Sudden death: can anyone help please :-((

[Marvin]

Been a tragic week. Earlier in the week I posted about the babies who had survived the winter, linked below

http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php ... 6&start=45

On Tuesday one of the juv males had just dropped dead.



This morning the juv female was found dead, with absolutely no explantion that I could find.



Does anyone have any experience of anything similar? I'm gutted, spent so much time since Xmas caring for these little ones.

There is a chance they could have been to related parents? Could that be an explanation?

Thank you for any help, I'm just puzzled....

[lovemyfinch]

So sorry for your losses That was such an amazing accomplishment in such big temp. chamges. Hopefully someone will have an answer as to why.

[MLaRue]

I'm sorry for your loss

Can you tell us a little more about the babies that died? What were their poops like? Were they eating completely on their own? Did they show any signs of illness before just dropping?

[Marvin]

Thank you for the replies.

The birds seemed perfectly healthy, the photos above were the day before they died. They were eating on their own, I saw them all eating millet and seed.

The thing I did notice was a small firm dropping attached to their bottoms when they died.

Strangest thing is that I have found three birds dead in exactly the same place in the flight over the last 4 months, with absolutely no clue as to why this might be?

I've also lost four out of five babies that have been hatched inthere since November...

I'm just keen to find out why as there's another nest of chicks now. I have set up a rmote camera to wacth them on the TV inside now, just to see if I have missed soemthing.

Any help would be really appreciated.

Thank you.

[FinchDegg]

Marv, gutted for u budd, i have heard somewhere that problems with inbreeding can show roughly between 10 to 14 weeks old, something to do with genetics i think. Personally if i had found deaths in suspicious circumstances in the same part of aviary i would disinfect it top to bottom, not just that single area, think i seen somewhere that a watery vinegar solution will do the job on a budget,

Hope someone pipes up with better info to be honest m8, good luck keep us informed buddy

[Marvin]

Thanks FinchDegg.

I think it may be an inbreeding problem. The odd thing is that the part where I have found them, there actually isn't anything there, its just open space. I'm just totally puzzled.

I shall watch them on the remote camera and see if theres anything odd, the surviving male is perfectly OK as of now, he's feeding just before roosting time.

I just hope he survives the night.

[nixity]

The dry poop stuck to their bottom makes me think severe dehydration.. you are sure they were drinking on their own?