need advice please...

[featheredfrenzy]

I went to my cage of finches today to replenish the water bottle and food, but was alarmed to find that one of my finches had just passed away. It was still warm.
I am not sure why it died. I inspected its lifeless little body and could find no obvious signs of trauma or disease. I am unsure of the exact life span of a society finch, so I am hoping to find out that it is just old age.
I purchased my finches originally from a pet store, but there were adults & babies in the cage so I am not exactly sure of their age. I can say that I have had them in my home for about 5 years now. I have only had one other pass away so far. It was about a year ago, but I did know she was older when I chose her and I was actually there to comfort her when she passed away.
I feed zupreem or kaytee exact extruded diets with millet occaisionally as a treat. When they were nesting, I fed egg food as well. I have not encouraged babies for at least the last 2 years, so they have just been pets.
I don't want the other birds that are in the cage to be at risk. Am I missing something or doing something wrong? Or was it just old age? I have a multi-pet household and all of the pets I have ever lost have died at a extremely old age for their species. I am heartbroken to think that I may have failed my little feathered friend.
Any ideas???

[tammieb]

Sorry about your Society. It is nearly impossible to say what it may have died from. If you have had them five years then it could have just been due to old age. Had you noticed any change in its behavior? Was it active or sitting fluffled and sleepy? Was it still eating and maintaining its weight? Sometimes a bird will "go light" for no apparent reason and die shortly after. There's nothing you can do for those birds really.

It might have been injured somehow without showing any outward signs. Could it have become frightened during the night and crashed into the cage wires? A bird can break it's neck fairly easily doing that.

I had a Cordon Bleu hen die unexpectedly a few months back. I had caught everyone for nail trimming and a look over in the afternoon, that night she died. I know she was getting old, so believe the stessful day was too much for her.

Watch your other birds closely for the nextseveral days for any signs like I mentioned above. It sounds like you are feeding them well. The only suggestion I have is to offer then fresh veggies several times a week in addition to the pellets. They really seem to enjoy brocolli in particular.

[featheredfrenzy]

Thank you for the speedy reply.
I will offer broccoli from now on, no problem.
Today was supposed to be their major cleaning day, but I decided not to stress the others by handling them right now. The 2 males in the cage seem overly vocal since the loss. I offered them eggfood and a bath instead. They all enjoyed this quite actively and have calmed down a bit now.
They typically go wild for attention when I walk in the room. I keep them in my office. I saw no noticable changes in any of their behavior prior to the death. (That's actually how I knew I was losing the other older one I had.) This society finch had to have dropped shortly after lunchtime.
Wish I knew why. I just feel horrible.

[Crystal]

If you really want to know what happened and still have the body, you could consider having it necropsied and samples sent off for testing. Many finch owners don't consider it a practical option due to cost (also, it does not guarantee an answer), but it is one of the best alternatives left to you now for potentially finding answers.

[featheredfrenzy]

Thank you for the suggestion.
I had thought of a necropsy. Unfortunately, we have been in blizzard conditions with a severe wind chill for the past few days where I live and my experienced exotic vet is an hour drive into an even worse affected area. I knew I would not be able to safely make it there today, so I froze the body. (If I had found my bird struggling, I would have tried to make it anyways.) With regret, I have heard that freezing can destroy much of what may have been discovered during necropsy. In better weather it would have been a definate possibility.
I guess I will never know for sure.
What is a normal life span for this type of bird? I have seen so many varying answers that I an unsure what to believe.

[Crystal]

I've always read *average* life span is 5-7 years. Some live a lot longer, some don't even make it to day 1.

I guess for future reference (to anyone interested), bodies can be refrigerated if necropsy cannot be performed the same day. They will begin to deteriorate pretty rapidly though, but I agree that in your situation, it was safer not to brave the trip to the vet.

[tammieb]

My CB male was on the floor of the aviary soon after the lights came on this morning. I reached in and picked him up without him even trying to escape. I've had him in a hospital cage with heat and given him electrolytes, but he is going to die. I think, like his mate that just passed a few months ago, his time on Earth is over.

I have had them for just over a year. I don't know how old they were when I got them as it was a unique situation and I would have bought them regardless, so I didn't ask. He was showing no signs that I noticed. He had stopped singing for his lost mate recently, but other than that I thought he was fine.

[featheredfrenzy]

So sorry to hear of your loss TammieB.

[Hilary]

Oh Tammie! How is he doing? (I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he's just stunned.)

[tammieb]

He was dead when I got home this evening. I knew he wasn't going to make it. I will miss his lovely song, which I never heard until he lost his mate a few months back.

Sorry for kidnapping your thread Featheredfrenzy.

[kenny]

the only way you can tell a finches age is if it has been rung with a metal date ring..there is a thing that you can look for though it is not 100% accurate the scales on the legs get bigger and more pronounced as they get older in young the legs are quite smooth

ken

[FLAMEonfire]

• I too am sorry to hear about your finch-I read that you gave your finches egg food when they were breeding-I give my finches egg food breeding or not- They get egg and mashed sunflower seed with mashed egg shell serveral times a week-Between the egg and the sunflower seeds that should give them all the extra vit.B [the egg shell gives them the calcium] and protein they should need. You seem to be feeding them very well-but I though I would just mention what I use- I have 53 birds at this time [zebras, societies, Red stars and gouldians] and I allow them to breed freely if they want. Good luck !!