FINCHforum

So... I came home yesterday to find one of my society babies dead in the nest. They had all been crammed in there (and the babies are bigger now) and this one was at the bottom. Is it possible that it suffocated?

It's very possible. Societies like to cram as many birds in a nest as possible. I can see mom and dad piling in with the chicks and the poor thing on the bottom getting squashed.

Sorry for your loss. It's also possible that it was something else. Was the crop full still? Sometimes the parents will just stop feeding one or the other. But with Zebras and Societies, they do all pile in so you think they can't all possibly fit. It's so frustrating with birds, you seldom really know what happened, and yet we want answers.

Awww...that's too bad! I hope the others all do well...

So sorry. Little stinkers.

hi emily
it is most likely that it was just crushed,and not been able to get its head up to feed as other people have stated they do like to cram the nests and this has sometimes happened to me especially when there are a few chicks in the nest its bad enough without all the adults piling in also...at least you have the rest left i have sometimes gone to a nest and found a full clutch crushed after a cold snap ,the colder it gets the harder they sit to keep everyone warm the problem is they forget about the young at the bottom of the nest

ken

Sorry for your loss Emily, I hoep the rest of your babies do well for you.

Thanks everyone! Out of this clutch 4 babies hatched, but only 2 made it. The 2 that made it are out of the nest now and sleeping together on a perch every night.

Sad but I guess everything happens for a reason

They sound really cute though! Do you have pics of them cuddling?