1 of 4 new cherry finches died within 48 hours of purchase.

[finchbob]

I bought 4 new cherry finches 2 days ago, found one dead this morning in my aviary. It gets as low as about 57 degrees out there at night, which isn't too bad I suppose, I have lots of other birds out there, hecks, zebras, bengalese etc, none of these birds have problems.

So, anyone know why the cherry might have died, it couldn't have been to do with how cold it is could it? It's basically warm enough out there to keep gouldians, even at night just about.

[cindy]

Was the bird originally from an indoor cage or aviary? If so you might have waited to place it outside until it got warmer in the Spring. If you waited till the warmer months it could acclimate to the warm months then a gradual cooling period then the winter (with heat provided).

Did you quarantine your birds for a few weeks first prior to putting them right out in the aviary with the other birds? Hopefully it did not die of illness that can be passed to the other birds in your flock.

[finchbob]

Not sure where it came from as the breeder I buy them from stocks them in from all over the place. My aviary isn't that cold though, I have a thermometer out there and it never goes below 57 even on cold nights, is often up to around 66+ during the day. I just need to figure out if I should move the cherries into the warm room but I don't know if it was cold that killed it or something else.

No I put it straight into the aviary, guess that was a bad idea, just hope it had nothing really wrong with it.

[L in Ontario]

Sorry to hear you lost one already. How do the others look? If they are fluffed whatsoever, I would remove them immediately to an indoor cage and monitor them closely. Good luck.

[finchbob]

They all look fine really, I do remember that one of the cherries I bought looked a bit fluffed when I bought it, well, it was hard to tell, I thought maybe it was just a big bird, but I guess I was right about him looking fluffed since 1 has died and the other 3 all look fine.

[B CAMP]

Where are you located I think I would bring them in to be safe and try to find out if they were kept outside or inside,sorry for your loss

[Sally]

Sorry for your loss. This doesn't help you now, but it is always best to quarantine new birds just in case they might be carrying something. Birds that have been in cages in warm rooms need some time to acclimate to the outdoors.

[earlybird09]

Not sure where it came from as the breeder I buy them from stocks them in from all over the place. My aviary isn't that cold though, I have a thermometer out there and it never goes below 57 even on cold nights, is often up to around 66+ during the day. I just need to figure out if I should move the cherries into the warm room but I don't know if it was cold that killed it or something else.

No I put it straight into the aviary, guess that was a bad idea, just hope it had nothing really wrong with it.

What may seem harmless to you is quite harmful for birds who have never been accustomed to such a drop in temperature. As most birds need to be kept at a temperature or have access to temperatures of at least 70 degrees. Also why did you not quarantine your birds? Since you just got them, put them in your aviary, I am sure that stress from the transport, plus temperature could be what killed your bird and may kill the others if you do not slowly acclimatize them to cooler temperatures.