# Egg Binding tips.....



## CBL (May 13, 2014)

This is NareJ's post to me re: white fleshy goo she passed....

"hello.....female pigeon, passed out white flesh like thing yesterday morning and looked sick.today afternoon when i left her out she laid a very very soft shelled egg....egg looked transperant and had a bit blood on it and was very soft....after that she looked a bit active and ate very little feed so i brought her fav chickpeas[i know its not good for her but she hasnt eaten anything from yesterday] and she ate a lot of chickpeas in evening and went to nest box and sat their fluffed up,i think she want to lay the second egg..but its night now she hasnt laid still but is sitting in the nest box....can u tell whats going on i have never experienced or heard anything like this????? her poops are watery with some poop and small read thing which i thing is blood..she is the same female who raised 2 babies alone....i think its calcium issue so i will search for better calcium supplement till that time i will use cipcal 500. i gave 50 mg two time till now...should i continue for more 2 days........["



I tried to pm u back but would not work for some reason some symbol u put beside ur name. I deleted it but still would not work so posting here.

I told you by your description of the white goo that she was passing soft shelled egg, important to keep her warm, give her some honey right in her mouth use a toothpick or the end of a spoon and spoon just a bit into the tip of her mouth. Then make sure she is somewhere IN the house in a warm room. 95 degrees F. It is very important that YOU provide heat to keep her warm, if she is fighting for heat and fluffed then that is one more thing stalling her recovery. She needs calcium yes, give her for a few more days for sure. But thats it then give her minerals. I would even say give her half of a HUMAN pill of calcium in this emergency situation. Email me at [email protected] as my mailbox here is full. I will post some info for you to check it and read all of it and do what is pertinent to her situation, ONLY do the things you can dont do the vet stuff. brb...gonna be a long post as I will put all I have in my ipad here for future reference as well. 

NareJ, when and if she passes this last egg, you MUST remove ALL nesting material, all next boxes, anything to do with nesting and allow this bird to recover fully from this ordeal, she is slowly being killed by over breeding or laying too many sets of eggs or by simple lack of proper nutrition and minerals. When they lay soft shelled or wind eggs, she has not enough calcium in her body and during the process the calcium in HER BONES will be drawn out to try to make an egg. This is VERY detrimental for the bird and can kill her. So by removing all nesting equipment, you allow her to just be a bird and be healthy. It will take a year at this time by how you describe her. Now you need to save her life. The honey or sugar water, the warmth VERY important at this stage and good food of ALL kinds not just the chick peas. I know you say that she loves them and go ahead a give her some but she NEEDS the seeds and the minerals especially at this time or she wont recover enough. Let me know when she passes the next mess. Its up to you now to give her all she needs, read all of this and if you have any more concerns, email me or post here. Good luck my friend, I hope it works out.

If you have some Tums or an 1/2 adult calcium tablet, crush and give her one in some yogurt or raw egg. Calcium and a warm shallow bath may relax her muscles enough to pass the egg. Here is some reading: 

http://beautyofbirds.com/eggbinding.html 


Prevention is always more economical than treatment, be prepared to change things in your aviary (or individual hens ) if you have a recurrent problem.

· 1 - over fat hens will bind more frequently than fit hens.
· 2 - birds that lack adequate calcium or Vitamin D3 will bind because their muscles are not strong enough to expel the egg. A bird that binds with a soft shelled egg generally has a calcium/D3 deficiency. Breeders should be on a Calcium /Vit D3 supplement ( Calcivet or D nutrical ) during the egg laying period.
· 3 - a multitude of diet factors can cause egg laying problems. Reassess your diet with someone who has knowledge of avian nutritional needs.
· 4 - recurrent infections (misshapen, malformed eggs are often due to uterine infections) - you need veterinary advice. Just as “oils ain’t oils”, antibiotics ain’t antibiotics, some are better at penetrating into the uterus than others.
· 5 - if a hen egg binds in two successive seasons, she should be culled from your breeding programme.

Egg bound treatment

Egg binding refers to a common and potentially serious condition where a female bird is unable to pass an egg that may be stuck near the cloaca, or further inside the reproductive tract. Even though egg binding can occur in any female bird, it is most common in smaller birds such as lovebirds, cockatiels, budgies and finches, and pigeons

The potential of an egg breaking inside the tract is high, which then can result in an infection or damage to internal tissue; and - if left untreated - death.



Suspected causes for egg binding include:

Low Calcium Levels or Hypocalcaemia Syndrome associated with low calcium levels in the blood. Supplementing the breeding hen with a diet rich in calcium and Vitamin D is an important factor in preventing this problem
You could provide a dish filled with crushed egg shell (from boiled eggs to kill any bacteria) and/or attach a calcium / mineral block to the cage.
In areas where access to natural sunlight is limited (such as in the northern hemisphere during the winter months), full-spectrum lamps can be used to provide UVA and UVB rays.Natural food sources rich in Vitamin DPotentially discuss supplementation with your vet. Supplementation needs to be carefully screen ed and supervised by a vet since an excess of vitamin D (in the form of a supplement) causes kidney damage and retards growth.
Relevant Article: Natural Calcium for Birds - Sources and Absorbability

Malnutrition caused by seed-only or low-protein diets. Recommendations for bird diet / bird nutrition.

