Dead nestling gouldian?

[Howldaloom]

Hi yesterday i found dead baby gouldian around 8 days old.

Usually i wouldnt think anything of it, if not for the state of this chick. It was lying on its belly and when i picked it up its whole abamon had filled with blood which looked like internal bleeding. Also the chick had a crop full of air *no food at all* And it also had a big air bubble around its leg.

What could of caused these injuries and was it injured before or after it died.

BTW my gouldian parents have a good record on rearing chicks. little fatality

[VR1Ton]

When was the last time you checked the nest? Discoloured/blood stained abdomen & air in the crop can be from length of time dead, Blood colour is usually postmortem bruising from been squashed by other chicks/parents, air in the crop can be from fermentation of food/bacteria ect still in crop, generally would be about 2 or 3 days after death to occur. Other than that, no idea.

[monotwine]

Shame sorry to hear of your findings. I got the same in one nest today. 1 chick out of 5 dead showing the same things yours did, but there was still food in the crop. I also gather is was just dead for a day or two as I have not checked nests for a little while. Other chicks seem fine, so I hope it is just that the baby perhaps succumbed to the cold snap we are experiencing in Cape Town.