Female zebra finch death

Joe · Post by **Joe** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 12:40 am

Hello,

I'm hoping to shed some light on a heart breaking day. I went to check on my son's zebra finch cage to find the momma finch at the bottom of cage with no tail, bare butt no feathers with little blood. Let me tell you guys I don't know anything of birds just the little bit I've read of them just now. Anyways after discovering her I alerted my son and we took her out to isolate and treat her wound with polysporin. She moved around a little and ate and by less than an hour after discovery she died. My son is devastated by the sudden loss, as am I since I hurt when he does.

We bought Chica in December '16 a month after my son bought a male zebra finch "Paco". They hit it off quickly mating and laying about 10-20 eggs since. We let about 10 hatch, discarding the rest. To this day 7 are alive with 2 dying early and another flying away. We kept them in one big cage with 3 separate nest, supplying lots of food and water. Of their offspring 4 are male and 3 are female.

So now my question is,how did this happen? My first suspicion was maybe she was egg bound, she had just recently laid 4 more eggs. My dumb thought was that she basically exploded in half by forcing out so many eggs. My son had a glimmer of hope thinking she was just molting, but she died. Did her flock turn on her and attack her, I would hear them fight a lot. The fact that some of the other females had a little blood on their beaks made me think, again I'm new to this. No evidence of blood or feathers in the cage and nest makes me believe she was in bad shape for a while and all the little birdies were picking away at her.

Thank you for your time, any advice and suggestion helps as to keep the others alive and well. My son had posted several videos of his finches on YouTube under his channel Slim Jim and Toast if interested. Thanks again, Joe.

sparrowsong98 · Post by **sparrowsong98** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 7:36 am

Aww I am so sorry! I have zebras, but unfortunately am very new to the hobby (just got my first pair in april of this year). They could have been plucking her, and could have killed her, but I am not sure. How big is their flight?

lem2bert · Post by **lem2bert** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:22 am

Joe

I am not an expert on Zebra finches , but wanted to let you know how sorry I am that your son lost his female.

That must have been a horrific sight to find her in that shape.

If you do not want to breed anymore you can take out the nest. Also as mentioned in the previous post, are you sure your cage is big enough for 8 Zebras you have left ?

Again so sorry for your loss

Sheather · Post by **Sheather** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:50 am

Your bird was killed by one of its offspring.
Zebra finch are extremely aggressive and in that situatuon you did not have enough nests for all of the birds, causing some to fight over limited resources. You would need a nest for every pair, and ideally extra. Unless your cage was enormous (like a whole room), it was surely also too small for such a large number of finches.

Zebras are best kept in pairs in cages, I have yet to have success ever keeping more than two together in anything except a free flight room. Some birds are less aggressive than others but the presence of any nests in a cage will greatly increase aggressive tendencies.

If there's any chasing occurring, it's too much and means your birds are not happy living together. I would sell or give away most of the birds, keeping maximum six (3 of each sex), depending on your cage size, with NO nests. Even that may not work if the cage is too small, in which case you may need to go down to a single pair. Usually, a single pair will get along well.

Unfortunately zebra finches are so cheap and cute, people buy them up, not knowing that they can have really bad temperaments. I always recommend almost any other species as a first bird - society finches, Javas, even budgies - before zebras because in my experience they are just a lot of trouble. In the wild they live in huge flocks, but sticking them in cages without enough space leads to a lot of fighting.

Sheather · Post by **Sheather** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:55 am

If you and your son are not too attached, I'd really recommend taking the whole bunch to a pet shop and buying two society finches. Not as colorful, but so sweet and friendly in comparison. Society finches can live in groups and are much more peaceful pets.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:59 am

Thank you all for your well wishes and recommendations. I'll have to talk to my boy about this tonight after I return from work.

Post by **Babs _Owner** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 10:24 am

Joe Sheather

If you want to share JOY and limitless happiness with your son, Joe....rehome the zebras and replace them with societies as Dyan said.

They are sweet colony finches. They are delightful to watch and own. They are excellent parents and nonviolent. They enjoy living in a group.

They are SO peaceful that you need to make sure you do NOT house them with zebra finches. Your zebras would likely kill them.

Sounds like that kid has a great Dad.

Post by **lovezebs** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 6:00 pm

Joe

Sorry to hear about your little girl, and so sorry that your son had to suffer the loss of one of his birds.

It does sound as if her kids may have fatally injured her (unless there is a kittie in the house, who may have tried to pull her out through the bars...it happens).

Bird aggression happens, especially if birds live in somewhat overcrowded situations. If you wish to keep a small flock of Zebras, they need to be kept in a sizable flight, with fake plants and other barriers, where they can stake out their own little areas.

Zebras, are temperamentel, and territorial birds, who can become quite aggressive when the mood strikes. Having nests in with them will trigger breeding behavior and breeding territorial aggression, so I would recommend removing the nest(s). Plus you don't want siblings and parents breeding together.

Post by **lovezebs** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 6:01 pm

Babs

Hey, I keep my Zebras and Societies together, and they haven't killed each other yet, lol.

Post by **Babs _Owner** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:06 pm

lovezebs

You are a pro zebra-keeper my dear.

You are the exception, and exceptional, but not the rule. ;)

"staking out their own areas" is an understatement for a zebra They never seem happy with their OWN areas. They want everyone elses as well....never satisfied.

Always makes me giggle when I see yet another thread about angry zebras.

sparrowsong98 · Post by **sparrowsong98** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 10:01 pm

Babs mine take anger to the extreme. Hubby gets stuck, and his wife spins him around in his millet feeder while jumping on his back and pulling at his feathers.

Post by **lovezebs** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 10:35 pm

Babs

Awww come on, they are not that bad...

You need a couple at least my dear, then you can judge for yourself.

Post by **lovezebs** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 10:38 pm

sparrowsong98

It was just one of those things, lol.

Post by **Babs _Owner** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 10:48 pm

lovezebs

NOPE! Its like you and lovebirds.

YOU my dear are the zebra pro. I'm not that good yet. gimme a few years. hahaha

Post by **Babs _Owner** » Sat Sep 16, 2017 10:49 pm

sparrowsong98

yeah they are a wee bit gleeful in their ...ahem...ways.

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