Today we are going to discuss a heart-wrenching problem related to mother budgies. This problem is called egg binding. Egg binding is immensely dangerous for mother birds because eggs get stuck in the bird’s oviduct which may cause death.
Egg binding occurs in all birds but in this blog post, we are going to discuss what happens, how to treat it, and how to prevent egg binding in budgies.
Short Answer:
Egg binding is a deadly problem for mother budgies if you do not take the right measures to treat the issue. We recommend you should take your bird to the nearest vet.
In case you cannot find a vet in your area then you can try to treat it by yourself. To treat the egg binding, you need to massage the bird’s vent with oil that will ease the egg discharge from the bird’s oviduct.
There are ways to prevent egg binding which we will discuss in detail so that your bird will not face the excruciating pain which will result in the bird’s death.
Symptoms of Egg Binding in Budgies
If you detect this egg-binding problem early in the bird then it is easy to resolve and save the bird from excruciating pain and death while laying eggs.
You will be able to detect this issue if you know the exact symptoms which show that the female budgie is going to face an egg-binding issue. Following are the symptoms you need to look for,
- Female budgies will not be able to fly
- Female budgie will not be able to move
- Female budgie will not be able to open her eyes due to pain
- Female budgies will not be able to eat
- Female budgies will lower their wings which will show the pain
- Old female budgies are more prone to egg binding issue
Before checking these symptoms, you need to notice some specific signs if the female budgie has an egg in her bump so that you will not be mistaken,
- The female budgie vent has a bigger bump
- The bird’s skin on the vent side will be visible because of the bump
- The bump will be growing every day
- Female budgie Cere should be brownish
These are all the symptoms that should be noticed as early as you can to save your bird.
How Long Can a Budgie Survive Egg Bound?
This is a medical emergency and you won’t be able to guess how much your budgie will survive. You should take immediate action when you notice these symptoms, take your bird to the vet, or learn how to expel the egg from the bird’s vent successfully.
Please note: Never try to attempt to resolve this egg binding issue if you are not trained. Let me tell you about an event that I happened to came across in my career, where one of the bird owners tried to eject the egg from the bird’s oviduct and he mistakenly pull out the whole oviduct along with the egg which resulted in the death of the bird.
How do you Treat Egg Binding on Budgies?
If you notice all the above symptoms in your budgie which means your bird has tried its best to expel the egg but couldn’t therefore you need to help her.
The first preference is to take your bird to the vet.
The last option is to treat the bird by yourself.
You need to do the following steps if you are trained enough to help your budgie.
- Wear disposable gloves
- Hold the female budgie gently
- Massage the bird’s vent with olive oil to lubricate the bird’s vent
- Put your fingers on the sides below the rib cage of the bird where you would be able to feel the egg shape
- Push it gently and you will see the oviduct skin coming out of the vent
- Push it gently until you see the egg coming out of the oviduct
When the egg has ejected from the bird’s oviduct then your bird will be relaxed. You can hand-feed the bird with the following supplements such as,
How to Prevent Egg Binding in Budgies?
To prevent egg binding you need to take care of the following factors,
- You should avoid old female budgies breeding as this issue usually happens with old female birds.
- You should avoid young budgies to breed
- Your female budgies should have a proper diet with good nutrients
You should provide proper nutrients to your breeding budgies which we have covered in our new blog post however give them the following,
- Cuttlebone gives them calcium
- Oily seeds such as (sunflower seeds, canary seeds, and Millet)
- Vegetables after pecking with olive oil
Calcium is really important for birds. If your budgie has no calcium deficiency then chances of egg binding issue is minimum.
Conclusion
We have elaborated on what is an egg-binding issue, what are the symptoms, how to treat it, and how to prevent it from happening.
If you would have any other queries related to egg binding then you can let us know in the comment below or contact us so that we can provide you with consultancy over a video call.