Egg laying? Or Sick Lovebird?

[Naiera]

Hi, thanks for taking the time to read my thread.

I have a female lovebird (Mango) who may be laying, but as this is the first time I've had a female bird, I'm not certain if it's that or something else.

She has been very 'nesty' lately, so I'd think it's possible. She's staying at the bottom of the cage and has no interest in her perching unless she's eating (she's typically perched and sleeping by this time). Her underside appears swollen. She's fluffed and has some tail bobbing. She is still pooping and is responding to me normally.

I've turned on a bit of extra heating for her and put in a humidifier for her (per suggestion of some other forum members - thank you!) Her normal avian vet isn't open at this hour. I've located an emergency vet near by but I certainly hope it doesn't come to that, both for her sake and my bank accounts :/

If anyone has any insight, suggestions, or other advice, both Mango and I would much appreciate it. Thank you so much.

 

[Daisy's Mom]

Oh poor little baby.. I'm so sorry your going thru this.. I have no advice for you but I'm sure someone who does will come along..

 

[Greycloud]

First I want to apologize that none of us have responded on this 911 post till now!
Alyssa, how is your lovie this morning? Definitely sounds like she could be nesty. You are doing the right things. A vet check is needed if there is no change this morning. Hoping she is OK!

 

[Greycloud]

Glad to see you got help on your other thread!

 

[Naiera]

She ended up sleeping on her perch last night, went up at about 2 am, which is much later than she usually does. She's eating, moving around, and pooping - but no eggs. I went ahead and gave her some things to shred, and boy is she going at it!

I'm still not even sure she's going to lay, maybe there's something else going on, but it's my best guess for now. Her condition doesn't seem to be declining, but if I don't see something change soon, I think we might be seeing the vet just in case.

I've gotten one response so far as to time it can typically take (48 hrs) for an egg to be layed. Does anyone else have any insight into that? I don't want to make a big deal out of nothing, but I don't want to ignore obvious symptoms of illness either.

Again, any advice, insight, or suggestions are very welcome. I've never experienced an egg laying before and I just want to make sure it's going smoothly.

Thanks so much!

 

[JLcribber]

I should add that 48 hours is for larger birds and my personal threshold before thinking something may be wrong. A smaller bird could possibly run into problems sooner "if it is an egg". A binding problem will show itself if that is what's going on.

 

[Naiera]

Fair enough, 48 from you experience with larger birds - If anyone has input on that specific to lovebirds, that would be great!

She looks pretty much the same, seems to be more active than she was last night - also not as fluffed. Maybe I'm making a big deal out of nothing? Her back end area still seems 'enlarged' to me though, certainly in comparison to my other lovebird at least.

 

[Anne & Gang]

it is pretty much 48 hours for any bird...ifher back area is enlarged and she has not laid an egg yet, I would bring her to an avian vet..better safe than sorry...or you can bring her into a washroom....run the shower on HOT for 15 minuts..of course you have her outside the shower in a towel or holding her..the humidity should help her pass the egg..egg binding is not something to play with as then it is too late and can kill them.

 

[Greycloud]

Generally, lovebirds lay an egg every 48 hours. It takes 22-24 hours for eggs to form. If staring to lay lasts more then an hour for a lovebird you should seek medical attention. Most egg binding in lovebirds occurs with young under the age of 18 months.

 

[Naiera]

Thanks for the general time frame - good to know. Still not sure if I'm overreacting and just need to be patient or not - tehe- but as said above, the fact that she seems so 'swollen' is concerning. I went again and put in a call to the vet., the avian doctor wasn't available at the moment, but I should be getting a call back in a bit. We'll see what they have to say!

 

[Naiera]

In case anyone's curious, I ended up giving the vet a call. I thought I'd post the information and an update here for others who might at some point find themselves in the same situation or are just interested in the info.

The woman I talked to was an avian vet. tech at my local avian + animal vet hospital. I asked her several questions:

First, I told her about the appearance of what seems like, for lack of a better word, swelling of Mango's underside. I asked her if this is abnormal for a female bird who might be in the egg laying process. She said that this is not abnormal, that some "swelling" doesn't necessarily indicate a problem.

Secondly I asked her then what are some signs of abnormality I should be looking for. I told her about Mango being fluffed and on the bottom of the cage last night for the greater part of a few hours. She said that being at the bottom of the cage, fluffed can be a sign there's a problem. She then asked if Mango was still eating and passing stool, which she is, and said that if something were wrong, such as being egg-bound, then I would see a change in these two things. She said that Mango would also likely become lethargic if a problem were to arise, which I'm happy to say she is most certainly NOT lethargic.

Third I asked her how long might I expect this to last (if she is indeed in the process of laying some eggs). The vet. tech said that the clinic once had a bird, I think she said an Amazon, who held onto an egg for several months ... WOW! While that certainly isn't the norm., it was interesting anyway! Can you imagine? Anyway, the point is it seems that any time frame is pretty relative, and that I'll just need to watch her behavior closely.

Finally I asked her what the best course of action is if she does become egg bound. Obviously, she said if I were to think she was egg bound I should take her in immediately. She said that in such a situation they can try to help the egg pass, but that there are some cases where it's not possible and more drastic action has to be taken. I won't go into detail, but it didn't sound pretty - so I hope for Mango's sake that never happens.

That's pretty much what she had to say, or at least that's how I interpreted what she said. I'm sure there are various opinions out there, but I found the information pretty helpful. Was really nice of her to take the time to answer all my questions - I love when health professionals are patient and compassionate. Mango seemed to be doing very well today, wasn't sitting fluffed like she was last night. She was moving all over, flying, climbing, and LOTS of shredding. I've decided that I'll just have to be patient and see what happens. I'm monitoring her food consumption closely and plan to make sure the paper that catches her droppings is changed at least daily to make sure all appears normal there. Temp. and humidity are being monitored as well ... lol, I think I'm going overboard, but I'd rather be as prepared as possible than something go wrong I could have prevented.

Here's a web page I came across about egg binding during this fiasco, might be a good reference for anyone needing or wanting more info. about it: 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 - it's somewhat specific to cockatiels, but I think the idea is the same across the board.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to my post, whether it was with advice, support, or both, I appreciated every bit. Mango's a tenacious little one, hopefully that gets her through this! Thanks again, all!