Keeping Bengales finches alive.....

[Marion]

I have/did have two male Bengalese finches, and this morning one looked sorry for himself and was sat in the seed container (the other one was eating from where he could reach around him). I needed to clean up in the cage, so he got out of the seed container, and then when I had finished, he just sat on the floor of the cage. Within half an hour, he had keeled over, dead. I need to know what is happening to these finches? I have had three previously, (but all since Xmas 2010), and none of them have lasted very long. Just before I got these two, my house was completely double-glazed, so hopefully it is draught-free, if that was ever an issue (which I'm not convinced that it was). I cover the cage overnight, and they have finch seed, which comes from the same pet shop that I got the birds from, and tap water (of which ours, here in Christchurch, New Zealand, is some of the best in the world!) I have been trying very hard not to stress them out, not even getting them out of the cage to clean it, as the pet shop told me to leave them in there.....and ideas on what is killing off my birds would be very gratefully receive. Now I just have one, and I worry about him getting lonely, but I'm not convinced I should be keeping them anyway, with my record!!

[ac12]

First thing I would do is check the household environment?
Many things that get into the air are potentially fatal to birds.
No teflon cooking pots/pans, no scent/fragrance sprays, no insect sprays, no household disinfectants near the cage, no perfume/cologne, etc.

A well insulated house can actually be more dangerous, as fresh air does not get in to displace any household vapors.

I the winter with the house sealed up even more, things on the other side of the house could get to the birds. Chlorine clothes beach, bathroom disinfectant, candles, etc.

I cover the sides and back of the cage, leaving only the front open. Blocks any draft and gives them some privacy.
I do not cover my cage at night. I do have a nightlight on the cage, so they can find the perch if they get spooked at night.

Keep the cage in a LOW traffic location so they birds are not bothered.

No dogs and especially no cats.
No children playing w the cage. I've seen children hitting the cage to get the bird to do something they want it to do.

Finally, be very watchful of the seed dish. When they eat, they hull the seeds and the seed hulls fall on top of the seeds. Most finches will not DIG under the seed hulls, so they could starve themselves to death.

Read the Finch Info Center on the left. There is a nutrition section on feeding finches. Give them some green vegetables. CAUTION read the section on safe/unsafe foods, some foods are harmful or fatal to finches.

[nelloyello11]

Another thing you might consider is where/how they were bred. If they were bred at the petstore, or were allowed to breed freely, they may be inbred. Inbreeding, especially multiple generations, can create very weak offspring.
If you have gotten them all from the same petstore, I would go somewhere else in the future.
Do you know how old any these birds were? How long did you have them before they passed away?

[cindy]

They may have also had a underlying illnesses, viruses, parasites that with time caused them to pass away.

[Marion]

Yeah - they all came from the same petshop, who I think, now, were woefully lacking in giving out info with the birds, and their care requirements. My first three, they had no idea what sex they were, but I was told quite definitely that these latest two were both males. I also don't know how old they are, even though I did ask.....they didn't seem to know. When my first finch died, back in March, I took its companion to the vet, just for her to check it and see if she could detect any underlying issues....but no. I feel that if they are going to sell birds, they should have some info to issue with them.....although, by now, I have obviously tried different things, and nothing has solved my problem!!

[Diamond Sparrow]

Bengalese finches are normallyvery hardy,fresh water ,clean cage base,clean seed ,sheel grit,some greens eg leb cucumber or spinach and you normally cant go wrong,i worm mine every six months

[dfcauley]

I agree.....Society finches are one of the hardiest in my aviary.
It must be either sick birds from the shop you are buying them from OR something in the enviroment.
Are you checking the seeds regularly to make sure there are not just hulls in the bowl??? With one in the dish makes me wonderful about the seeds.......

[ac12]

Society finches are one of the difficult finches to sex.
You cannot visually sex the bird, well most of us can't.
You have to ID the sex of the bird from behavior; males sing, females lay eggs. And if it does not sing, you don't know if it is a male that does not want to sing of if it is female.

Pet shops get their birds from a breeder, and I doubt the breeder will tell the store how old the bird is. But likely it will be soon after weaning, so maybe 3-6 months. Add to that how long the bird is in the store, a month to over a year.

From a practical point of view, the store cannot keep records on each bird it has. w/o number bands, there is no practical way to ID multiple birds in a cage.

[Diamond Sparrow]

Society finches are fairly easy to sex.Cocks have a longer more of a hook shape beak.the hens have a shorter beak.The underneath of a hens beak has a sharper V shape,the cock bird has more of a U shape.And as others of said the cock birds will sing