Is this normal or is she egg bound?

Hi, I am new here but I have a pair of lovebirds which are male and female they have been mating and for the last 3 weeks been shredding paper and nest building so I put a diy box in the bottom and they took to it straight away and have been spending a lot of time in there. 2 days ago I noticed the female is very swollen down there and looks ready to lay a egg, she has been in box ever since but has not laid a egg, sometimes she fluffs up and is like laying down properly then she looks more alert, the male is in and out feeding her and only once have I caught her coming out of the box on the floor but the second she sees me she rushes back in. I have been reading up on the net about egg binding and have no experience of this before, I was given these birds a year ago, they are about 2 now. I have been following something I read about keeping her warm and the humidity high and have been drying wet towels in the tumble drier with them in the same room so it has been warm and humid in there but I have no idea how long fit should take for her to actually lay the egg and how long should I leave it before doing something about it like taking her to a vet as don't want to stress her out by taking her if what is happening is normal but am worried that egg binding can be fatal quickly. any advice would be great, thank you, sharon

You need to get her to the vet ASAP, especially if its already been two days. Egg binding will turn fatal if not attended to. You are correct in keeping the the temperature and humidity high; but seeing as its been 48 hours with no improvement, I'd get her to the vet straight away.

Are you providing her with calcium supplements??? If you haven't done that yet, you should provide her. It will appear to be a bit swollen down there, you just need to keep an close eye on her just in case. IF she's egg binding, you will know, she will not be coming out to do a thing but she will either lay in the nest box or the bottom of the cage panting away all puffed up. She will allow you to grab her without much issues. IF she's egg binding, either rush her to the vet clinic ASAP or if it's either life and death situation cause they can die VERY quickly during this process you need to react quickly. Start boiling water and use olive oil and lubricate her cloaca. Hold her above the steam with her cloaca above the steam. You can gently help her pass the egg but you have to be super gentle cause if you break the egg inside her, she will die. I don't suggest doing this if you haven't done it before, it is best to have it done at the specialized vet clinic. The only reason I suggested it because 99% of the time they don't make it to the clinic once you catch them. Also do remember, once they egg bind, they will do it again. The following time you may not be so lucky. I lost one a year and a half ago to egg binding and this time she wasn't so lucky cause I wasn't around when it happened as I saved her the first time around 6 months prior. It's a devastating thing to witness.....

hi thanks for the replies. She still has not laid the egg but she is coming out of her box to gather bits of shredded paper but rushes back in as soon as she sees me, the male is feeding her and is often in the box with her, I actually caught them mating in there. She has times of looking sleepy and puffed up but they don't last long then she is alert and looking ok.
If she is still ok enough to think about nest building then am I ok to let nature take it's course, is it when she is continually puffed up that I know for sure that she cannot lay it without a vet?

She will definitely show signs of stress more then looking sleepy and puffed up. IF she's still stuffing her tail with paper and bringing back to the nest she's still building. Is this her first time???

Hi, Still hasn't laid an egg but she is in and out taking bits back in her wing, she is also eating millet that I laid next to her box and does not look stressed out at all.
They are about 2/3 years old, I have only had them about 6 months. My friend gave them to me who told me that she laid 2 eggs once before but nothing came of them.
Givng her extra calcium and keeping her warm so hopefully she will start laying soon.

Good luck Sharon, I haven't really got any advice as I am waiting for mine to lay their first clutch too. They weren't showing any interest in their box on the floor so I have just put it higher in their cage. I was also told she had laid eggs in a happy hut, only for them to roll out and smash, by a previous owner. Fingers crossed we both get babies soon.

Are you guys going to handfeed? Anything can happen once they're hatched out! You may get bad parents that don't take care of them properly and you would be forced to handfeed them at a very young age. I hope you both are prepared for that....I just had two Cockatiel babies hatched out tonight from two different pairs. I'm also handfeeding the older babies right now as well....

I plan on Handfeeding. I hand fed my Ecky so I am prepared for that.

Good to hear as Ekkies are one of the harder ones to hand feed! Good Luck!

I would love to hand feed but never done it before so will have to get advice on that. SHe still hasn't laid her egg but is still coming out of her box to gather bits for her nest and is eating the millet on the floor. Wish she would hurry up lol