# Eggbound pigeon!



## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

Hello, I'm new to pigeon talk. And need help with my pigeon Starlight, I think she's egg bound, she's been acting like she is going to lay an egg for one week, she seems less perky then usual, too, but not as sick as an eggbound pigeon may be, she's laid an egg before, I don't know if shes eggbound or there's something else wrong.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Getting her to an avian vet would be the best thing to do.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Do you give her calcium and vitamin D3? She needs that, as if her stores of calcium are low, then she can have problems lie that. A good supplement is CalciBoost which you would put in her water a couple of times weekly. How is she acting?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*How long has it been since she laid her last egg?

Keep her on a heating pad (set on warm, with towel between pad and bird) and do make sure she is getting calcium as mentioned by Jay3.*


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

I'll put her on a heating pad, I give my pigeons vitamins but I'll give her some calcium in her water up at the house. I'm only 12 and my dad had brain surgery so its hard for my mom to leave him and take me places so I would like to try to take care of Starlight at home but I will take her to a vet if she absolutely needs to go. She is acting less energetic and just sits on her nest spot all day. And it was about 4 weeks ago when she laid her last egg.


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## orock (Mar 28, 2011)

A fellow club member used a little olive oil and worked the egg out


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Can you post a photo? How is she eating and drinking and how is her poop?


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## naresh j (Jun 27, 2014)

try giving her calcium at higher dose. i think you can find human calcium tablets in drug stores there? if the tablet has 500mg calcium, give her 1/2 tablet evryday until she lays. also give her cod liver oil capsule once a day. apply some lubricant like oil or vasline on her vent. provide her with luke warm water to bath. theres no time to waste, you have to take quick action to save her.


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

she's eating and drinking ok, her poop looks fine I'm about to give her a luke warm bath.


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

I gave her a luke warm bath and some more calcium water. Do you think dulcolax will help? I've used it with parrots who have had crop problems before but not pigeons.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Starlite is lovely!! Hope she is all better soon. She doesn't look acutely ill. The only way to tell for sure if she has a stuck egg is an X-ray thorough. Glad you gave her calcium.


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## Jr Brown (May 22, 2012)

A question for all of you who recommended giving this pigeon calcium.

Certainly giving pigeons a calcium supplement is a very good idea but, if a pigeon is egg bound will giving calcium help with the immediate crisis?

And if she is indeed egg bound would a person not be able to detect that visibly or by feeling a lump?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Yes, giving calcium can help with an egg bound hen. It isn't just for the making of the egg shell. It is also used in muscles and nerves, and such to help push the egg out. 
You can usually feel the egg. We don't know for sure that this bird is egg bound.


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

Starlight&Hollyleaf said:


> she's eating and drinking ok, her poop looks fine I'm about to give her a luke warm bath.


I think you're instincts are good for one so young, you are doing a great job of taking care of this hen, keep her quiet and warm. Without the vet this will be harder to deal with over the Internet. Someone needs to feel for an egg and not break it in the process. Checking her droppings for bacteria count and parasites could be a starting point if there is not an egg in there.


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

Today she still hasn't layed an egg, all she does is sit in the corner of her cage, and I didn't feel an egg either, so maybe something else is wrong or she just thinks she's going to lay an egg and she didn't eat much for the last week ( she's eating better now )so maybe that's why she was weak, if she has some sort of parasite should I try to treat her for it now? I have wormer, and coccidiosis treatment, I think there is some other parasite treatments too.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*What kind of wormers do you have? Not all are pigeon friendly.*


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

I have wazine I have used it before for my pigeons and chickens it didn't hurt them.


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## JennyM (Sep 21, 2015)

You should take the pigeon to the veterinarian, it's too hard for people here to "guess" what could be wrong. If your parents can't take you, find another family member (older sibling, cousin, aunt, etc) or neighbor to help you.


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

Luckily I don't have to take her to the vet!!! she finally passed her egg!!!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Great! Thanks for the update. You really do need to find a vet though for future problems. Birds do get sick or run into problems, and it's important to know where to go for help.
Good to start a relationship with a good avian vet.


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

Starlight&Hollyleaf said:


> Luckily I don't have to take her to the vet!!! she finally passed her egg!!!


Yay! Lol... You will want to up her calcium with D3 supplement and see that she gets more sunshine. She needs a break off the nest to do that.


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*If she is having difficulty now, it will continue each time she lays eggs. You need to make sure she gets the calcium/D3, access to direct sunlight and bathing and exercise. Adding warmth like heating pad when she is laying will help. 

It would be good for her to take a break from laying eggs. Does she have a mate or is she bonded to you? If she is bonded to you, refrain from petting her on the back, as that may be encouraging her to lay eggs. *


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

She does have a mate and she's not really bonded to me, she can sit in the sun and bath whenever she wants, and she can get plenty of exercise. I'll move her mate for a few days to give her a break from laying eggs, and I'll add a heating pad next time she try's to nest.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Glad to hear she laid her egg!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Starlight&Hollyleaf said:


> She does have a mate and she's not really bonded to me,* she can sit in the sun and bath whenever she wants,* and she can get plenty of exercise. I'll move her mate for a few days to give her a break from laying eggs, and I'll add a heating pad next time she try's to nest.


