Thank you to everybody who answered our Issue 4 Survey on
Egg Bound Hens.
Here are the results:

EGG BOUND HENS
DESCRIPTION:

[1]  Hen will mostly be found out of nest box fluffed up and swollen around vent area with tail pumping.
[2]  Hen will be found with a prolapse, usually with the egg still attached.

THE RESULTS

We had 17 replies to this survey, and out of these there where 454 Pairs of Budgerigars, and 16 of the hens in these pairs became Egg Bound.

We also asked if people the age of the Egg Bound Hen
Here are the results:
Less than 1 year - 6 Hens
2 years - 5 Hens
3 years - 2 Hens

Here are some interesting comments we received from this survey:

[1]    The problem is not one I encounter very often. It can occur with hens of any age. I find it normally happens more frequently with hens that have been in cages too long before pairing up.
If they are in flights, they must be active. It is no good if a hen is idle, and stays in the same place all the time.
Cod liver oil soaked seed in the two months prior to breeding helps to prevent the problem. (Do not soak too much at one time - it goes rancid, and causes more problems).
To remove the egg, hold the bird over a bowl of hot water, and with a child's paintbrush, paint the vent with an oil. Olive oil is very good. When the egg is passed, return the hen to her original cage, but remove the cock. Keep her quiet, and don't use her again that year.

[2]    In 12 years of breeding budgies I have never had an egg bound hen, I feed my hens on sunflower  seed a little over a period of time before breeding time

[1]    1 tbl spoon of cod liver oil 1 tbl spoon wheatgerm mix with 500grams of seed helps prevent egg binding.

[2]    Now I have 23 breeding pairs. Two of my hens have become egg bound. They were at that time 8 months. So, I think they were too young. But I want as many young birds as possible of this hens, because they are really good.

[3]    1 young hen egg bound this season, first time for a number of seasons.

[4]    I paired up 1 pair of breeding budgies a year. Only one hen became egg bound. The hen was about a year old, she is on her second clutch and became egg bound again. Each time it was the last egg. The second pair hasn't given any results yet.

Click HERE to return to the BCT Library