Aussie Finch Forum

Hi All,

I bought 3 OB hens a couple of weeks ago... young birds, last seasons young almost fully coloured up. Today I found one of them dead on the floor of the aviary, All I can think of as the cause is the cold weather, the aviary doesn't see any sunshine this time of year until about 11 o'clock could that have contributed? do they need to see a certain amount of sunshine? I guess not given people are turning bedrooms into bird rooms... why is it always the hens that die?

Jenk,
Have you examined her for signs of injury or trauma ? Seeing that you have not had her for long, it's hard to rule out that something in her history may have contributed. I think it's unlikely that the Sydney temperatures of late or sunlight issues would have been problematic..... my OBW aviary also doesn't get full sun until about 9 or 10 A.M. this time of year.

Hi SM,

No I haven't examined her... I wouldn't know where to start... I guess trauma is possible, it just feels like I'm gonna lose my hens again I lost one last season just out of the blue and now this. Anyhow I'm glad you think its not the lack of sun light, Now I'm paranoid I'll lose the others too. Would a young bird (last seasons) be susceptible to egg binding do you think?

In otherwise healthy birds it is the youngest and oldest birds that seem to fall victim to egg binding most, although age is only one of several contributors to the condition. Craig posted something on this in a recent question on egg binding....blood calcium level is also significant. Don't worry about the trauma possibility, it is difficult to detect unless severe.

Your finch might have died from egg binding. Make sure that the aviary is insulated with a heat lamp and give them cuttlebone for calcium.