My female parakeet has a lump under her tail and sits on the floor of her cage a lot. Is this normal? She's lived in a cage with a male parakeet for five years, but this is the first she's ever shown these signs.
2006-12-30 20:14:10 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Birds
You should seek veterinary care for your bird immediately. Sitting on the floor of the cage is never normal, and it sounds like your little parakeet is "egg-bound." If this is the case, then her life is in danger. Female birds (most commonly budgerigars/parakeets, cockatiels, finches and some other species) can become stimulated to lay eggs without breeding. This can happen in response to the presence of a male, hormonal imbalances, exposure to constant periods of light and dark that mimic springtime, or actual breeding with a male bird. The eggs are often sterile, i.e. they contain no viable chick. This egg laying will often continue if the egg is sterile, or if the egg is removed immediately, but the stimulus to lay still exists. Such chronic egg laying can deplete the female bird's stores of calcium and other nutrients. Calcium is necessary for muscle contractions, which push the egg through the birth canal. Therefore, lack of calcium from chronic egg laying can potentially result in the egg becoming lodged in the birth canal because the muscles no longer work well enough to push the egg out. The final result: a bird in dire need of immediate veterinary care and a break from laying eggs!
2006-12-30 21:25:34 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes she may be laying an egg but even if there is no male around a female parakeet would lay an egg from time to time. It would just be an unfertilized egg. However, egg laying should not take more than an hour and it seems like she's having trouble. You must take her to the vet. The lump under her tale may or may not be an egg but either way it is definitely not healthy for her to be in this condition for over an hour so you should DEFINITELY call the vet for advice =] best luck to you!
2006-12-31 12:10:11 · answer #2 · answered by girl1234 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know but I do know I had a parrot lay eggs and she didn't have any lumps. I know that eggs can become impacted or just won't come out. Get to a vet. When larger birds go to the bottom of their cage, they are usually pretty close to death. I don't know the nesting habit of parakeets so LOL.
2006-12-31 04:18:25 · answer #3 · answered by towanda 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My parents cockatiel did this for a few years even though she had no male to mate with. She would actually form an unfertilized egg and lay it. Of course it would never hatch but she would fuss and fuss over it until eventually my mom would have to remove it and eventually she would lay another one. She just wanted to be a mom. She ended up laying so many eggs..that from all of the pushing, over time, she pushed out her uterus. My Mom, for awhile would push it back in but eventually she died from being so obsessed with laying and trying to hatch her eggs.
2006-12-31 08:50:07 · answer #4 · answered by Sonia A 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would say that it could be that she is pregnant and she doesn't want to lay the egg on the floor. Put a nesting box in there or she could die from egg bind.
2006-12-31 13:52:26 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What came first....the parakeet or the egg.....
2006-12-31 04:16:01 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