OK, this can be a very serious event since birds can become dangerously anemic very quickly. I would seek immediate veterinary intervention, no matter what and no matter when.
I suspect this either egg binding or dystocia.
Egg binding is when an egg doesn’t exit the female bird. Dystocia is the obstruction of oviposition or cloacal function because of the egg in the distal oviduct.
If you even suspect that your hen (female bird) is egg-bound, getting her to a doctor who is experienced with birds, preferably an avian specialist, is necessary right now. You cannot delay!
In the meantime, making sure she gets some plain water with an eyedropper just inside the beak, a drop or two at a time (slowly, not forcefully) may be helpful in keeping the bird alive until medical intervention.
You can try swabbing her vent area with a bit of KY jelly or other lubricant (not Vaseline) – even regular cooking oil is ok in a pinch.
Set her in a shallow pan of warm water (not hot) – this might relax the muscles enough to pass the egg.
You don’t have much time - find an urgent care facility and go now. It’s far better to be driving two hours to the nearest caregiver rather than trying to wait this out.
She may not only face a life threatening situation here, but this is a common cause of paralyzation in birds. Sometimes permanent.
Egg binding may have any one of a number of underlying causes, including hyperthermia or hypothermia (too hot; too cold). By improving the temperature and humidity in the environment, it could help with the passing of the egg; other causes are malformed egg, poor muscle tone or other health and condition problems in the hen.
Egg peritonitis is another possible complication. In some birds the ova end up in the body cavity. There is no chance of success of this egg and it cannot re-enter the oviduct. There are many reasons this happens to begin with, but the most important thing you have to do is get the bird to a vet.
When you notice symptoms that may appear to be egg binding, any discharge from the vent that looks unusual or is happening without the bird making a dropping – don’t waste any time with a ‘wait and see’ stance.
Find an avian vet near you http://aav.org/vet-lookup and
http://veccs.org/hospital_directory.php
Another very productive search site is http://www.vetwebdirectory.net/index.php?option=com_mtzcssearch&template=2
These days, with birds growing fast in popularity as in home companions, many DVM’s are quite experienced and able to see and treat many birds. If you have a pet store that sells birds or know of any bird breeders – ask them who they use for their bird care.
To be sure the vet is a good one, make sure you’re there for the exam. This should include hands on, feeling the chest area, peering into the mouth with a well placed flashlight and lifting the tail feathers to examine the vent.
This exam should also include any one or more of the following: Blood tests, gram stains/cultures, x-rays, even oral/crop/tracheal swabs and so on.
If the examining vet doesn’t perform a hands on exam, or worse, leaves your bird in their cage or carrier, leave immediately. This is not the vet for you or your bird.
Please go now though - and by the way - you did an excellent job in noticing this early!
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Certified Avian Specialist
Cert. Avian Specialist; Int. Assoc.Animal Behavior Consult; Pet Ind. Joint Advisory Council; author