Hi guys,

 

I have a second pair im pretty sure are about to lay. Light green normal male and dark green normal female. The female has been investigating the box and spends most of the day in there. The pair have been mating, more so in the last couple of days (that i have noticed anyway).

 

A day or two ago i noticed the hen's vent appears swollen or larger than normal and today i noticed she is pumping her tail and her vent is quite swollen. Does this mean she is about to lay, or could it indicate problems with the egg or her health?

 

I can recall the mother of the 5 chicks looking similarly swollen before she laid, but i cant remember if she pumped her tail or not and i know pumping is a sign of illness or distress,

 

Thanks in advance! Fingers crossed everything goes well and i get eggs instead of a sick hen :laughter:

Is she fluffed up or anything else? You could give her a drop of calcium to the beak to help her out just in case

She could be pumping as she is of balance ( having the Egg bum and all )

But I agree with MB if she is ruffled, looks distressed or straining could be complications ...

If you have the liquid calcium give her the drop to her beak as suggested

She seems to be due to lay any moment :laughter:

yay how exciting :laughter: keep us posted.

Gotta love those BIG MESSY poo's :laughter: ....

Did you just feel the need to talk about poo then Neat?? :laughter:

Is she fluffed up or anything else? You could give her a drop of calcium to the beak to help her out just in case

 

No she is not fluffed up or looking distressed. She is eating well, and chirping to her mate quite often. I just remember that a pumping tail is a sign of something unusual. In this case i am assuming having an egg close to being laid is the 'unsual' thing, but one can't be too careful so i wanted to check with everyone just in case.

 

I will moniter her closely. As far as calcium goes, she has cuttlefish available and chews through it faster than my other pair as well as calcium supplements added to the water. As breeding budgies drink more, i have halfed the suggested dose as i do not want to risk over-dosing.

 

I'll let you know how she goes :laughter:

Swollen vent, big poops and tail pumping are signs that there will be an egg soon

Edited December 11, 200816 yr by Neville

Just went for a trip down to napier for a few days with my wife. Dad was able to watch and feed the budgies while i went (boy did the babies feather up in a hurry while i was gone!!!).

 

Anyway, Mrs Green pumpy tail is still pumpin and no egg. She does not appear distressed or fluffed up, but i had seriously expected an egg by now. Perhaps its 'still' coming, but just in case i inspected her today, vent looks okay to me, gently felt aroundthe vent but felt nothing solid or firm. Perhaps didnt push deep enough but i was being gentle.

 

Any thoughts??

I have one doing the same thing at themoment and looking fine,it's driving me insane :rofl: I will be interested to the response

Doesn't sound like she has an egg then.

How much is she pumping her tail, because some birds have a little tail pump normally.

Listen to her breathing, what does it sound like?

If you are worried, the best bet is to get her to an avian vet

I agree with SW

The tale bob can be many other things. Has she any staining in the feather above her cere?

What about any clicking when you put her body up to your ear as listen to her breath?

The large vent could be from sitting in a box and holding in poop.

Its the tale bob with no egg present that is a worry

I will go listen to her, and while im at it i will try and take a video to show you the tail pumping. To me it is quite the pump. I have noticed some birds pump a little when sleeping or whatever, but this is far more exaggerated.

 

Update soon.

Today Mrs pumping tail the green hen i have been watching closely (hoping she will lay, worrying she is ill) decided to confuse me even further.

 

First she finally started dropping the big poops i associate with being about to lay. All good and fine. I noticed this while i was dishing out the soft food for the evening. I turned away to take care of more food, and hurd another 'ploppy' noise almost straight after she dropped the big poop. I checked the cage and saw the strangest... poop.. monster... thing... i have seen yet.

 

It is liquid inside a semi solid almost plastic feeling encasement. It is clear with slight opaqueness and i have NO clue what it is or what it means. The only thing that comes to mind is some sort of worms, a 'pre-egg laying' deposit of some sort, or perhaps a horribly formed egg 'thing'.

 

Any ideas??? I am hoping to find an answer that makes sense otherwise im going to have to take her (and 'it') to the vet!!

