How to Prevent Egg Binding

Egg binding is a phenomenon that affects female birds of small species such as lovebirds, budgies and finches. This condition can also occur in larger bird species and once it occurs can lead to death of the producing female. Symptoms of this condition include loss of appetite, abdominal straining, an unusual amount of sitting on the bottom of the cage and sometimes a change in droppings. All birds that are suspected to have this condition should be taken immediately to a veterinarian. The condition may be resolved with medical treatment or surgery if identified early enough. Instructions for preventing egg binding are included in the following section.

Things You'll Need

  • Crushed egg shell or calcium/mineral block
  • Sunlight or full-spectrum light
  • Fruit
  • Vegetables
  • Sprouted Seeds
  • Cereal Grains
  • Toys
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Instructions

    • 1

      Insert a small bowl of hard-boiled, crushed egg shell into the bird cage or install a calcium/mineral block on the side of the cage. Breeding females need an appropriate amount of calcium so that the shells of their eggs can harden and form properly.

    • 2

      Move the cage next to a source of natural light or place the cage under a full-spectrum lighting source. Ensure that the cage is kept uncovered for at least 12 hours a day so that the bird can obtain the proper amount of light to increase and maintain their vitamin D levels. Maintaining proper levels of vitamin D will also help with normal egg formation as it allows the calcium to be absorbed and converted.

    • 3

      Provide the bird with a full-range diet to include fruit, vegetables, sprouted or germinated seed and cereal grains. The sprouted or germinated seed should not comprise more than 20 to 25 percent of the diet. Offer fresh fruits and vegetables if available and mash them to a baby food consistency for easy consumption.

    • 4

      Allow your bird to exercise as much as possible by providing them with toys in their cage. Exercising can also be done by physically removing your bird from its cage and interacting with it.

    • 5

      Restrict nesting behavior by removing toys, reducing interaction, decreasing the amount of exposure to the light, restricting fatty diet components and removing nesting materials. Nesting behavior can include lifting of the birds tail into a vertical position either intermittently or continually, stroking of her back on objects, kicking seed out of containers or shredding nesting materials.