Depression?

[Lee 62]

Found 1 female Gouldian dead this morning no signs of anything wrong and I now have a male, that is sitting on the bottom of the aviary all fluffed up and listless, all other birds are ok. Took the male out away from the rest just in case. After an hour or so he perked up was flying around and eating and drinking for about 3 hours then went and sat listless again, I can see no signs of anything physically wrong with him. Could this simply be a case of depression because his mate died? I only had the pair for 3 weeks so no great history came with them. And as I am new to finches I didn't ask the right questions when purchasing them or get their histories. Do finch get depressed when their partners die? If what should my next move be? I have been watching the others like a hawk and all seem very healthy and active just this male is different.

[Myzomela]

Hi Lee,

Although depression is possible it is far more likely that both birds were carrying an illness when you bought them but have taken some signs to show the signs. Alternatively they may have encountered a bug in your aviaries that the other birds are immune to. Was the keel bone on the dead bird sticking out ie was it skinny. With the sick bird is it skinny? Is the keel bone prominent? Is it soiled on the vent? Any of these suggest that there is something more than depression going on. The only way to know for sure is to have a post mortem exam performed on a freshly dead bird or at least have fresh droppings from the sick bird examined. Good luck with it.

[Lee 62]

Thanks for the reply, the other bird died during the night. Both birds looked very healthy from the outside, both had good weight. All others touch wood are ok. Just learnt a very expensive lesson bird wise, have learnt to quarantine new birds before putting them in with the others now I suppose I'll just have to wait and see if any others have been affected. Just for future reference what is a good quarantine period before moving new birds in with the others?

[Tiaris]

Had they found the food in the aviary? Were they introduced into it in the morning or afternoon?

[Lee 62]

Had they found the food in the aviary? Were they introduced into it in the morning or afternoon?

Yes I had seen them both eating, drinking & bathing many times, the later one to die had been eating only a few hours before he passed and there was normal excrement in the bottom of the quarantine cage. They were introduced into aviary mid morning and had been in the aviary a just under 2 weeks. They both looked to be perfectly settled.