Zebra Death

[RockinCanary]

Hi All,

I have been observing my Zebra's and noticed that one male was puffed up with beak in feathers. I have 12 birds 3 of which recently fledged. Within minutes this male was on the bottom on the cage and had passed on. I am completely confused as to why?? They are housed in a double flight with lots of water and food and the cage is spotless. I have been away for a week and have had a friend making sure they had water and food. Any thoughts would be appreciated?

Thanks

[Zebrafincher]

Sometimes finches can be brewing something, and like other birds, they are very good at covering their symptoms, often until it is too late. I had a six month old male Zebra finch who died in his sleeping nest one night, and I still do not know what happened. Sorry for your loss.

[Sally]

Sorry for your loss, but we often have no idea what happened. Finches do hide illness so well that by the time we realize something is wrong, they are too far gone.

[ac12]

What I learned, the hard way, is as soon as you see the bird not looking well, move it into a hospital cage with a heat lamp running 24x7. As was mentioned, by the time you see it not looking well, it is NOT WELL and might be on its last leg.

So you have to pay attention to how the birds look, not always easy but you do the best you can.

[debbie276]

So sorry for your loss
sometimes we just never know

[dcompt]

I would imagine too, though I don't know this for a fact, that birds can die suddenly if something goes catastrophically wrong, just as people sometimes do from strokes and heart attacks. You might have had no warning even with the utmost vigilance.

I'm am sorry you lost your bird - I'm sure you will miss him.

[bugaboo5]

Sorry for your loss. I've been keeping finches for many years now and I still feel this heavy drop in my stomach when I see that one of my feathered friends have passed.

In regards to why your male finch passed -- well, there could be many reasons. I would like one clarification though -- you mentioned you have 12 finches, 3 of which have recently fledged. Was this male finch that passed one of your fledglings? Or one of your older birds? How old was he? What kind of diet was he (and your other finches) on in your absence? And could you describe the environment in which the finches are in (as in, temperature-any smoking and/or other artificial fragrances around)? Are any of the other finches showing any odd or unusual symptoms?