FINCHforum

HI is has been a really upsetting sunday i have about 18 birds in my aviary i checked on them saturday night and all was well. i got up this morning and found 7 of my zebs dead at the bottom of my aviary 4 females and 3 males, what on earth could of caused this to happen overnight, they have plenty of fresh water and food and plenty of shelter i have part roofed the aviary, they have nest baskets and boxes and all of them have got nests made in them, so i am at a loss, to what happened. can anybody help me out on this, the other birds that are left look fine and healthy, i have cleanedthe aviary out today and going to see what happens.

Stephen...where are you?

This is either a serious case of poisoning or night fright caused by cats,rats or similar.Do you have a cat problem where you live?
What condition were the bodies in? Have they got broken necks?Any wounds? Were they near the wire?Were they roosting in or outside the shed? More info needed.
Paul

well when i picked up their bodies there were obvious signs of injury but the birds were very thin, they sleep outside in their shelters at night. i live in the uk midlands i get one or two cats around but nothing out of the ordinary

i meant to say there were no obvious signs of any injuries to any of the birds. but they were very thin if it sounds like poisoining what could have done it.

I'm afraid if it wasn't night fright...for them all to die the same night is disquieting. Unless you can think of the possibility of your giving them some contaminated food or water I really have no idea and nor will anyone else on here.The only way to find out 100% is a post mortem at an avian vets....and that would be costly.
You say the birds were thin which brings to mind 'Going light' but even then they wouldn't all die at once.
Night fright could still be a remote possibility.
Sorry I can't help further...
Paul.

If you want to know more about 'Going light' read this link.

http://www.ladygouldianfinch.com/featur ... glight.mgi

Any close neighbors? Farms? Any possibility of insecticides being sprayed in the area, or smoke? Air pollutants are a long shot but with so many birds in one night....

Had all been eating well?

So sorry for your loss. Are any of your remaining birds thin? Illness would be unlikely, with that many birds dying in one night. Is there any way the birds can be placed inside the shelter at night, at least till you can try to figure out what happened? With cats, one or more of the birds would have injuries, you would think. Please keep us posted--it must be devasting to lose so many at once.

Sorry for your loss, that's horrible what happened to your finches.

So sorry to hear about your loss.

Was there any sudden temperature changes in your area, cold weather or a very windy or rainy night, this can kill birds easily.

The only other thing I can think about is contaminated food or water like some others suggested.

my remaining finches are doing very well i dont suppose i will never know what really killed them but thanks all for your suggestions. i have cleaned out my aviary and have built a night area for them in the shed so all being well they will be ok. hopefully the remaining birds will start to breed and i can build up my numbers again, thanks all