Female with eggs

[Lilbird]

My female appears to be swollen with eggs. Does anyone know how long she will hold the eggs until the first is laid? She is still quite active, but looks funny on her perch with her swollen belly.

[Taylor]

Mine was swollen that way for about 5 days before she laid an egg. Once she started laying, she laid an egg every other day until she had laid 5. How exciting!!Did you put up a nestbox and this a planned eggnancy or is it a surprise:o

[Lilbird]

I guess it is semi planned. I adopted the pair recently and brought them home. It was already appearant that she was about to lay eggs so I am trying to study up as much as possible before the "event" happens. I did put up a nest box, but have not caught either of them in it yet. I hope the move to a new cage and new surroundings won't disrupt her. (Crossing my fingers). Any more tips or advise would be greatly appreciated!

[skthurley]

Calcium rich food would be really good to offer her. Scramble up an egg, shell and all (ensuring the shell is ground into a powder) and offer this to your pair. Calcium helps ensure your little lady is able to lay her egg. Or buy egg food, and other calcium enriched foods.

[chapala]

Egg shell is not considered the best source of available Calcium, and commercially produced eggs have had a lead content that is on the higher side. (Organic would be okay.) The dark leafy greens like collard, mustard, kale, are good sources, as well as oats, soaked and cooked legumes (easily digestible varieties best - mung, lentil, adzuki, pea, garbanzo), dandelion greens, broccoli, are all good sources of Calcium. Do you have a cuttlebone in the cage?
Reta

[Lilbird]

I do have a cuttlebone which she has been chewing on. Getting her to eat other foods is another problem. I have offered spinach, collards, hardboiled egg, soaked seeds, sprouted seeds, etc. She doesnt seem to be interested in much of anything except for her regular seed. I will keep trying though. Thanks for all the feedback!

[Lilbird]

update...She still has not laid the egg. It's been 7 days now since she appeared to be "with egg" I took her to the vet this afternoon and she is being held overnight in an incubator to increase warmth and humidity.Luckily she does not seem stressed or in any pain, is eating well and very active. I hope the egg passes tonight.

[jessief423]

Aw, I'm so sorry to hear she is not doing so well. But I'm glad you got her to the vet. I hope everything works out. Keep us posted.

[BUUZBEE]

I do have a cuttlebone which she has been chewing on. Getting her to eat other foods is another problem. I have offered spinach, collards, hardboiled egg, soaked seeds, sprouted seeds, etc. She doesnt seem to be interested in much of anything except for her regular seed. I will keep trying though. Thanks for all the feedback!


Don't offer spinach when breeding.

I hope all goes well with the vet visit and she gets the egg out ok. I was going to say she might drop a few eggs from a perch before realizing to go in the box if this is her first clutch. How old is she?

[Tony Bucci]

I had a hen with swollen rear end that kept swelling more and more for two months. she never laid an egg. I decided to catch her and inspect her belly. I was suspicious that she had a tumor growing in her abdomen or a swollen liver. A swollen liver would indicate a blue belly. She didn't have a blue belly. She was just fat. I placed her in a large flight, she couldn't fly, she crawled up the side of the flight to reach the perch.
I placed her on finch mix diet and greens only.
In about one month she lost her swollen belly, which assured me she didn't have a tumor, and now she flies like a jet.

Tony

[Tony Bucci]

If anybody is wandering about the blue belly I mention in the previous post. Let me explain; It is an expression in the canary culture. When the canary has a blue belly(it really is purplish dark red). As the liver swells it pushes the skin outward. The liver is kind of dark brown and the skin being pushed out becomes thin and transparent. Usually the cause is; if the bird consumes a large amount of oily and old rancid seeds or nuts. Now I assume this can happen to any bird. I usually test the nuts by tasting them my self. Also any seeds I buy, I sprout them. If they don't sprout, my birds don't get them.
Tony