Depressed Female Canary. PLEASE HELP!

[PleaseHelpBogie]

My parents have had a pet canary for about a year that they thought was a boy. Recently they found out she was a girl, and she laid eggs while they were out of town and she was being watched by a friend of the family. The eggs broke open when she laid them from a perch, she is just a baby and didn't know to make a nest.

This was one month ago. For the past month she has been living and nesting in her food dish (obviously the food has been removed). She barely comes out and only to go to the bathroom, and refuses to eat anything but seed. She seems to be crying the majority of the time she is in the food dish. Not singing, but squeaking, and it sounds so sad.

The bird people my parents bought her from says that it's normal for them to mourn the loss of the eggs for about two weeks and that she should/will get over it. But after a month, she appears to still be mourning, and I'm very worried about her health. I don't think she can survive very long living so cramped in her food dish for most of the day and night, while only barely eating her seed.

I'm sick of being blown off by the experts, so I'm turning to the community for advice! Please Help Bogie! Tell me what I should do?

[Florence]

Hi PleaseHelpBogie, welcome to the forum

I am so sorry to hear your canary is feeling so bad. To be very honest I have not ever heard before of a canary mourning the loss of eggs :blush: Hopefully someone holding canaries and having gone through the same experience will see this and can help you out here.

This is not 'expert advice' but personally I would try to change her surroundings and place her in a different cage for a while with a different food tray. Or, what about taking the food tray she is nestling in away?

[jesterbird]

Dear PleaseHelpBogie,

I, too, have a single female canary who surprised me by laying eggs. Folks in the forum were very helpful incoaching me through it. You can check the archives for that thead.
My bird, Frill, nested in her food dish to lay them and sat on the dutifully. I put a food dish near her so she could reach it without straying too far. I also put fruit (apples, grapes, berries, oranges) and romain lettuce near her- which also helps keep her hydrated. They definitely need more than seeds. There are excellent alternatives to seeds avaialabe in addition to fresh fruit and veggies. Most good pet stores carry a product line called Cream of Tweet, which is a cooked ceral. I'd also recommend a vitamin supplement sprnkled on her food and egg food (and/or crumbled boiled egg) and - very important - calcium supplement. Frill goes nuts nibbling her cuttle bone when she's nesting and bathes more frequently. She even permitted me to hand feed her (as her mate would) while on her nest.
I'm no expert, either, and I also received a lot of various suggestions from vets, etc., so you kind of have to play it by ear. Though your girl didn't lay her eggs in a nest, her instinct is to nest. Without an alternative they seek any available container - usually their food dish. She may be a little confused that the eggs aren't there (?) or may be preparing/attempting to lay more. The noises she makes sound like the noises Frill made on the nest. Frill sat on her eggs but tossed them out when they didn't hatch. When she started nesting again, I put a nest in the cage. She adopted the nest and proceded to lay eggs all Summer. I eventually took the nest and eggs out of the cage. She still calls for a mate and looks for nesting material, but hasn't made any other indications that she will lay eggs. Perhaps it has to do with the season changing.
One concern I would have about your bird is that she may be producing eggs but has become egg bound - which does happen, especially with young birds. I'd get her to an Avian specialist (not all vets treat birds) to check her out. There are things that can be done to help her pass the eggs, but a vet would be the best source of advice there.
Once those concerns are addressed, you might consider getting her a companion - not necesssarily a mate, ir you don't want babies, but a finch or another female. My space is limited and haven't yet decided what to do for Frill, but I talk to her and sing to her, put the radio or TV on and she seems to be doing fine.
Hope this helps.
Good Luck
Marguerite
(Jesterbird)

[Florence]

Marguerite, I hope Pleasehelpbogie will read this I personally learn all the time and your above reaction is certainly part of that learning process