My BCCB female has died

BillD · Post by **BillD** » Fri May 15, 2009 9:28 pm

I'm sorry she didn't make it Mike.

You did a lot to help her and make her comfortable. That's all we can try and do.

We all have ways of dealing with our pets after they pass. I cremate my cats, but the koi go into the ground. I think putting her in a baggy and freezing is a good choice. Gives you time to decide.

mike · Post by **mike** » Fri May 15, 2009 10:06 pm

Thanks to everyone for the kind words.

mike · Post by **mike** » Sat May 16, 2009 6:57 am

Just a funny add-on. While cleaning the blue-breasted cordon bleu cage the female flew out. It's no big deal because the room is closed. Well she landed on the male BCCB's cage. It took him less than a minute to pick up a piece of jute and start dancing for her. The song came right after. I guess he got over his old partner pretty quick.

lovemyfinch · Post by **lovemyfinch** » Sat May 16, 2009 7:02 am

I guess sometimes birds are a little like humains.....

He's acting like a teenage boy, here today...gone tommorow...new one the the next day.

Post by **Sally** » Sat May 16, 2009 10:21 am

So sorry she didn't make it, Mike. Our little finches can be pretty fragile, and we usually don't even know for sure what happened. As far as disposal, I am with Liz, they go out in the garbage. I'm not a super sentimental person, and I have no desire to have a finch cemetery in the back yard. Dogs and cats used to get buried, now they get cremated, but anything else will go in the garbage. Baggy in the freezer works when it is not garbage day.

mike · Post by **mike** » Sat May 16, 2009 12:43 pm

I'm not really sentimental towards my small animals either. I never name them, they just have codes. If I can flush it, I do. But I've never have a pet hamster or anything like that so I don't know how to discard fluffy animals. Cats are cremated but the vet takes care of that.

It's in my freezer until Friday (which is coincidentally when I think I pick up my new female).

CandoAviary · Post by **CandoAviary** » Sat May 16, 2009 12:51 pm

Sorry to hear the bad news of the hen.

This may sound bad..... but many times before I dispose of a bird..... I pluck many feathers. It's my way of the dead body still being of worth.( I truly am not sentimental over dead bodies..it is the living bodies of all, animal and human that I care about)
The worth of plucked feathers you ask?
Great nesting material for future clutches.... and the cycle of life continues

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Sat May 16, 2009 2:36 pm

Mike - I'm so pleased to hear (and so will your male BCCB) that you are getting a new female on Friday!!

Candace - I never thought of plucking feathers from a deceased bird (or a live one for that matter)

That's very creative and useful thing to do, I think. If you can use the feathers... why not?

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Sat May 16, 2009 3:39 pm

L in Ontario wrote:Mike - I'm so pleased to hear (and so will your male BCCB) that you are getting a new female on Friday!!

Candace - I never thought of plucking feathers from a deceased bird (or a live one for that matter) That's very creative and useful thing to do, I think. If you can use the feathers... why not?

But...... if the bird was sick couldn't the feathers be carrying some disease or something? I don't know...... I think that is rather morbid!

After all..... feathers are pretty cheap.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Sat May 16, 2009 4:24 pm

I wouldn't take/use feathers of an 'sick' bird but if it was eggbinding or something you know was absolutely not contagious...

mike · Post by **mike** » Sat May 16, 2009 4:26 pm

dfcauley wrote:After all..... feathers are pretty cheap.

Speaking of cheap feathers, where would one look for cheap white feathers like down? I thought I could find down somewhere but I have no idea where to look (and I've tried). The best I found is normal white feathers at a Zellers clearance sale. They are a little large, though.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Sat May 16, 2009 4:42 pm

Sending you a PM re white feathers, Mike as I have a bunch I can share with you. (Thank you again, Sally!)

CandoAviary · Post by **CandoAviary** » Sat May 16, 2009 4:56 pm

I did say that this may sound bad....... and it may seem morbid..... but I like to think that ones bird's death helped another surviving bird out...though my old canary pet bird that just recently passed...well I just could not pluck him... sometimes I can't. But last year I lost a female scarlet chest to egg binding and I have to admit I had to smile when I saw those bright yellow and soft blue feathers woven in the finch nest. I would think... gone but not forgotten.
I rarely bring a new bird in my aviary and when I do they are quarintined properly so I rarely loose a bird to any kind of 'sickness'. If I do loose a bird it is usually from old age or eggbinding or sometimes I have one get tangled in a cage. I would never use feathers from a sick bird. In regards to the white chicken feathers that can be purchased cheap....most are treated with chlorine (bleached to make them white).... they should be washed and dried before use. They also could be treated with other chemicals to prevent lice, mites, etc. So know your feather source.

I also choose to be a human eye and organ donor if they are of any good use to the living once I am done. For I will have an erected body and will not need any part of this one..... but it would be a blessing to give someone sight

Finch Fry · Post by **Finch Fry** » Sat May 16, 2009 5:15 pm

I am a little late to the show here but I wanted to say sorry for your loss. I was thinking she was getting better but unfortunately not.

Random thought, if she was egg bound, perhaps she passed the first, but got egg bound on the next egg coming? This is just a thought so that in the future you might keep her in high heat, high moisture environment continuously for a few days to ensure no more problems... as hens will lay multiple eggs, one per day. If she doesnt have the nutrients to produce an egg, she would most definitely not have the juice to produce one the day after even if she got over an egg binding incident.