FINCHforum

Hi, I'm new here. I had 4 young male zebra finches that all died last night with no signs of anything! Our carbon monoxide detector didn't go off, nothing was cooked on the stove, out other inside pets are fine, nothing changed with teperature, food, or water. Nothing could have gotten into thier cage. It seems so sudden for an illness. One was in the nest, two were next to each other like they fell off the perch, and one was under the water dish (the dish is a couple inches off the floor of the cage). So it doesn't seem like they were startled or anything. I'm fairly new at this, but has this happened to anyone else? Any ideas what could be wrong? I'm going to disinfect the cage and try again with societys maybe, but then I'm scared of this happening again. I had doves for over a year that never got sick... wierd. Just weird. Thanks for any help!

I just thought I'd add... they didn't appear to be sick at all, very active and healthy looking. However, I've noticed on this forum that mice are not a good thing-- I have recently seen a mouse in our house, could that have anything to do with it?

oh my I cannot imagine. I sure hope you find some answers. My daughter in law had two parakeets and came home to find them both dead. But the only thing we could think of was that she had burned some candles that day. Did you burn anything like that?

no, we weren't home actually, so the house was quiet and clean!

How awful! Were those all your birds, or do you have others? I can't imagine what could cause that, when it couldn't have been Teflon, or other chemicals if you weren't even home. I have had an invasion of mice, but I don't think they could have caused this. In my birdroom, they took over a nest and tossed out all the eggs, and all the disruption caused most of the pairs to come off eggs or toss newly-hatched babies, but no adult birds were harmed. How old were the birds?

How long had you had birds? It's a common question to ask, but you're aware that they husk the seeds and even though it may look like the food dish is full, it's just the seed hulls?
What kind of water feeder do you have? Some of the tube feeders don't always work well.

Those were all my birds:( They have an open cup for water, and they had plenty of seed (not hulls) and spray millet as well. They were quite young, hatched out this January!

Without a post mortem I don't think you will find the answer.I suggest before you have new birds you disinfect everything thoroughly and throw away all seed,millet sprays,grit etc.
The seed could have had a mould problem if old or let get damp,either by you or the shop.If there is no fume or temperature problem, the death of all four would I'd have thought been caused by something in the food or water.
Paul.

I am so sorry for your loss.

Were you using tap water? And where are you? And also do you use any spray or disinfectant when cleaning the cage?

It sure seems like it was something in the air they were breathing being it affected all of them and seemingly in the same time frame.

It might be wise to borrow a neighbors Carbon Monoxide Detector to make sure yours is really working. I have heard many stories where people think theirs is working and it wasn't. Whether it be a new or old one...sometimes they are just defective. At least that would eliminate that possibility for sure.

Mossmouse

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. I can't imagine coming into the room and finding my babies dead.

I was upset yesterday when my one lone egg was tossed out of the cage and cracked open.

I'm new to finches, so I don't have a clue as to what would have caused this.

*Geordie...you asked about tap water? I use tap water for my birds, is that a bad idea?

Sorry it took so long to reply.
Their seed was fresh and dry, I only use bleach for disinfecting and I hadn't disinfected the cage yet as we only had the birds about a month, just routine cleaning. I used tap water, and we live in northern Wisconsin. Our carbon monoxide detector was tested and is fine. We're still scratching our heads over this.
Can pet birds get West Nile virus? Does that kill them suddenly?

Sorry it took so long to reply.
Their seed was fresh and dry, I only use bleach for disinfecting and I hadn't disinfected the cage yet as we only had the birds about a month, just routine cleaning. I used tap water, and we live in northern Wisconsin. Our carbon monoxide detector was tested and is fine. We're still scratching our heads over this.
Can pet birds get West Nile virus? Does that kill them suddenly?

Depending on where you are, tap water can have excessive amounts of chlorine and other chemicals in it, I live in Tokyo and I won't touch the tap water here, nor give it to my finches, I only use mineral water. When I started out with finches I tried tap water but they were reluctant to drink it or bathe in it, and when they did they got a bit lethargic.

I also read somewhere that air-fresheners can release toxins that could harm the birds.

Geordie

I've had my water tested a few times and it's low in chlorine and most other chemicals but I know one community about 30 miles away from me, where you can't even drink the water it's taste so horrid.

Mine seem to be in great health and have more energy than me. lol. So I assume my water is good them them.

Didn't know that about the air fresheners. I spray them a few times a day but have avoided spraying them in the room where they are.