IF your birds are kept indoors, they cannot get the needed suns rays through a window glass or screen. They filter out most of the rays that are needed, and without them, or a D3 supplement, she can't use the calcium she does get. That's why a calcium/vit. D3 supplement are so important.


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

All my pigeons live outside in a aviary. I'll just keep her mate indoors for a few days.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Why keep him inside, as she has already had the egg. That won't do anything, and she would just be upset wondering where he is. No reason to take him. Did you replace any eggs with fake eggs? They should sit on those for a while, which will give her a break.


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

Yes I replaced her one egg, her mate is not nice to her, but I'll let them stay together outside if you thinks that's the best thing for her.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

How is he not nice to her?


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

He pecks and bites her, he constantly tries to mate with her, and sometimes he won't let her eat. None of my other pairs do that.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Then maybe you are doing her a favor to separate them. I hate males like that. They're bullies. Males are generally somewhat pushy with their mates, but others can be downright mean. Some others can be so nice with their mates. I would separate them to give her a break. If he doesn't calm down eventually, I would probably give him away and try to find her a nice mate.


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

The only reason I haven't gotten rid of him is because when he was a baby another pigeon pecked his head until you could see his skull, and then I had to hand raise him and treat his wound. And I would say that he's downright mean to his mate.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Mine was horrible when he was just old enough to leave the nest. Actually, before that. When I used to feed them from my hand at the box, he would attack the parents for the treat. Later, instead of leaving the box, he kept very roughly trying to evict them. He would wrestle with Mom and throw her out. I have never liked him. The dumb male parent would just back off and watch, and he is a 661 gram bird. I removed him from the loft for a week or so, but when returning he did the same thing. So then I removed him for a few weeks. This time, when I returned him, Dad was waiting for him. When he attacked them this time, Dad knocked him on his butt. I named him Demon. He is still awful a couple of years later.


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

Wow, Burton was never mean until he got a mate. Not too long ago when he was sitting on eggs he tore up another male's neck pretty bad, I was going to get rid of him then but decided to keep him. If he doesn't stop beating up pigeons he'll have to go to a new home.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Often if you remove them from the loft for a few weeks, where he can't see or hear the others, then bring him back, they are better, as they have lost their place in the pecking order. It usually works. 
Did he actually go into the other birds nest box? Was Burton sitting on eggs, or the other bird?


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

They both had eggs at the time, but the other male was not sitting, and for some reason Burton didn't nest in a nesting box ( I had some ready ) instead he nested about a foot from the water dish. Burton was sitting on eggs like normal but when the other male came to get water Burton got up and tore his neck up. But when other female pigeons came to get water Burton didn't care, it was only males he didn't like, ( other then his mate ) . I moved the water dish out of the house after that.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

You don't move the water dish, you stop them from nesting around in other places other than their box. When they nest on the floor or other places, they will then see that area and whole level around as their property. This you stop so that there aren't problems with others going in shared areas. 
Can you post a picture of their set up?


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

Sorry for the late reply, I've been pretty busy.


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

Burton nested under the heat lamp.


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

That's a Christmas tree in the aviary.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I need to tell you that the area isn't safe, mice, rats and snakes can get through that wire. This can also dig under, so just not safe. 
I'm sorry, but those nest boxes are too small. They aren't going to nest in those, and they don't want to nest on the floor, as it isn't safe on the ground. Pigeons like to roost up and nest up as high as they can. They need nest boxes several feet up that you can attach to the wall maybe. And perches to perch on also. More perches than you have birds. 
Also have to let you know that those heat lamps are unsafe, as sometimes they do explode and start fires. They do sell reptile heaters that are safer, and you also have to be sure that they cannot fly into them or land on them, because they will, and they will get burned. I'm not trying to pick on you, but the set up just isn't safe for your birds, and not designed to avoid fights.
There is a section on here about different lofts. It would be good to look it over. You don't need an expensive set up like some of them are, but there are also some smaller and simple ones that you may be able to get ideas from. Even different ways of making nest boxes. You would probably enjoy looking through the different ideas. I always like seeing others lofts and getting different ideas.


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

This pen is only temporary, I'm saving up money to buy a new one, I know it's not a very good pen, I have never had a problem with predators, we have cats who kill mice, and the only predator that has come was a opossum that was after our chickens. I'll look at some better lofts.


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## Starlight&Hollyleaf (Mar 10, 2016)

The pen they are in now is still much better then what most of my pigeons were originally living in, two of them were stuck in a very small cage, and that cage was left in a shed with no sunlight and nothing to bath in.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I am just saying that they aren't safe. Being better than what others were in doesn't make it any safer. When we lock birds up in an enclosure where they cannot escape from, then it is our obligation to make sure that they are safe. We owe it to them.


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