One of 2 society finches upruptly died :(

[lindsaystclair]

We just purchased 2 society finches, 1 male and 1 female from Petsmart 3 months ago. Today, we found the male dead in the food dish. We're sad and unsure why this happened and want to make sure we're doing the right thing now for the remaining female. They had been laying LOTS of eggs which we just always removed from the nest and deposed of. The only thing that was off was a different sound the male was making just last night and he was fluffier than usual. Now the female is left alone. Will she survive? If she does, should we get another society finch right away to keep her company? Also, she had just laid 2 eggs yesterday. If she lays another even though he is gone, can we allow her to hatch it? And advice would be appreciated!

[Spreckles]

I just lost a very long reply to your post. You have a lot to sort out. If your bird had air sac mites it would change the way it's breathing sounds.
Your going to need to read up in several areas. Housing, feeding, & introducing new birds to your socie. Where are they? Any cold drafts? What do they eat? There is so much to learn here.
I am sorry you lost a bird. I started reading here when I lost a bird. I have made friends and learned a lot! Take a deep breath and relax. Pick a topic and dig in.
Socies need company. It might be hard for your single mom to raise babies but if you provide enough egg food and bird bread..... ???? See?
Salad bars.... There is a whole world to explore for finches. You picked the happy funny cute ones.
We have all lost birds. There is no way to know about your remaining live one. But you can learn to make her life better & how to get her a new friend.

Welcome to the forum
Karen

[debbie276]

So very sorry for your loss
Did your male sing?They will only lay an egg a day, if you are getting 2 then maybe the one you think was a male was a hen also. Egg binding will take down a hen bird very quickly.
If this is the case then you'll need to offer more calcium sources and hard boiled egg (or vitamin D supplement). Calcium can be found in egg shells, oyster shells and/or cuttlebone.

Here's a link to nutrients and their sources which can be very helpful
http://www.finchinfo.com/diet/nutrients_and_sources.php

best of luck and welcome to the forum

[Jen]

So sorry you lost your new friend. We all lose birds and sometimes never know why or what happened. Birds hide illness very well and a lot of times you won't notice something is wrong until it is too late.

Society finches love company! They love to pile into one nest at night all together and get along very well with other species so I would definitely get your lonely little girl a friend. She will be much happier.

You will find lots of information about raising birds on this forum and on the internet. Their tiny size make them very sensitive to the air they breath and their surroundings. I would not have them close to the kitchen where you are cooking or may be using household cleaners or air freshners. Best of luck and let us know if you find a new birdy friend for your girl.

[Sally]

So sorry you lost one of your birds, it is never easy. Others have brought up some really good points. You said they had been laying LOTS of eggs, and Debbie brought up the fact that if you were seeing more than 1 egg a day, then you had two hens instead of a pair. The fact that it was fluffed up the night before it died was a sign it was sick or something was wrong. As others have said, there's lots of good reading a www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on finch care.

Welcome to the forum! If you put your general location in your profile, it will make it easier for members to answer any locale-specific questions later on.