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Pictures egg laying complications?

Kaliska

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My diamond doves started laying. The male has been all eager for eggs but the female took some increase in lighting and food variety. They are getting a dove mix and I add a little egg laying chicken supplement as crumbles with calcium and vit D. They appear to eat it. She has a cuttlebone. I shaved some off to give her more options. She laid one egg yesterday and sat it overnight but the male has been on it all today. The hen isn't looking as energetic as normal. She does eat, drink, perch, and sometimes pace but she fluffs a lot, she's rather round in the abdomen, and her eyes sometimes droop. I'm not sure if she's just stressed making the next egg or something is wrong. I have a couple pics and I'm trying ot load a short vid to youtube.



 

Lady Jane

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I could be a bound up egg inside of her. One thing you could try is to take her in a steamy bathroom for the moisture for a while and see if that helps. Can you get to a vet today? Egg binding can be a life threatening event for a hen. This article is about cockatiels but can apply to other species also. As this article says keep in mind most home remedies will not work.

Egg Binding in cockatiels, Egg Bound birds, what to do for an egg bound bird, symptoms of egg binding,
treatment for egg binding in cockatiels, parakeets, canaries, finches, parrots, Emergency Medical treatment
for egg binding birds
 
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Birdbabe

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Laying eggs takes alot out of her, if she laid yesterday, she will most likely have another tomorrow or by the next day, keep her hydrated and warm. I always say trust your gut, if she doesn't seem right, then best to have her checked.
 

Kaliska

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She looks worse today. I setup a steam box since there isn't a warm room in my house. I have plastic shoe boxes with holes drilled in the lid for transporting gerbils and I lined it with paper towels, added some warm water, and set one end under my reptile light with the reptile thermometer probe in it. Hopefully it does not do more harm than good. The male keeps not sitting on the egg at night and going back in the morning. I'd artificially incubate but I don't want to handfeed that small of baby birds from day 1. Odds of survival are low. Hopefully this egg passes today and they will then go ahead and take turns incubating them. This may be why the previous owner only got 1 chick out of their clutch. The first egg was partially incubated and died.
 

Lady Jane

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Wishing you all the best in this endeavor. Here is a bit more info:

For a bird that shows a minimum of depression, treatment may include:

  • Elevation of the humidity and increasing the environmental temperature to 85-95°F
  • Lubrication of the vent
  • Injection of calcium, and possibly vitamins A, D, and E, and selenium
  • Administration of fluids and dextrose
  • Injection of oxytocin or arginine vasotocin, or application of a prostaglandin gel. These medications cause contraction of the reproductive tract and may result in the passing of the egg. They should not be used if an obstruction is present.
  • Continued access to food and water
A more severely affected bird must be treated for shock first, and then stabilized. After stabilization, additional treatment may include:

  • Administration of antibiotics and possibly short-acting corticosteroids

  • Manual removal of the egg by the veterinarian through applying gentle pressure with the fingers. This may require anesthesia.

  • Cleaning and repair of any prolapsed tissues

  • Ovocentesis, in which the contents of the retained egg can be removed by passing a needle into the egg visible at the cloaca or through the skin of the abdomen and into the egg (percutaneous ovocentesis) if the egg is not visible. This will make the egg smaller, and easier to pass.

  • Abdominal surgery if the egg reproductive tract is ruptured, the egg has developed outside of the reproductive tract (ectopic egg), or there is an obstruction

  • Follow-up care with antibiotics, fluids, appropriate environmental temperature and humidity, and nutritional supplementation
 

Kaliska

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No egg but she looks better and is back to sitting next to the male a little fluffed up and I think her breathing is a little faster but she's more alert. She passed several small droppings in the container. I see nothing at her vent or feel directly around it. She's not straining. She drank water. They have an infrared heat bulb because of the old farmhouse sometimes getting cool. We also already blocked 3 sides of their cage and put fleece over the top to help with the drafts and temps. I'm going to keep shaving cuttlebone for her because she was really interested in that. I'm not sure if it's as useful in birds after the egg is formed as mammals but we often give tums for the calcium to rabbits or guinea pigs to help with slowed birth before going to oxytocin.

Update in process; the male left the nest to get seed and she is in it circling and shifting
 

Birdbabe

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Hope she lays a normal eggie with no complications!
 

Lady Jane

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You are doing just about everything you can. Please keep us updated.
 

Kaliska

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We have 2 eggs! I thought we were about to lose her because after she got off the nest she went to the side of the cage and just laid down with occasional pecking the ground around her but she just got up, shook herself a bit, and got food and water with only a minor balance issue landing on the perch in front of the water. I think she simply had a heck of a time getting that egg out. The male is on them both and calling to her. I need to pull some nesting material when I can because they went a bit excessive and there is barely a big enough dip. I was hoping it would compact down a bit as they used the nest.
 

Kaliska

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It took a little to convince her to drink enough water to recover more normal energy still but finally she's hopping around the nest telling the male she should be on it. Like my husband said it's a good argument for them to be having. Now if they would just stop handing each other back the nesting material that has come out. They turned 6" deep of pot into 1" and it would be a mound without interference.
 

Lady Jane

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I bet she is going to feel much better. Whatever they do with the nesting material should be fine. I would not worry one bit about that now that she is good to go. Please continue with the calcium supplements like egg shells.
 
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