Hi everyone, first post for me, but it's a sad one. My girlfriend and I got two lovely little BCCBs for her 5 year old's birthday in March (named Jack and Jill by the birthday boy). We were told they were sensitive and would be incredibly hard to breed, so we were prepared for some disappointment in starting a bleu family. After a few weeks, however, Jack and Jill set up their nest and Jill laid a few eggs (that never hatched). Recently, it looked as though Jill was going to lay eggs again, which excited my girlfriend and I. Yesterday, however, Jill seemed sick in the morning, sleeping on the perch next to her mate with feathers fluffed. I came back at the lunch hour to check on her and possibly get some heat and humidity for the cage but found Jill passed away in a food dish. I'm incredibly angry with myself and despondent for not treating her immediately, as this has been a hard lesson for me to learn. There's the distinct possibility that she became egg bound. But unfortunately this knowledge will only help me in the future. What's immediate is the heartbreaking songs that Jack seems to be singing for her. He sat on the perch and didn't fall asleep at his normal time last night and was jumping around and chirping much more than usual today as well. He finally went back into the nest to sleep tonight, but we're all very sad for him (my girlfriend and I are taking it harder than her two boys, even though they're sad as well). My question is, should we consider getting a new BCCB mate for Jack, or would it be better for us just to donate him back to a breeder with a community of bleus? Thank you in advance for any guidance you can give me, I'm new at a lot of this. I'd just like to find my BCCB companionship soon!
