First Fatality

[Jen]

I found my female canary dead on the aviary floor this morning. I am sick...I believe something got to her because there was blood on the side of her head and blood on the floor under her head where she lay. I don't think she flew into anything because of so much blood (seemed like a lot for a small bird). All my finches seem to sleep in nest at night but the canaries usually perch. So I'm thinking something got to her through the screen maybe. Everything looks okay and I don't see damage to the screen anywhere, so I'm not sure. I know I took a chance putting my birds out there in the aviary, but I wanted to give them more room to fly and more freedom. I feel bad about her...

[Sally]

So sorry yuu lost her, Jenny. It sounds like it might have been a rat. A snake will swallow them, a raccoon or cat will tear the screen to get in. Rats can dig underneath the panels and come up in the aviary. Look for any holes in the ground.

[afinch]

Sorry to hear your sad news :/

Wondering... Wouldn't a rat or any such preditor have consumed at least a small part of her after going through all the trouble of digging in? Although perhaps if he attacked from behind the screen and only grabbed her for a few seconds, then an attack would make sense.

Does it get completely dark at night? Could it be that something spooked her and she popcorned and hit her head hard then bled out?

[Ginene]

So sorry Jenny...fly free little one...

[delray]

Jen so sorry, thats crazy. I hope you can recover, and maybe figure out what happened exactly.

[finchmix22]

Jen
I am very sorry to hear you lost your canary. Seems to me she probably had a night fright or something freaked her out and she ran into something or hit the floor hard enough to crack her head, causing the excess blood. If a predator got to her, you wouldn't find much, at least that seems how it might work out. Are the perches near the mesh? Is there any barrier to keep out predators from getting to the inner mesh or inside from the bottom or top of the aviary? Do you have night lights?

[Jen]

I can see my aviary from my kitchen window while I'm cooking and cleaning...and I can see my aviary when I'm sitting on the couch typing this email. I have a 24" fluorescent single bulb light inside the aviary. Is that too much light? I don't see any activity like flying around, etc. this late in the evening. There is a floor inside the flight and nothing can get in through the floor for sure. Tonight I went check on the birds and they all sleep up high in the cage. So it wouldn't be easy to get to them. With that light on, could they still fly "frightfully" and hit something? I guess anything can happen when you are spooked.

I will be watching closely (and my son, who works late into the evening will also be checking) and if nothing else, I'm thinking shock wire! I know there are critters out there and I don't know how else to get the cage more secure! So sad for the loss of my bird.

[finchmix22]

Jen
It sometimes makes the loss more difficult to deal with when we're not sure what really happened. If you can figure out what may be the answer, then this is at least a learning experience. Even though I've had my share of learning experiences with my finches, I'm heartbroken when I lose one, especially if I'm not sure why. All you can do is cover your bases and pray they are happy and as safe as can be because I'm sure they love the space and being outdoors in nature.

[lovezebs]

Jen
Sorry to hear the bad news. If they're new to the great out doors, anything could have spooked her into a mad flight. I would also check the aviary very carefully, to see if there are no holes anywhere. There are night hunters out there, such as owls, snakes, rats and God knows what. Even in the day time, there are birds out there who might try to snag pet birds through screens and bars. A canary breeder I know, actually had to put a double screen on because of crows and magpies who were trying to steal his birds.