercise, or are chronic layers. If the first egg was well formed, you have a healthy bird and it should continue

Good luck!!

Thanks so much!! I feel a lot better now.

I'll look into getting some fake eggs, maybe even making them... Sounds like they would be a huge help. That's quite interesting about birds - reptiles(at least the ones I've dealt with) make a number of eggs and then lay. Not sure why I thought birds do this too since their eggs are huge compared to reptillian eggs, and have a hard shell.

Yes, she is on mostly pellets, and various fresh food. She isn't an especially active bird, but she's no perch potato either... Still, this gives me confidence that she will be okay.

After I come back, you bet I'm gonna hormone-proof their entire room...

 

[Mizzely]

I think for reptiles it's a numbers game for a lot of them, because a lot of them are not cared for by the parents. For birds, they know their is a limit to how much they can physically do as far as feeding, sitting etc. That's why some birds get into breeding condition with high protein/fat diets - the body signals "HEY!! We have lots of calories - lets make babies!!"

It's super cool to think about all of this actually! Bodies are so weird and cool.

Anyways, yes, I know I would feel some anxiety about the situation but you have to trust your girl Usually "no exercise" is for those birds confined to small cages, so I think you are okay.

How long is your trip?

 

[green&grey]

Yeah, organisms and reproduction are really fascinating! We actually had a long conversation about this when we set off.

I'm coming back in two days from now.

I have trust that she can handle it... But the fact that I'm not here to help her if she needs it is what gets me. I was never good with uncertainty, being a kinda anxious/paranoid person. I feel like I'm letting her down for not being with her, and I'm not sure what I'll do if something bad happens... Right now I'm just waiting for my aunt's report, hoping for the best.

 

[Mizzely]

I get it I have anxiety too so its easy for me to SAY to trust her, but if I were in your position I would be feeling the same way

 

[MNR]

When my caique laid eggs for the first time, I totally panicked. When I saw the bulge, I knew it had to be an egg, but I was not sure when it will come out. I know is super-scary, especially if you have to be away.

I don't know about Quakers, but caique is similar size, and she lay every third day.

 

[Catherine89]

I understand your worry too, like I stated before my cockateil to a chronic layer and I worry about her everytime she starts to lay.

 

[green&grey]

Kimi laid another egg! I was so relieved when I heard them both squawk through the phone... By the time the next egg's due I'll probably already be by her side.
According to my aunt this one is also well-formed, though she said it has a little hole in it. She said it looked as if one of them pecked it. Should I let that one sit in the cage too? I could see bacterial development being a concern. I would be able to do so only when I come home, though.

 

[Mizzely]

if it's broken I would probably toss it for the same reason

 

[green&grey]

Finally home. The birds seem to be doing fine, which is good. My mom and I will be monitoring Kimi this week for more eggs.

The egg that was pecked ended up as a special ingredient in their birdy soup. They probably had a lot of fun watching me turn the cage bottom upside down looking for it before I remembered to check the most obvious place.


I'm a bit confused what my next step is after she lays her clutch. At what point do I toss the eggs? There's no way I can care for chicks if any of them are fertilized.

 

[Mizzely]

I would boil them to render them inactive and prevent cracking, and let her sit on them if she wants. She will naturally abandon them after she realizes they are duds, which for Quakers will be about a month

 

[green&grey]

This morning I went into the room to check on Kimi and she was sitting on her egg... It was so adorable

While I was away at school, she laid her third egg! I boiled the two that were intact and returned them to the cage. Thanks for the suggestion! I would have never thought of that.

 

[green&grey]

It's been a few days and she still has kindof a bulge, but no new eggs in sight. Otherwise she's completely fine. It's possible they broke and pulverized it before I could see it but I'm still a bit worried. If she doesn't lay within a day or two I'm taking her to the vet ASAP.

 

[camelotshadow]

Is she relaxed & acting/ breathing OK?

 

[green&grey]

Yes, I'm not noticing anything weird about her. The egg bulge is not as obvious as it was when she started laying too, so maybe I'm just imagining? I'm hoping it doesn't mean the egg collapsed inside of her...

I'm calling the vet tomorrow to see what they can do, in case there's a problem. Possibly to book an appointment too. Sadly it doesn't depend on my own schedule...


Edit: I just wanted to mention, she has 3 whole eggs in her cage at the moment. She doesn't care much for them though, I had to flip through the papers on the bottom to find one of them.

 

[enigma731]

If she was eggbound or had a collapsed egg inside her for a week, you'd know because she'd be really sick. Never a bad idea to check with the vet, but try to relax.