Is my Lovebird about to lay an egg?

[The Hills]

We've had her for about 2 months, and she's been shredding paper and sticking it in her feathers. Well, now she has a huge lump between her back legs and tail. The previous owner has said that she's laid eggs before. We've got three other birds that are all males so this is new to us.

Does anyone have pics of their bird carrying an egg? I just want to see if that's what is happening and to make sure that it's not something wrong with her.

Thanks.

[The Hills]

Here are the best pics we could get of her.







This one is blurry, but it may be the best one to see what I'm talking about.

[expressmailtome]

Based on what you are saying she is getting ready. Female lovebirds shred and then stick nesting materials into their rump to carry them to where ever they plan on building their nests. Have her stools become much larger than usual? Also, why are you giving her nesting materials? That is not a good idea if you are not planning on breeding.

Matt

[mayaexquisite]

Is she housed with the males? If not, then at least you don't have to worry about the eggs being fertile... but I would do what Matt suggested and remove any and all nesting materials as that only encourages the behavior.

Are you giving her extra calcium during this time? Egg laying strips the hen of her calcium so she needs LOTS to replenish her body, otherwise they can get eggbound. Cuttlebone and/or mineral block is usually not enough calcium for hens to stay healthy. If she eats pellets, that'd be good because there is calcium and vitamind D in it and cooked eggs (with eggshell crushed) would also be great her for to eat.

P.S. We'd love to see pictures of the rest of your flock!!

[The Hills]

Originally Posted by mayaexquisite

Is she housed with the males? If not, then at least you don't have to worry about the eggs being fertile... but I would do what Matt suggested and remove any and all nesting materials as that only encourages the behavior.

Are you giving her extra calcium during this time? Egg laying strips the hen of her calcium so she needs LOTS to replenish her body, otherwise they can get eggbound. Cuttlebone and/or mineral block is usually not enough calcium for hens to stay healthy. If she eats pellets, that'd be good because there is calcium and vitamind D in it and cooked eggs (with eggshell crushed) would also be great her for to eat.

P.S. We'd love to see pictures of the rest of your flock!!

She is not housed with the males. Thanks for the advice, we will get right on that. Thanks so much!

You want pics? We got pics!

Neo the GCC (I know I'm not supposed to have favorites, but I can't help it, he's our baby, our first bird, we got him at only a few months old). He says about 30 different words and phrases. Very smart and full of personality.




Popeye the Timneh. He's a character!




Sweet Pea the Parrotlet:



This is my wife's bird that stays at her mother's house next door. Her name is Babe.







These are her mother's birds.

Spyro:



Red:

[mayaexquisite]

Oh, little did I know your males were not lovebirds!! *lol* Well, we've not nothing to worry about there then!! *lol*

Your other birds are gorgeous!! And what diversity!! Love it!! I would eventually love to add a Sun Conure to my family but I don't know if I can get over their "chirp."

I know what you mean by favorite... you just can't help it. Mika is my "favorite" and my baby, but we just have that special bond because he's my first born and I had to handfeed him (and his siblings) from week one. Mika is definitely the light of my life. I love Kano very much as well, but it's just not quite the same. Just like how parents have that "special bond" with their first born child...

[expressmailtome]

One other thing. As she lays the eggs you may want to boil them so that they do not crack and get on her and the cage. They also sell replacement eggs that are fake that you can swap for hers. Just incase this is your first egg laying experience, it is best to not take away her eggs until she ignores and discards them. Otherwise she will keep laying to replace the eggs that you took. On another note all of your birds look great! Your lovebird is a beautiful pied!

Matt

[The Hills]

I thought I would write in and say that we did not have a case of egg binding. I took Albie to the vet Tuesday morning after talking to him on Monday. They keep her to do x-ray's and found that she had a tumor. She is doing just fine and looks okay. We go back in two weeks to have stitches removed. They removed a tumor the size of a walnut, no wonder the poor thing looked like she was going to lay eggs. We have not had tests ran yet on the tumor to see if it malignant or not. Don't have the money right now.

Thanks

The Hills

[expressmailtome]

Sorry to hear about Albie. I hope that things work out ok and it is not cancer.

Matt

[TooDusty]

I have a lovebird, Monday, who has a tumour but the vet said that she can't remove it because the bird won't survive the anesthetic. That's odd. She still lays eggs!! What a tough little bugger. Good thing you noticed it early! You probably saved her life!