My second pair laid 2 eggs and its been 2 days since the last egg. Is this okay? She seems okay I think. Is there any symptoms when she is egg bound? I will keep a close watch on her.

Here is information from our FAQ about symptoms too look for an eggbound hen

 

Egg binding occurs when a hen is has difficulty in laying an egg. There are many signs and symptoms that a hen that is egg bound may display. These include:

 

a hen that looks distressed

a hen sitting on the bottom of the cage

a hen that has very large droppings that are very runny or contain blood

a hen who whips her tail or strains painfully

a hen that looks weak, depressed or is breathing rapidly

a hen that looks nervous or moves rapidly from perch to perch

a hen that is trying to stretch her body up to get relief

 

If you look carefully, you should notice a slight roundness of the underbelly or you may be able to feel the egg if you lightly palpate the area..

 

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO NOT TRY TO REMOVE THE EGG. If you do this and the egg breaks it can result in the death of the hen.

 

There are many causes for this condition including:

 

a hen that is too young

an egg that is too large

an egg with a rough shell

an egg that is too soft

the hen's oviduct (where the egg comes out) is not elastic enough

poor nutrition, a lack of vitamins or calcium

a hen that is kept in a room that is too dark, cool or damp

a hen that has laid too many clutches with no rest in between

 

As stated before, this is a medical emergency and a visit to your avain vet is essential.

Avian Vet Look-up

 

You can try to assist the hen by placing her in a warm environment, such as a hospital cage that is covered and has a soft cloth bottom (ensure the hen's claws can't get caught in the material) and dripping some warmed castor oil onto the vent. However this will usually only help if the egg is visible at the vent entrance. Keep the hen as calm as possible and transport her to your avian vet as soon as possible.

 

Last update: 2007-04-25 15:54

Author: feathers aka Aly

 

Is her first clutch or if she is an older hen past her breeding age or she may lay one 2 days apart which I have heard happen. This may be all she will lay and that is okay.

Well she finally laid the 3rd egg after 3 days without one. I don't know if she was egg bound but the egg looks okay. I keep them in a well lighted area and they eat plenty of cuttle bone and egg shells and I give vitamins sometiimes. It is kept at 82 degrees with a/c and I have fans and air purification. I read everything on the list and the only thing I don't know for sure is the age. All else is good. So I am surprised she laid another egg. She spends all of her time in the box not on the eggs yet though? Anyway Elly thanks for the info it made me feel better to know what to look for.

good to hear.

Well she finally laid the 3rd egg after 3 days without one.

 

Dave,

 

a quick Google found a number of references to 3 day delays between laying (budgie) eggs with all sorts of possible explanations from re-absorbing the "missing" egg to the hen just not wanting to lay! As long as she looks and behaves normally, leaver her to do what comes naturally or you could stress her as well as yourself by interfering.

 

Cheers,

KathyW.

About the fans and air purification. You don't want the air in the breeding room to become too dry. It need to have a certain amount of humidity to allow the chicks in the eggs to hatch out and grow properly. I would suggest turning these off and putting a container of open water in the room, so that the water can evaporate and increase the humidity of the room.

Well I have fish aquriums in the room as well. And they always need water so it's okay. I have a hygrometer and temp. gauge in the room. For my Spiders I have 8 Tarantulas. It stays between 40 and 60 % with the fans. I live in Daytona Beach Florida. The most humid place in the world! But I will keep an eye on this. Thank you

That's good