How do I tell if my cockatiel is dehydrated and what do I ...

Thanks for that information. It's very helpful. Yes, I'd say she definitely has some health issues going on. First off, laying 9 eggs in that space of time was a monumental feat. I'm wondering if you have the time just right. Usually a Tiel will lay one egg, every other day, up to a normal clutch size of 3-5 eggs. Regardless of how much time she spent getting those layed, plus the fact that she is now laying more, is a serious danger to her health. I hope she has cuttlebone and plenty of it. She also needs much more than just seeds in her diet. A fortified, good brand name seed mix is fine but it should not be more than about 20% of her dailey diet. She needs a good brand of pellet (LaFeber is my personal favorite and the only one I have been able to get my Tiels to accept). She also needs fresh vegetables, cooked brown rice, cooked plain pasta, hard boiled or scrambled eggs and many other food items. Your pressing problem right now is to get the egg laying stopped by discouraging it and make sure she has plenty of calcium. Aside from the cuttlebone, dark leafy greens like Kale and Turnip greens are needed. She is making serious calls on her calcium reserves to produce those egg shells. When her reserves run low or are depleted, which I'm sure they are by now, her body will start to pull calcium from her bones to make the shells. The danger of that is obvious. When there is no longer enough calcium at all, her eggs will become soft shelled and she will not be able to pass them. That leads to being egg bound and can also lead to having an egg rupture inside of her. Either of those is a life threatening emergency and if she is not seen immediately by a well qualified avian vet, she will die. I tend to doubt that dehydration is the problem but of course it can't be ruled out as a contributing factor. I think it's more a matter of the extreme strain and stress on her health caused by the lack of proper diet coupled with the extreme egg laying. Don't remove any of her eggs, so long as they are intact, as that will only inspire her to lay more to replace them. That's the last thing she needs to do. To help them stay undamaged, you can hard boil them, cool them back down and return them to her. With what has to be a serious calciuim deficiency, I'm surprised she has not tried to eat some of her own eggs. If that happens, don't be surprised and don't try to prevent it. It's nutrition she is in desparate need of. If you will scramble her an egg in something like lite olive oil she should go right after it. If not, try again later. Sometimes to make any diet changes, we have to be persistent in the offering of the variety. If you have some frozen mixed vegetables on hand, either thaw some under hot running water or in the microwave. If you use the oven though, be sure to test the temperature with your finger before offering them to her. If you think she is not drinking enough water, you could try offering her some Pedialyte in a bowl separate from her water. If she would drink any of it, it will definitely help get her electrolytes back in balance. Feeling of the keel bone is one of the best ways we can judge our birds weight. When we can just barely feel it but it's not "bony" that is about right. If it's sharp feeling; too thin. If it's buried in "cleavage", too heavy. The larger droppings are typical of a bird in laying mode. They are larger and usually more stinky. They should not, however, be dry. Most Tiels do not care for fruits so you may not have much luck with the applesauce. You could try some soupy textured plain oatmeal. So, get her cuttlebones if she doesn't have any, get her diet expanded right away and keep a very close eye on her behavior. If you see her starting to hang out at the bottom of the cage and if she starts keeping her feathers in a fluffed position, then she is in trouble. I would keep any handling of her to a minimum right now. The only thing would be if she does start showing those symptoms, ever so gently, pick her up and check for anything resembling a bulge near her vent. Check visually and by gently rubbing your finger down her abdomen. A bulge is a symptom of being egg bound. An egg bound bird may also start to have trouble walking and keeping their balance. The egg will be pressing on nerves. If you don't already have a relationship with a well qualified avian vet, I strongly urge you to locate one and keep the name and number handy. If she gets into an emergency situation, you won't have time to wasted trying to find one after the fact. I'm going to include some links to some additional information that I hope will be helpful to you. I hope you will find all of this to be informative but if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask. Patricia

Click here: Winged Wisdom Pet Bird Magazine - Caring for Your Pet Cockatiels - pet parrots &exotic birds.

Click here: Medical Conditions and Diseases of the Budgerigar and Cockatiel

Expert:	Patricia
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