Post-mortem diagnosis please - Parrotfinch

[elferoz777]

maybe a night fright and hit its head?

Heart attack could be possible?

Not sure if I would hack a bird up....maybe the vets the deal.

At least you will know if its a one of death or the sign of something bad in the aviary that may kill many.

I am tipping fright/heart attack

[Finchy]

Right, so it's still a mystery then . She was young and in great (apparent) nick. It wasn't all that cold where we are and she was sitting on warm babies in a nest. The other birds are OK, except...

All of her babies died over night . My best-looking Parrotfinch and all of her babies . I watched yesterday to make sure the father was feeding them and he was, but he didn't sit with them during the rainy night. They died with their crops jam packed full.



Edit: Sorry Elferos, I posted at the same time as you... She actually showed minor malaise the day before - enough for me to worry but not enough for me to expect her dead the next day. And she died actually in the nest.

[finchbreeder]

When you lose one of a pair that are the type that don;t have both sit overnight this is a problem. Need to move young just before dark, into another nest. Or find a way of keeping the nest warm overnight, like a light bulb over/under it.
LML

[Finchy]

Two more RFPFs dead on the ground this morning - a breeding pair. No injuries, clean vents/eyes/noses, full chests. It was not an overly cold night. Plenty of food and fresh water. No other birds lost and no sign of illness. A true sudden death, with both the male and female found in the same area of the aviary.

What the bleepers is going on?! So upsetting. I adore RFPFs and did not imagine them to be hard birds to keep. I am mystified and need to know what has caused this.

Could it be anything to do with feeding gents (fly maggots)??? That was the only thing I did yesterday that I have not done in a while. The only variable.

[Craig52]

Two more RFPFs dead on the ground this morning - a breeding pair. No injuries, clean vents/eyes/noses, full chests. It was not an overly cold night. Plenty of food and fresh water. No other birds lost and no sign of illness. A true sudden death, with both the male and female found in the same area of the aviary.

What the bleepers is going on?! So upsetting. I adore RFPFs and did not imagine them to be hard birds to keep. I am mystified and need to know what has caused this.

Could it be anything to do with feeding gents (fly maggots)??? That was the only thing I did yesterday that I have not done in a while. The only variable.

Finchy,are you breeding the maggots or are you buying them in,if you are buying you will never know what they are being bred in and what is being fed to them and how clean they are eg how much bad bacteria they are consuming.
Anyhow,i think you need to get both those birds to a Vet before you lose any more.Also,have you wormed your birds lately and with what? Are you baiting mice,as parrot finches will pick up the the little green pellets(Poo)left by mice which will kill them without any visual signs. Craig

[Finchy]

Thanks Craig.

No mice or mouse bait.

The maggots were bought in and frozen. I have fed them many times before from this same frozen batch (thawed first). I did wonder if I gave them too many yesterday and perhaps this one pair gorged?? Could that kill them suddenly?! (How?)

The whole aviary was wormed and Baycoxed 13 days ago.

So far all three of the RFPFs I have lost suddenly have been Seagreens. Is that relevant in any way? I still have one nesting pair of Normals that are apparently OK.

[E Orix]

If I pick up a bird off the floor that's in good condition body wise but very dead, my first step is
pull the feathers from the crown of the bird.
Why, if it has hit it's head you can generally see a small blood clot on the skull.
A bird with a head injury at times just won't eat and simply waste away.
just another angle to think about

[Finchy]

Interesting. Could have been a marital tiff with some head-butting involved.

[Tiaris]

What's the ratio of cocks to hens in the aviary?

[Finchy]

Exactly 50:50. Two bonded pairs - now one.