Baby has been spending a lot of time in her apple dish on the bottom of her cage lately. Has been down there for the past couple of days, though she generally will hop back up onto her perch when we go near her. It seems as if she's leaning forward onto her chest, very low in stance with her tail lifted a little. I haven't noticed large poops. Until just shortly ago, she hasn't seemed to be in much distress, she's jsut been hanging out down there in her weird little position.

 

Her abdomen seems a bit swollen in front of her vent, but its all very soft. I don't really feel a mass that could be an egg, unless the shell is SUPER soft. As I was gently manipulating her belly, her vent seemed like it would open a little, like there might be something behind it, but I couldn't see anything but tissue that looked just like the rest of her vent, just slightly moist. She was very still and calm while I was palpating her. It didn't seem to bother her. Before I started to feel her belly, she was breathing heavily, almost panting, with a little tiny noise with each breath. By the time I was done, she was breathing more normally.

 

I handled her about an hour before the exam and when I picked her up she made a weird squeak and her pupils got small. But other than that and the breathing, she hasn't shown signs of being in terrible pain. She flew a number of times around the room as well. Her appetite hasn't been great. She did eat a little millet for Jared though. She's been very still when we hold her.

 

Unfortunately its 1:30 in the morning, so we have to wait till morning before she can get any avian vet care. She's still in her heated little hospital cage and I massaged a tiny amount of vaseline to her vent. I made some weak sweet black tea for her too, which she drank a bit of.

 

Does this sound like egg binding? Something else? Anything more we can do for her?

Its possible she could be trying to pass a soft shelled egg. Others things of course can occur, like prolapses etc. All the things you have already thought of come to mind. Some hens I have had who were trying to pass a soft shelled egg took up to 2 days to pass the egg, in a hospital cage with warmth and calcivet administered by beak as well. I think you are doing all you can considering the time of day, and you would know by the morning whether or not to see the vet. Seems like it might be the better way to go, in this case. Let us know how it goes.

Morning update.... She's not in her bowl anymore, hasn't been all night that I could tell. Her poops look normal on the bottom of the cage. However, when I looked at her belly, I could see droppings through her skin and it looked a bit more swollen. Not being able to leave her alone, I tried to see if I could feel a blockage or something, or if I could move the feces out the vent. A tiny amount of urates and light yellow liquid came out. I'm just hoping to god that I didn't rupture the egg inside and the yellow was yolk!!! It wasn't a bright yellow like chicken yolk....

Evening update.... Jared's parents (Baby's original parents) are here and his mom and I talked about her a bit and we kind of decided that at 16 and a half, she's had a wonderful, full, loving life, and trying to help her get better might not be the kindest thing for her. So we decided not to bring her to the vet. At her age, any treatment could very well be too much for her.

 

This afternoon she seemed worse, more swollen yet and even more lethargic. She did drink a good amount of her tea and millet. Later in the evening she was eating out of her dish and making some noises. She's been rattling around in her cage and has taken more tea. She's pretty fluffy and isn't too keen on being held. I imagine her belly is rather uncomfortable. It does seem like the swelling is starting to go down a little. She's been pooping well, some of them large. All in all, I think there's been an improvement since her worst point.

 

I'm going to get some calcivet for her tomorrow just in case it will help her improve, because I don't feel right not doing hardly anything to help her. If she hasn't shown a big change in behavior by Monday, I'm going to see about helping her to not suffer anymore. However, its kind of rotten timing. Thursday Jared's grandma passed away and the funeral is Monday. Having to put Baby down on the same day just sounds like too much. Lets hope she helps us know what is the best thing to do.

Evening update.... Jared's parents (Baby's original parents) are here and his mom and I talked about her a bit and we kind of decided that at 16 and a half, she's had a wonderful, full, loving life, and trying to help her get better might not be the kindest thing for her. So we decided not to bring her to the vet. At her age, any treatment could very well be too much for her.

 

This afternoon she seemed worse, more swollen yet and even more lethargic. She did drink a good amount of her tea and millet. Later in the evening she was eating out of her dish and making some noises. She's been rattling around in her cage and has taken more tea. She's pretty fluffy and isn't too keen on being held. I imagine her belly is rather uncomfortable. It does seem like the swelling is starting to go down a little. She's been pooping well, some of them large. All in all, I think there's been an improvement since her worst point.

 

I'm going to get some calcivet for her tomorrow just in case it will help her improve, because I don't feel right not doing hardly anything to help her. If she hasn't shown a big change in behavior by Monday, I'm going to see about helping her to not suffer anymore. However, its kind of rotten timing. Thursday Jared's grandma passed away and the funeral is Monday. Having to put Baby down on the same day just sounds like too much. Lets hope she helps us know what is the best thing to do.

BIG HUGS :angel1:

HUGS armchairangel You know Baby so well I'm sure she will tell you when and if she is ready.