 

p.s - Yes i have checked online for all the information on poop / worms / intestinal / egg laying problems i could find. I am still looking but thought i would post at the same time and attack the problem from two sides.

 

Normal big poop (has slightly green tinge, is that normal?):

 

Unusual thing:

 

Edited December 18, 200816 yr by Dean_NZ

Looks like a malformed soft egg to me, what is she getting in the way of supplements, particularly calcium?

Edited December 18, 200816 yr by melbournebudgies

She has laid a soft shelled egg and needs calcium.

an egg thats one weird formed egg! there is no baby inside is there

 

xx Elise xx

Edited December 18, 200816 yr by LILBABYBUDGIES

wow now that is weird cant wait to find out what it is!

 

xx Elise xx

Its a soft shelled egg due to lack of calcium. Very hard for a hen to pass which explains the tail pumping and hard to feel when they have one about to lay. Very dangerous for the hen as they can die due to the egg getting stuck. Its extremely hard to pass a soft shelled egg.

Get some CALCIVET into the hen asap.

Edited December 18, 200816 yr by KAZ

thanks now i know

Looks like a malformed soft egg to me, what is she getting in the way of supplements, particularly calcium?

 

Aaah thats crazy!! It surely cant be lack of calcium?? She has cuttlefish and added calcium supplement in the water???

Should i increase the water supplement of calcium??

 

Im shocked I can't believe its a soft formed egg. I suppose at least that gives me something to go on? She also gets and eats carrot and broccoli daily with her soft food..

 

I don't understand why she doesn't have enough calcium

Cuttlefish is something they play with more than ingest. Best source of calcium known is eggshell....cooked to get rid of bugs, dried and powdered. Calcivet in their water also is very good.

 

How old is the hen ?

How long have you had her ?

How long BEFORE breeding was she on calcium supplements and other good food ?

Edited December 18, 200816 yr by KAZ

Cuttlefish is something they play with more than ingest. Best source of calcium known is eggshell....cooked to get rid of bugs, dried and powdered. Calcivet in their water also is very good.How old is the hen ?How long have you had her ?How long BEFORE breeding was she on calcium supplements and other good food ?

 

I know the breeder who i purchased her from, her feeding regime and the availability of mineral and calcium blocks. I have had her myself for near about 2 months, and she has had cuttlefish, liquid calcium supplements and frequent broccoli and carrot. I had been adding an egg powder purchased from the pet shop that is made from egg shells and dried / powdered egg. I also add oyster shell grit to their seed and once a month to their soft food.I can't imagine where or when i failed to provide enough sources of calcium. Although i admit i hadnt tried adding dried and crushed egg shells to her food.

 

As far as age goes, i would have to check with her breeder, but im pretty sure she is about 14 months old, this is her first time breeding.

 

I hope i haven't failed in any way, but as hard as it is i am willing to take responsibility and correct and failings on my part.NOTE: I have given her an oral dose following recommendations on the packet of 0.2ml per 100gm of weight. I gave her 0.05ml directly, and then re-dosed her water to make sure it was at the appropriate levels. Should i still try and add crushed egg shell to her soft food? Or is it possible to overdose her?

Edited December 18, 200816 yr by Dean_NZ

I wish a vet type would get on now so they can explain this but s it possible she has been overdosed on calcium??? Also does the brand of calcium you use have Vitamin D in it too, it's no use if it doesn't...

I wish a vet type would get on now so they can explain this but s it possible she has been overdosed on calcium??? Also does the brand of calcium you use have Vitamin D in it too, it's no use if it doesn't...

 

Yea it has D3 to aid calcium absorption, plus magnesium (in whatever dose is necessary) and she gets sunlight.

 

If anything i would agree that she has somehow got a lack of calcium. Im not sure how overdosing would cause soft eggs, but as i said elsewhere - im all ears when it comes to being corrected. So long as i learn sooner rather than later. I'd rather feel bad or stupid then feel regret because a bird was ill or died.

 

Thanks for your comments and assistance!