Help Grey laid 2 eggs and plucked all her chest feathers

[juliwag]

Penny my 21 year old CAG laid an egg on the 2nd of Dec, and a second one on the 11th. last week, one cracked and fell through the bars, so I removed it, she has been a good "mom" and sitting on them, they are infertile, she is the only grey I have. last night the second one fell through and cracked so I took it out. I had noticed she had plucked some feathers around her vent 2 days ago, yesterday she had plucked more. this morning her whole chest is bare and all the feathers are in the corner of the cage where the eggs were. will she stop plucking once the season is over? I ordered some plastic eggs that will hopefully be here by Friday. she had never laid eggs before, I have only had her for 2.5 years. sadly the holidays are crazy busy right now for us, and I am at a loss as what to do to help her.

 

[LordTriggs]

The eggs cracking could mean she's not got enough calcium in her to make the shells properly, so give her some calorie rich foods scrape some cuttlebone shavings over her food, bake some egg shell and mix it in her food. She could even be egg-bound right now cause her pain which could be the trigger for plucking, try feeling her abdomen for an egg in there, she'll need to get the soonest appointment possible with her vet if she is egg-bound as it is fatal if left.

 

[ChristaNL]

What LordTriggs said .. get her checked out asap if you can.


Even if an x-ray is not an option...
At least the CAV can draw a little blood for the diverse calciumlevels (there is "regular" and "active" calcium - I forget who is what) but grey are notorious for having a shortage anyway.


Usually they lay every second day or so (if you weigh your bird daily you can see the eggs comming by the weight gained and lost).


They will (rule of thumb) not stop laying untill they have 5 eggs (their species average number of eggs).


Plucking on the belly is normal for nesting birds.. plucking around the vent is anything but!!!
So get an expert opinion plze.

 

[juliwag]

Thanks guys, will get her checked out.

 

[bigfellasdad]

The first time Enzo laid eggs, on the second day she plucked all of her belly in minutes, I was heart broken for her. She stopped at this point though. I took her to the vet once her 4 eggs arrived and the vet was very interested but not concerned about the plucking, he believed it does happen occationally and especially when a bird lays her first batch.



As for the eggs cracking, im not sure as Enzo's eggs have fallen 6 foot to the ground at times and not broken, but they fall on to a soft matt that I place under her to catch her droppings, other times she lays her eggs when she is in my arms so no impact at all. What im saying is, if the eggs fell on to bars at the bottom of the cage, I doubt any egg, soft or not would survive that impact.



I believe its normal for 4 eggs to arrive, with a day or three between each egg, although last month Enzo only laid two. I would keep a very close eye on her and try not get her too active but instead comfortable and calm. Her hormones will be all over the place and no doubt she is acting very differently at present, maybe looking for dark corners, less interested in being close to you and your family. This will pass.


I do however agree with the above sentiments and increase her calcium levels, you can buy avain calcium powder, cuttle fish, mineral blocks etc etc, Enzo loves natural unsweetened youghurt with little pieces of fresh fruit, not too good for her but in small servings (1 level teaspoon tsp) I think harmless.



Id also call your avian vet if not local and explain what you are seeing and allow him to decide if a call is necessary or not.


I hope this helps you and your little grey hen, and congratulations n your close bond with the bird

 

[bigfellasdad]

Another thing, I was advised on here to reduce her day light during natural broody time, and I have done over the recent weeks, she is in bed 'night night' from 7pm now and awakes at 7am when i get up, I spend more time with her in the morning these days. It has helped im sure. I bought an amazon dot and a philips hue smart lamp, the lamp comes on 10% at dusk and up for 50% within 20 minutes. This continues he day until i get home. I have my evening meal with her and goof about for an hour then its bed time. I drop the lamp 10% every few minutes so over 15minutes the lamp goes from background lamp to no light, just as natures sunset. I find this works really well and I dont struggle to get her to bed.


HTH

 

[juliwag]

Thank you, she passed egg 3 last night, she dropped it from a perch this time, and it broke, she had no interest in it, so I am hoping this is the end of the brooding/mothering phase for her. and yes, I think her sitting on the eggs on the bars of the bottom of the cage is why they broke. I know they are far apart, I kept thinking she was done. hopefully this is it, but I Have 2 fake eggs coming, just in case. I will be moving her cage, once the holiday is over, to a spot that is still in the main part but has no dark corners. thank you so much for the advice and help.

 

[ChristaNL]

Just start weighing her from today- at least you will see the next egg coming

(Appie used to gain about 17 grams every time)

 

[chris-md]

plucking with egg laying is not unusual. It’s a hormonal thing, they use the feathers to line the nest. It will stop on it’s own.

 

[bigfellasdad]

Thank you, she passed egg 3 last night, she dropped it from a perch this time, and it broke, she had no interest in it, so I am hoping this is the end of the brooding/mothering phase for her. and yes, I think her sitting on the eggs on the bars of the bottom of the cage is why they broke. I know they are far apart, I kept thinking she was done. hopefully this is it, but I Have 2 fake eggs coming, just in case. I will be moving her cage, once the holiday is over, to a spot that is still in the main part but has no dark corners. thank you so much for the advice and help.

In the bottom of Enzo's cage I keep newspaper or card or even doggy matts so as to make it easier to clean every other day by just replacing the paper. Im wondering if something is on the bottom of the cage it may stop eggs breaking allowing her to mother the eggs, which may stop the sporadic laying...there seems to be too much of a gap between eggs which may be down to them breaking and her not gettingg it out of her system?!?!?! totally guessing here of course.