# Gigi Update



## CourtyWilli (Feb 15, 2012)

I wanted to just give you an update 
She seems to be doing alright, I pulled her out of the cage and examined the egg, since mom didnt. And it looks alright, theres a peach hue to it, I dont know if thats just staining from the birth fluids or what but I dont see any veins, so as of right now she's pretty healthy, I didnt see any weak spots in the egg either, it looks perfect.

I put it back in with momma and she went right back to it.
Gigi's my bird so I think she trusts me a little more than my mom anyway.

I dunno, really all three of the birds are mom and i's.

Anyway, momma seems to be doing alright, hasnt laid another egg but man is she protective! Took like ten minutes to grab her out of the cage just to see the egg, I didnt want to stress her out too much.

She seems to have calmed and is in the corner at the bottom of the cage guarding and incubating once more.


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## Szafije (Jun 8, 2011)

I have read the other thread you wrote...oh wow Gigi is very young to lay an egg...dumb question but are you sure she is only 9 months old?
Anyway the peach hue usually means that the egg is new or not fertile...you would see veins in there only after few days. Cockatiels lay eggs usually in 36-48 hours, so the second may arrive tomorrow evening or friday...or maybe it was only one...my female was a chronic egg layer til we got her a male but she started it when she was 2, I know a lot about egg laying but not at this young age. I am sure the other threads mention these:
Make sure she has enough calcium to eat (cuttle bone, oyster shells, even crushed egg shells), you can buy wheat germ oil in the pet stores that you add to her food and it helps with passing future eggs, and if you notice any kind symptoms of being egg bound run to the avian vet as soon as possible. I do hope it will not happen, I cross my fingers for you guys 
It would be interesting to know what stimulated her to lay an egg? My female actually posed for my husband lol...and back then we did not know we were not supposed to pet her on the back because she could get hormonal by that. Anything like that with Gigi?


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## CourtyWilli (Feb 15, 2012)

My mom likes to take our three birds and rub them together since we dont know the gender of the other two, and she thinks rubbing them on her butt stimulated her to lay an egg and she may be fertile. We dont know, this is so new to us.

And yes she is that young we got her from a rep breeder and it was marked on the cage how old they where when they where hand fed.

In the book it says they reach Sexual Maturity at 7-9 months so maybe she's just an early bloomer? xD


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## CourtyWilli (Feb 15, 2012)

Oh and another update, Sorry to double post...


UPDATE: But we just moved Gigi into a smaller cage with a nest and stuff to build a nest around her eggs and her one leg seems to be swollen again so maybe that means she's going to lay another egg? Thats what the vet said.

Hopefully that will help with the hormone reduction too.


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## Szafije (Jun 8, 2011)

Oooo that rubbing could be the answer yes  I still do not think that she got "officially" pregnant by rubbing like that but she could get hormonal that is for sure


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## CourtyWilli (Feb 15, 2012)

's what we figured. 
Just worried about her like crazy 'cause she's my baby and I dont want anything to happen to her like the last baby we had. ;-;


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

The 7-9 months is physical maturity not mental, there is a difference. Just because a hen can lay doesn't mean that she's is mentally ready to be a mom.


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## Szafije (Jun 8, 2011)

CourtyWilli said:


> Oh and another update, Sorry to double post...
> 
> 
> UPDATE: But we just moved Gigi into a smaller cage with a nest and stuff to build a nest around her eggs and her one leg seems to be swollen again so maybe that means she's going to lay another egg? Thats what the vet said.
> ...


I have never seen swollen legs as sing of another egg...but again I just can speak of my personal experience.
What would reduce the hormones? Moving her in a different cage with a nest? A nest can encourage her to lay, however my Skye laid 35 eggs in 6 months on the bottom of the cage....


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## CourtyWilli (Feb 15, 2012)

roxy culver said:


> The 7-9 months is physical maturity not mental, there is a difference. Just because a hen can lay doesn't mean that she's is mentally ready to be a mom.


We know that.
And we're scared for her.
We didnt know this was going to happen.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Swollen legs is not a sign of egg laying that I know of, if that doesn't go down she may need to see a vet!


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## CourtyWilli (Feb 15, 2012)

roxy culver said:


> Swollen legs is not a sign of egg laying that I know of, if that doesn't go down she may need to see a vet!


Yeah. Well we asked the vet and he said that that could be a sign, because its only one of her legs - and I've found it on a few websites as well. Because the eggs put pressure on the veins or canal right there or something. 

I'm too tired to remember.


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

One more thing is...are you sure gigi was the one to lay the egg? She seems to have a very yellow face for a female and if you hadnt mentioned the egg laying I would have thought she was a boy from your siggy and avatar. Does Gigi whistle, bang her beak on objects or hold her wings up in a heart shape?( these are all male behaviours). Does Gigi have any solid grey tail feathers?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> Yeah. Well we asked the vet and he said that that could be a sign, because its only one of her legs - and I've found it on a few websites as well. Because the eggs put pressure on the veins or canal right there or something.


