Tail bobbing after egg laying

[Taamtiels]

Hi! I’m new to this forum, not new to tiels though.
I have an 11 month old hen named ruby. (Female tiels I am new to)
Ruby started laying eggs last month.
First egg broke, So I put a nest in her cage with 6 dummy eggs in it, 3 days later she layed another egg.
She’s ignored her real egg, and the dummy eggs since then.
In that time, we’ve moved houses and a lot has been going on. You would think if anything would disturb her hormones now would be the time

On Monday she started acting sick, she was tired and lethargic, lost about 2 grams over the weekend, and most concerning, she was tail bobbing, after a poop.
I took her to the vet, they said nothing about her tail bobbing, told me she was going to lay again, and give it a few days.

Well yesterday I thought she was dying, she didn’t touch any food, and was completely lethargic. I went in their room mid day to find her sprawled on the bottom of the cage panting.
I scooped her up and started trying to comfort her, called the vet to take her right in, and whilst I was waiting for my husband to get home to watch our daughter, in the middle of a panic attack thinking ruby wasn’t going to make it, the little turd layed an egg in my hand.
Within 30 mins she was bouncing around and back to normal.

What’s not normal is that she still is bobbing her tail after a poop. She poops, then bobs it up and down about 8 times and then it stops.

That makes sense to me pre egg lay, but after?

Is this normal? She didn’t have this issue last month when she was laying.
I’m really concerned for her. I lost my first tiel, my real baby a few years ago, and I’m still not recovered. I can’t lose this girl.

 

[Zara]

Hi Brandi,

With a young bird that hasn´t had eggs before, you can just remove them - if she stresses give her a dummy egg for each real egg.

Also, take the nest away, it is encouraging her to lay even with the changes in you living situation.

Laying is a lot of work, stress and trauma on a hen. She may still have pains from laying.

Keep a close eye on her, if you notice loss of balance, more weight loss, tiredness etc take her back to the vet.

In the meantime, take away the nest and any nesting material, rearrange the cage and provide a good forraging toy. make sure she has plenty of food including leafy greens and fresh water avail. You can also offer her a smashed up boiled egg to help her get back some of the nutrients lost during laying.

Welcome to the forum,
Keep us updated on Ruby

 

[Taamtiels]

Thank you! The vet was encouraging the nest, which seemed counterintuitive to me also. I really appreciate the advice!

 

[Taamtiels]

Ruby update.
As of yesterday night she had lost 1 more solid gram.
This morning her tail is still bobbing after a stool, and she’s not interested in her food at all.
She’s quiet and a bit more shivery then I would like to see her at this point.
I’m considering driving her out to the other avian vet in the area to get a second opinion.
I would hate to keep taking her out in the cold and stressing her out.
This just doesn’t seem like normal nesting behavior to me.

 

[JLcribber]

I’m considering driving her out to the other avian vet in the area to get a second opinion.

That is your first best course of action.

Honestly your bird is/was too young to be laying eggs. Your first vet should have known that.

 

[Taamtiels]

A year old hen is too young to lay?
From my research anywhere from 5 months on was capable.
We have two male cockatiels that are caged next to her, so it would only stand to reason that their presence kick started her behavior.
Regardless I have a sneaky suspicion that there’s an underlying illness separate from the laying that made laying all the more difficult on her.