Sedentary lifestyle: Often the case when birds are kept in enclosures / cages that are too small for them. The lack of exercise causes poorly developed muscles and obesity.

At particular risk are sick and old birds.

Pet birds can also develop this problem, as birds don't need a mate to lay eggs. (Obviously, solitary egg-laying females won't produce fertile eggs.)
Also refer to Chronic Egg Laying and Thin-shelled, soft-shelled, no-shell, porous, misshaped / deformed eggs


Clinical Signs:

Loss of appetite, depression, abdominal straining, and sitting fluffed on the bottom of the cage. Some hens may pass large wet droppings while others may not pass any droppings due to the egg's interfering with normal defecation.
If you suspect that your bird is egg-bound, she should be seen by a vet immediately. The veterinarian may be able to feel the egg in the bird's abdomen. An x-ray may be necessary to confirm the diagnosis. Sometimes medical treatment will enable the hen to pass her egg. Occasionally surgery is necessary.

Complications from being egg bound can be swelling, bleeding or prolapse of the oviduct.


Treatment:

If in doubt as to if the hen is egg bound or not, a few vet sites recommend separation, warmth, warm bath and calcium to all hens in lay that seem distressed.

This is a life-threatening condition and should be addressed by a qualified avian vet. Your vet may discuss:

Calcium shots - immediate solution to help the egg shell harden allowing the hen to hopefully pass it
Lupron shots to stop hens from going into breeding condition
Spaying your hen as a permanent solution

The following are samples of actions that have resolved this problem for some birds (please note: not all hens can be saved, especially if it's critical by the time the problem was discovered and no vet is available or can be reached in time). Egg-bound hens go into profound cardiovascular collapse and may not be able to put in the effort to push the egg out without intervention.

Suspected egg binding: Keep her in a warm area. Provide supportive care.
Place the bird into a steamy room, such as bathroom with shower on until the bathroom mirrors and windows steam up. Desired temperature: 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit / Humidity: 60%. Place bird on wet towel. The warmth relaxes the hen so that the vent can dilate more allowing the egg to pass.

A warm water bath can also be of great help (shallow water, of course, you don't want to drown the hen). This relaxes her muscles and often the hen will pass the egg into the water. Make the water as warm as you would like to take a long soak in.

Massage the muscles in that area with olive oil. In many cases, this lead to a successful passing of the egg. Note: there is a risk associated with messaging this area. It could cause the egg inside to break - which is life-threatening. Be very careful! If in doubt, it's always best to have the vet take care of it ...

Even if the cause is not hypocalcaemia in this hen’s case it will not hurt her to have more calcium.

Applying a personal lubricant, such as KY jelly to her vent may also be helpful.

To reduce swelling on her vent, some breeders reported success in applying Preparation H to her vent.

Successful Passing of the Egg: Following passing of the egg keep the hen in a warm and quiet area separate from the others, until she is out of shock and back to eating and drinking well.

Prevention: Provide bird with high-calorie, high-calcium food to help strengthen future eggs and prevent egg binding. Recommendations for pet bird diet / nutrition.


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## naresh j (Jun 27, 2014)

thanks friend for so much useful information....i will do my best....i forgot to say she actually have a mate and are mating from last 10 days...


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Ok Nare, you have to separate them, do not allow them to be together, she cannot mate in this condition. It is the best for her, try again NEXT year but not now. She has lots of catching up to do for health, and probably trying to feed babies EVEN if she could make any eggs now, which she cant would probably end up killing her. 

Ya as soon as she gets out that second egg, start all the recovery process for her. Keep male away from her as he will constantly try to drive her to nest and he will wear her down till she dies. 

I know you will do the right thing by them  Keep me posted and if you keep her warm, vitamin water, hopefully she will pass the other one. Also are you giving her lots of minerals and grits, that is so important at this time.


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## naresh j (Jun 27, 2014)

Okay for vitamin and mineral I will try cobadex forte


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Are you gonna separate them too, that is mui importante lol.


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## naresh j (Jun 27, 2014)

she seems normal now. no hunch back position, no watery poop [healthy poop], hyperactive....but she has not laid second egg still. i m giving her cipcal 500 tablet's 50 mg per day from last 3 days for calcium...i again found a small flesh [soft shell maybe] in her poop today morning....and this cipcal 500 really good product, i m also giving this to the baby who cant walk and i could see the improvement only in 3 days...thanks for ur help i hope she would pass out the second egg soon.......


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Let me know.


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## JimRyan12 (Apr 11, 2021)

CBL said:


> Let me know.


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## JimRyan12 (Apr 11, 2021)

A will let you no how a get on with my egg bound hen am going to try sum of ur tips jst now


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