by Pajarita » Mon Mar 03, 2014 2:20 pm
I breed Spanish Timbrados (a breed of song canaries) occasionally and I never breed a bird unless I've had it for, at least, one entire year because you need to make sure the bird is perfectly healthy and that the hen has been flying for a few months (the muscles they use for flight are the same muscles that hens use for pushing the egg out) and, going by what you told me, this bird is in no condition to be breeding. She needs to go to an avian vet and have a complete physical (CBC, fecal, choanal swab, avian chem panel, bile acids, full body XRay and a chlamyidiosis test) and, when she gets a clean bill of health, then wait a year for her to be completely recovered from the severe neglect she suffered. A body doesn't bounce back that fast...
I have often seen birds in real bad physical condition attempt to breed a few months after they start getting better treatment and diet but just because they produce eggs it doesn't mean they are fit for breeding.
Have you, at least, been giving them supplements like vitamins and calcium? Was the broken egg shell nice and thick?