Best way to avoid my canary being egg bound?

My hen canary died last week, I’m fairly sure she was egg bound sadly. She had made a nest but looked a little “fluffed up” and lethargic. I found her sitting on the floor of the aviary and caught her quite easily. I tried a bath of warm water and lubricating her vent with olive oil but to no avail.

Egg binding is never a good thing, especially when we loose our beloved birds to it. There are lots of things that can cause egg binding such as:

Dehydration
Lack of calcium
Lack of protein
Lack of Vitamins and minerals
Age
Humidity
Moisture in the stage of passing the egg

I would suggest lightly “misting” the outside of the nest box when you know your female (when you get another one again which im sure you eventually will at some stage) is in the stage of passing the eggs. The water soaks into the wood (always a good idea to have a wooden nesting box) and with the humidity in the air and something causing a bit of condensation such as a small heater, or a small heat pad a little distance away from the cage, with a water bowl on top of it to keep the air moist.

Other than that, the most you can do is feed her lots of vitamins and minerals, especially calcium and protein. This helps and aids in the development of eggs, and helps prevent binding. You can also slightly mist the inside of the nest box with luke warm water when she is laying eggs. But i wouldn’t advise it unless its under extreme circumstances because bothering a laying hen could add to the egg binding as it puts her under stress and pressure when you open the box.

Also only let them breed once she is about 1 year and 3 months or older. (min age)

Otherwise you will just have to hope that nature is kind to the hens. Egg binding sometimes happens for no reason. Im sorry to hear about your female. I wish you luck with the breeding, and wish you well with the next lot.

Hope this helps you and good luck =]

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