Female Society died - egg in nest

KellyDawn · Post by **KellyDawn** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:42 am

I'm just sick. Claire and Rupert (society finches) were a birthday gift in August. Claire laid two eggs almost two weeks ago (Sunday the 21st will be day 14) and sadly, she has died. I noticed ,that Rupert kept laying on top of her yesterday in the nest. Later I found her in the bottom of the cage. I suspect he kicked her out, one of the eggs was kicked out 2 days ago. He is staying on the nest most of the time but I'm worried. Will he know what to do? Do the males know how to feed the babies? I've never bred birds and this was going to be a one time thing. Now I'm sad for Rupert. He was singing earlier which made me both happy (I love his song) but sad thinking he was calling for Claire.

I've rescued large parrots but there's something very sweet and charming about these little birds.

solo_birdlover · Post by **solo_birdlover** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 3:24 am

Most finches and birds share the duty of incubating and feeding the chicks. I don't know about Societies but I'd think so since they like to breed a lot or even take care of chicks that aren't theirs. However, I don't know if one parent can take care of setting on the eggs since that's needed for almost 24 hours a day for the eggs to hatch and one parent can not set in the nest the whole time. What you need to do is find another female for your male because these guys are very social birds and like to live in groups.
One more thing, do you have any idea why this female died? These birds are hardy and don't require much care -other than basic care. Try to make sure it wasn't something that poisoned it or some bacterial infection or something.

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:03 am

How many eggs are there? He should be able to incubate and take care of the babies with no problems. Society finches are great parents in most cases. He will come off the eggs long enough to eat and go back. They can stay of them sometimes for as much as 20-30- minutes. Keep us posted please.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 8:57 am

Aw I'm sorry to hear about your female Society. I'm sure the male will be fine looking after the remaining egg. Good luck and keep us posted.

jeanne223 · Post by **jeanne223** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:10 am

I had the same situation last weekend the mama Zebra died and dad is left alone. He is doing a great job sitting on the babies they all have hatched so you should be okay.

FeatherHarp · Post by **FeatherHarp** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:36 am

Sorry to hear of your loss....keep us updated on how things are going.

Also welcome to the Forum.

B CAMP · Post by **B CAMP** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 9:39 am

Had the same thing with a gouldian hen she died shortly after three chicks fledged dad done A very good job all three are weaned know and dads taking A well deserved rest

bonnies_gouldians · Post by **bonnies_gouldians** » Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:24 am

I am sorry to hear about your loss with your momma society finch. I agree that I would not leave this guy all alone once the babies fledge, but for now I would not add any more finches to his cage, he will be more likely to abandon the nest that way. I wonder if the female was egg bound? Were there only two eggs total over a 2 week period? That seems like a small number of eggs from a society and maybe she couldnt pass the third egg. What ever did happen, societies are good parents, as others have said, and you should be okay with just the male caring for the young. If you dont want the remaining eggs to hatch and dont want your birds to breed anymore, you can always take the nest out and toss the egg. When you look for another society to put in with him as a new friend, watch the flock closely that you want to buy from and find one that is singing. The males are the only ones that sing so you can still have a pair, have two beautiful songs sung for you, and not have to worry about egg binding or offspring that need homes. Two males will get along fine and become buddies.