Hi All - I need help! I have two budgies, the female is approx 6 years old and the male 5 years old. They have been in the same cage for the past 5 years. Five weeks ago the female didn't look well and I suspected she was egg bound although I had never seen this before. I didn't know what to do so I took her to the vet. They forced the egg out and told me to take her home and to put her back in the with the male for company. Luckily I spoke to a lady near where I live who rescues birds and she told me to put them in seperate cages for a few weeks to let her heal and she even loaned me a cage. Now my girl is all better and back in with the male but I want to know if I can prevent this from happening again. I thought and was told that they wouldn't lay eggs/have babies unless they had a nesting box. They don't have a nesting box!! They have been in the cage together for the past few days and the female is tucking in to the cuttlefish again (something she did a week or so before she tried to lay her egg). What can I do? We only have a small flat and I don't have the room for two cages permanently and I don't want her to have to go through this again if possible

 

:ygbudgie:

Your female must feel she has somewhere to lay eggs in that cage....so look around the cage and think like a nesting budgie. What in the cage looks like a good place to lay eggs ?? A seed dish, some nesting type materials, a buildup of nesting type stuff or paper in a corner ? Change the cage around to make her feel like its as different cage and so she doesnt focus on the imaginary nest. Change your seed containers in case she is eyeballing those as a place to lay eggs. Post a photo of the cage and setup so we can advise further.

Cheers kaz

Here is a picture of their cage - it's been basically the same for the past 5 years - I've just added new calcium perches etc when they get through them...sorry I can't seem to add the pictures - it won't let me copy and paste them in - any suggestions - sorry it's the first time I've posted a topic

Edited March 15, 200817 yr by Gomanda

You cannot copy and paste a picture. There is a HOW TO POST PICTURES link in my signature ....follow those directions and then you will be able to post photos.

 

Cheers KAZ

Edited March 15, 200817 yr by KAZ

Here is a picture of their cage - it's been basically the same for the past 5 years - I've just added new calcium perches etc when they get through them...sorry I can't seem to add the pictures - it won't let me copy and paste them in - any suggestions - sorry it's the first time I've posted a topic

 

Click on the part in Kaz's post at the bottom above her picture where it says how to post pictures, it's best to open an account with photobucket.

I read through some instructions - so hopefully this works!

 

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj296/g...0315New0016.jpg

 

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj296/g...0315New0013.jpg

Are you using sandpaper sheets in the bottom of the cage ? If you are they arent necessary. Did your cage come with a grate in the bottom ? If so try using the grate section and no paper at all and see if it helps.

I'll try that - but why would she suddenly lay an egg after being with him for 5 years?? There has always been paper/sand sheets in the bottom - I'll also try taking the silver feed dish out as that's the only other thing I can think of - again that's been there for years as well - and I have to peg it down because my little girl has a real attitude - she loves to tip things over and when she comes out the cage (I let them out for half an hour every day) she pulls books and toys off the book shelf in my son's room - she also likes to tease the cat by walking up and down the window sill!

I'll try that - but why would she suddenly lay an egg after being with him for 5 years?? There has always been paper/sand sheets in the bottom - I'll also try taking the silver feed dish out as that's the only other thing I can think of - again that's been there for years as well - and I have to peg it down because my little girl has a real attitude - she loves to tip things over and when she comes out the cage (I let them out for half an hour every day) she pulls books and toys off the book shelf in my son's room - she also likes to tease the cat by walking up and down the window sill!

She sounds like a real character I cannot think of a reason why she is doing it now....maybe its her last fling As a hen over 4 years it would be hazardous to her health from this point on to be a mother late in life. Distraction therapy...time to change everything in the cage, add a few new toys, shift the perches....see if it all helps

Thank you for you help - i'll clean the cage out and move everything around tonight! And yes she is a real character!!! I thought I was going to loose her after she'd been to the vet as she bled quite a lot when I got her home - she spent almost a week in the hot water cupboard in a small box and she slowly came right - thank goodness!! They are both hand tame and very friendly - she also loves to dance to music and she lets you know when she wants to come out the cage!!!

Looking at the photo you posted,she is not going to breed any time soon.It was a change of life egg.

I hope so! I don't want her to go through that again. I don't know how you all do this all the time - I was a wreck watching her so stressed and unhappy.

Look forward to some more photos and videos....hope you will stick around

Looking at the photo you posted,she is not going to breed any time soon.It was a change of life egg.

I agree with George she doesn't look in breeding condition

Welcome to the forum and hope you stay a while... We'd love to see how things turn out and see more pics of your feathered friends.

Hi and welcome. Good luck with your girl and I hope it all works out.

Hi, welcome to the forums.

Hi All

 

My girl laid another egg last night - it is fully formed but light as a feather so obviously hollow. At least this time she didn't need any help.

 

She seems to have coped well with laying the egg but this afternoon one of her eyes doesn't look right. I know that budgies have three eye lids and it's like she's keeping one of them closed. She can open the eye and it looks the same as the other but she keeps closing the eye lid.

 

Any ideas??

Well she's laid a third egg, this one was soft but had a yolk - I've been reading through a lot of the other posts and my bird has also plucked her own feathers around her vent.

 

I keep telling her not to lay anymore but I don't think she's listening!!!

Well she's laid a third egg, this one was soft but had a yolk - I've been reading through a lot of the other posts and my bird has also plucked her own feathers around her vent.

 

I keep telling her not to lay anymore but I don't think she's listening!!!

The fact that she has laid a soft shelled egg means her calcium levels have been depleted by this egg laying and she needs that addressed as soon as possble. Liquid calcium is best or even better dried, finely crushed powdered eggshells in her food. Soft shelled eggs are easier to get stuck and cause eggbinding

Edited April 10, 200817 yr by KAZ

I'll buy some liquid calcium tomorrow The cage has two cuttlefish and a calcium stick in it but she doesn't seem to be touching them at the moment. I'll also try crushing up some egg shells over the week-end as well.

Good luck with the calcium. Keep us updated. I'm not experienced enough to help but Kaz and the others on here are great.

An update - well my girl Frankie seems to be responding well to all the calcium - I've seen her drinking the liquid calcium and she doesn't seem to mind the crushed egg shells - BUT - and it's a BIG but - I've been so focused on her and her problems I didn't notice that my boy was having problems. On Saturday he just didn't seem himself - and I didn't see him eating all week-end. He was mainly looking depressed over the week-end and he seemed a little 'groggy' when he walked. I took him (and Frankie) to an Avian vet today (the only Avian specialist in Auckland!)and he thinks that Ollie has a brain tumour!! He's pretty sure that Ollie is either going blind or is blind in his left eye and that would be caused by the tumour. He's kept both my babies - Frankie as company/comfort to Ollie and Ollie to force fed and pump anti-biotics into. If he gets better then it is just an infection of some sort - maybe an inner ear infection. But the vet said he didn't think Ollie had a run of the mill problem and that he probably wouldn't make it. He said that Frankie was looking good - for her age....and that we may not need to worry about her egg binding and laying situation as she'll probably be on her own shortly :bluebudgie:

Terrible news Big hugs. Its a lot to go through in a short space of time. Here's hoping its not as bad as first thought. You must be so worried

Thank you and yes I am really worried - it's horrible seeing the empty cage tonight. The vet said that he's such a lovely bird with such a nice nature that he'll try his best to save him. Both my babies are so friendly and tame - I put it so much time to get them to where they are