FINCHforum

We have 6 finches in our flight - a pair each of Owls, Red-Ears (St Helena's), and Goldbreast. Everyone seemed just fine this morning during feeding/watering. After breakfast, everyone was taking a bath and preening. When my wife came in for lunch she ran into my office and said one of the Goldbreast was lying in the bottom of the cage. Sure enough, he was dead. I have no idea what happened. He has been eating/drinking just fine and he was one of the bathers this morning. I ran a couple of errands this afternoon and when I got home I found the female Goldbreast in the bottom of the cage, dead.

What in the world? None of the birds have any sign of sickness at all. No one has been fluffed, bobbing or breathing hard, and they all perch without issue. They have a great diet - Herman Bros seed (AE Finch Mix), fresh greens/veggies 3 times a week, egg food twice a week, a homemade grit/calcium blend, Herb Salad available all the time, the occasional millet spray for a snack, etc.

I'm baffled. I have ivermectin and baytril on hand. Would it be a good idea to give them a round of the baytril? They are showing zero signs of airsac mites, so I'm not sure a round of the ivermectin makes sense.

Obviously I'm going to clean the flight very well and will run all of the food/water dishers through the high-heat cycle in the dishwasher. Any other thoughts? Can you think of anything I should do with the 2 remaining pair to make sure they aren't sick? Other than taking them to the local avian vet that has "never seen a finch like that before" (don't get me started).

Thanks in advance,
Damon

I'm so sorry for your losses
Could they have been bullied by the other birds? Doesn't really sound like an illness to me from what you've said.
Good luck

I'm sorry for your loss. If they weren't showing signs of sickness, the only thing I can think of is maybe they were exposed to some sort of chemical(s) and were poisoned? Maybe pesticide, insecticide, or air freshener? There's even been incidents where neighbors treat their backyards for rodents or insects and that wiping out birds. Maybe it could have been Teflon? Or maybe it was something in their food? Really, it is a guessing game. My first thought was poisoning of some sort, but it's peculiar that your other birds are acting fine. Did the birds get along? Maybe the other two species stressed the Goldbreasts to death? Again, sorry for your loss.

None of the birds fought or had any problems with the others. We intentionally got these specific species, as they are all on the 'passive' list. The Owls were the first pair we had and they were in the flight by themselves for several months. We added the Goldbreast and Red-Ears about 2 months ago (after quarintine). The Owls have kept to themselves, but we've never seen them be aggressive with the other pairs, even if they tried to encroch on their roosting space.

No pesticides/herbicides that I'm aware of anywhere near our house. We have no air freshners, and I don't think we even own any teflon cookware. The only 'new' thing anywhere in the house is a couple of glue traps for field mice that are getting into the garage. Those are in the garage though, not the house. Even if they were in the house, they are non-toxic - it's sticky, not poisonous.

I feel terrible, but I am at a complete loss for what could have happened to them. Especially when everyone else is doing great. I'm watching all four of them eat right now - they're lined up on the edge of the dish, munching away. They appear to be perfectly healthy birds.

So weird...

I'm so sorry that you lost you GB pair . It is very strange that they died on the same day, within hours of one another. I can't imagine the cause, although some birds can be sick and the illness remains dormant until it is brought out by stress. Hopefully your other birds will be ok...