egg bound

[mzdolittle]

Two of my friends have lost birds this month. Their respective vets told them they were egg bound. Of my 7 birds, only my parrotlet is a male. Is there something I should be doing to prevent this? I haven't read anything in any of my books that tell how to prevent this from happening. All but one of my birds are mature and frankly, the thought scares me to death.

[Serya]

HI. I was just looking through some posts, and although you made this post nearly one month ago, I can't believe that NO ONE has replied. I wish I'd seen this sooner. (Hopefully you'll read this). I also have been through the loss of a bird from being egg bound. It really is very sad. Unfortunately, there is really not anything that you can do other than providing your birds with a healthy diet, varying it with fruits and vegetables along with their normal seeds or pellets. If your birds are on a seed diet, make sure the seeds you use are fortified or premium. (these mixes have a good variety of ingredients). Most importantly, provide your birds with LOTS of cuttlebone. Every time they lay eggs, they deplete the calcium in their little bodies. They need the cuttlebone to rebuild what's been lost. When my parakeet was getting ready to lay, she'd go on a cuttlebone frenzy, finishing the whole thing in a couple of hours!!! One tip that I got from my local petstore is to keep a little tub of warm water in the cage for the bird who is laying. They said the bird might go and sit in it to make things easier. (I used the little bird bath I'd bought for my parakeet, their not very expensive, and fit nicely into the cage). Good luck with all of your birds, and I hope that you never have to experience the death of a bird who is egg bound.