Its if she can't move the egg that its an indication of laying (and then its not a good indication, its an indication of egg binding, which is very bad.) The leg being swollen is not a good thing, but if your vet isn't worried then it should be OK. Any changes though she needs to go to the vet.


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## CourtyWilli (Feb 15, 2012)

xoxsarahxox said:


> One more thing is...are you sure gigi was the one to lay the egg? She seems to have a very yellow face for a female and if you hadnt mentioned the egg laying I would have thought she was a boy from your siggy and avatar. Does Gigi whistle, bang her beak on objects or hold her wings up in a heart shape?( these are all male behaviours). Does Gigi have any solid grey tail feathers?



Her tail is completely striped and looks like a female would look 
And we're sure she's the one who was laying the egg because any time we go near it she gets very protective and attacks us which is very out of character for her.


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## CourtyWilli (Feb 15, 2012)

roxy culver said:


> Its if she can't move the egg that its an indication of laying (and then its not a good indication, its an indication of egg binding, which is very bad.) The leg being swollen is not a good thing, but if your vet isn't worried then it should be OK. Any changes though she needs to go to the vet.


Its not inhibiting her at all. Actually when we first put her in the smaller cage she was doing flips up and down on top. In excitement for the new environment. 
Her legs have been swollen for a while and the vet said its because of her overies thats where the eggs sit...


I keep typing legs for eggs and having to go back xD


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## Szafije (Jun 8, 2011)

With all respect I would also tell your Mom to stop that rubbing process


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## CourtyWilli (Feb 15, 2012)

She probably will now xD


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> I keep typing legs for eggs and having to go back


Me too if you didn't see the mistake I made already in my previous post lol.


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Yeah that is what is so horrible about this situation..the "rubbing" of the birds together. Your mother stimulated her to lay eggs which is not something that should be encouraged because egg-laying is very risky to birds since things can often go wrong..like egg binding which is a *big* possibility here, considering that the leg is swollen. Please keep an eye on her and if you notice her straining too hard or looking like she is in pain take her to the vet *immediately*.


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## CourtyWilli (Feb 15, 2012)

Okay. Thank you. :3


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## CourtyWilli (Feb 15, 2012)

bjknight93 said:


> Yeah that is what is so horrible about this situation..the "rubbing" of the birds together. Your mother stimulated her to lay eggs which is not something that should be encouraged because egg-laying is very risky to birds since things can often go wrong..like egg binding which is a *big* possibility here, considering that the leg is swollen. Please keep an eye on her and if you notice her straining too hard or looking like she is in pain take her to the vet *immediately*.


As far as we know right now she seems fine, and like the hyper kid she is, at the moment so right now she's okay, but the next few days I'll watch over her.


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## Szafije (Jun 8, 2011)

roxy culver said:


> Me too if you didn't see the mistake I made already in my previous post lol.


And I typed eggs for legs


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

CourtyWilli said:


> Her legs have been swollen for a while and the vet said its because of her overies thats where the eggs sit...


There shouldn't be eggs sitting inside of her for any substantial length of time. If there are, that's even more evidence toward a problem.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

*Her legs have been swollen for a while and the vet said its because of her overies thats where the eggs sit...*
-----------------------------------------

Are you seeing an avian vet, and have you physically taken her to a vet? The info posted above is questionable.

Below is a pix of a hens oviduct....if there was anything that would affect the hens legs it would be from region 4 of the oviduct. This is also where egg-binding occurs. But the egg puts pressure on the nerve which will cause leg paresis...not swelling. Swelling of the legs/feet is an indication of another health issue, such as a problem with the kidneys.


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## CourtyWilli (Feb 15, 2012)

Shes not paralyzed in her leg, she's got full motion and everything.
She's fine. 

Like, the vet said that its okay. And to just keep an eye on it.
Her behavior hasnt changed, besides when she was guarding the egg and she's back to normal now like I posted in the other thread.


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## CourtyWilli (Feb 15, 2012)

srtiels said:


> *Her legs have been swollen for a while and the vet said its because of her overies thats where the eggs sit...*
> -----------------------------------------
> 
> Are you seeing an avian vet, and have you physically taken her to a vet? The info posted above is questionable.
> ...



I just got her out and checked her over since you mentioned that and the swelling has gone down a lot. Like, ALOT. Like it looks really good, theres still a bump there but its not as prominant as it was before.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

A good picture of it would be a big help.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Is it possible that the leg was swollen because of a minor injury? For example if another bird bit her leg, cockatiels sometimes attack each other's feet.


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## CourtyWilli (Feb 15, 2012)

We think thats probably what happened. Because now the swelling is pretty much down to nothing.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It's also possible that the problem is gout. I know next to nothing about it, but I know that diet plays a role. So check out the thread at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27479 so you can work on improving your birds' diet if you need to.


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