Why did 5 out of 6 of my zebra finches die overnight?
olgafuriosa asked:
My mom gave me a pair of finches, which soon reproduced. We removed the babies when they were old enough and put them in a seperate cage. The original pair mated again, using the same basket nest, and had 4 more babies. That was a month ago. Last night, all the birds in that cage aside from one of the babies died. This morning, the two parents were still twitching, and the others were dead. Three on the floor of the cage, and two inside the nest. The only bird to survive looks kind of shabby, but then again it’s still pretty young, and they’re supposed to look shabby. I noticed that they had plenty of water, and although that there was little food in the cage, although I had just replaced it recently. My question is, what could be the reason they died? Is it possible for mice to get into the cage, for example? Also, should I keep the cage (I cleaned it out with bleach)containing the sole survivor far from the other cage of 6 healthy finches, or it doesnt matter at this point?
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My mom gave me a pair of finches, which soon reproduced. We removed the babies when they were old enough and put them in a seperate cage. The original pair mated again, using the same basket nest, and had 4 more babies. That was a month ago. Last night, all the birds in that cage aside from one of the babies died. This morning, the two parents were still twitching, and the others were dead. Three on the floor of the cage, and two inside the nest. The only bird to survive looks kind of shabby, but then again it’s still pretty young, and they’re supposed to look shabby. I noticed that they had plenty of water, and although that there was little food in the cage, although I had just replaced it recently. My question is, what could be the reason they died? Is it possible for mice to get into the cage, for example? Also, should I keep the cage (I cleaned it out with bleach)containing the sole survivor far from the other cage of 6 healthy finches, or it doesnt matter at this point?
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Does anyone in your house smoke? Do you burn scented candles or spray air freshener?
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IT could be possible that they could have starved…. its easy for finches to die. But other than that i dont know…
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illness
starvation
temperature extremes (too hot, too cold)
or the most dangerous: Fumes
YOU MAY HAVE DANGEROUS GAS IN YOUR HOME. That’s why miners used to bring canaries into the mines.
If you are suffering headaches, or nausea..you might have a bigger problem than the death of your birds.
Like the previous poster mentioned, other fumes are also toxic. Heated non-stick pans give off deadly fumes, especially new ones. As does bleach, sprays, other harsh cleaners, candles and any smoke – including outdoor grills near open windows.
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It was the bleach. You did the right thing making sure that the cage was really clean but you need to certain that you get all of it off.
I promise that you didn’t stave your birds. Starvation would take out that many that quickly. Period. I have rescued many a finch right out of the trenches that hadn’t had food in days.
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Yes you can keep and reuse the cage. Just make sure that all the bleach is rinsed off.
If you burned a candle, sprayed air freshener, overheated a teflon pan, sprayed Frebreeze .. any of those would have killed the birds like that.
While small birds like finches need to eat more frequently Id keep an eye on the food sorce in the future .. they dont starve and drop and you wont loose 5 birds all at once.
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There are thousands of things that could kill them. I do not breed them because of that. Do you wear perfume or Cologne? Do you have any candles in your house? Do you use pam? Do you spray air freshener around them? There you eating avocado around them? Chocolate? Are they by an open window? Were you cooking anything by their cage? Was the cage/s in the kitchen? Many people need to keep in mind that a kitchen is the worst possible place for you to put your bird. Do you have any other outdoor pets? The sole survivor sadly may not survive. But, If you or anyone in your house feels anything wrong with them, get help ASAP! Do you see why Minor’s carried these birds in with them to their mines? The same with fire. If there is a problem in the air, the fire will go out, or the bird will die.
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Where are the birds kept? Disease will not kill 5 birds at once, but they will drop off over a period of time, starvation has the same effect. A freezing night can kill them if you have no sheltered areas or nesting materials, a freezing fog can kill them even if you have. Chemicals such as weedkiller can kill them, or anything that has been inhaled. Have you had your carpets cleaned recently for example? or used a flea bomb? Think carefully about the day before, and you should be able to figure it out yourself.