Zebra finches both died :-(
Tim Jensen
same time. We had a male and a female, and they were approximately 18
months old.
They had a clean cage, fresh water, their regular finch food, etc. My
wife and I tried to figure out what would have possibly killed them.
That day they had eaten a bit of carrot and some apple, in addition to
the regular food. The apple had been rinsed with water, then cut into
wedges for our toddler, and one wedge was given to the birds. They have
eaten carrots and apples many times before without incident. Is it
likely that there was some sort of pesticide or something on the apple
that wouldn't come off by simply rinsing it with water?
The other thought we had was that perhaps there was a gas leak in our
house. I went downstairs and found there was a slight gas smell in the
closet where our hot water tank is, . So I called the gas company and
they sent an inspector out with testing equipment. He said that there
was a slight gas leak in the valve that leads to the hot water tank, and
that the valve would need to be replaced.
My wife said the bird poop that was in the bottom of the cage was
unusually green.
Does anyone have any ideas here? Could that slight gas leak have killed
our birds? Or could it have been the apple? Or something else?
Tim
oldmolly
"Tim Jensen" <nos...@nospam.org> wrote in message
news:5rtH9.35267$Qr.6...@news3.calgary.shaw.ca...
unusual for 2 birds to die at the same time from natural causes.
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Tim Jensen
the gas leak. The people from the gas company have told me that it's
very unlikely that the birds died because of the gas leak.
That said, after doing a bit of reading on the properties of natural
gas, I'm still suspicious. The gas leak was on our main level. The birds
were on our second (and top) floor in our kitchen, with their cage
suspended from a chain about 1 foot below the ceiling. Apparently,
natural gas is lighter than air, so it would naturally rise to the
second floor, then up to the ceiling.
If they had died from the gas leak, would there have been "unusual"
green poop in the cage too? Or would they have just died?
Tim
"oldmolly" <oldm...@ntlworld.com> wrote in news:aslpr8$somft$4@ID-
165698.news.dfncis.de:
GCarr
Tim Jensen wrote in message <0LuH9.35524$Qr.6...@news3.calgary.shaw.ca>...
>This is why I'm concerned that it was either something that they ate, or
>the gas leak. The people from the gas company have told me that it's
>very unlikely that the birds died because of the gas leak.
With two birds dying at once I would suspect an air pollutant. Finches, not
just canaries, were often used in mines to tell if there was poisonous gas
in the air since small birds are much more sensitive to air pollutants. The
only way to tell for sure it to get them both necropsied (animal autopsy).
>That said, after doing a bit of reading on the properties of natural
>gas, I'm still suspicious. The gas leak was on our main level. The birds
>were on our second (and top) floor in our kitchen, with their cage
>suspended from a chain about 1 foot below the ceiling. Apparently,
>natural gas is lighter than air, so it would naturally rise to the
>second floor, then up to the ceiling.
>
>If they had died from the gas leak, would there have been "unusual"
>green poop in the cage too? Or would they have just died?
Don't know about that, I would ask an avian vet.
>Tim
greavesmm
number of places that if the cookware overheats, it sends out a chemical
that is harmful to birds and can kill them. I am so sorry to hear about the
zebra finches. I lost a lovebird quite suddenly this past year to an
intestinal blockage the vet felt was probably a piece of plastic or rubber
from one of their toys. Whoda thought? Mary
"oldmolly" <oldm...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:aslpr8$somft$4...@ID-165698.news.dfncis.de...
DW
>This is why I'm concerned that it was either something that they ate, or
>the gas leak. The people from the gas company have told me that it's
>very unlikely that the birds died because of the gas leak.
And it's "very unlikely" that they would tell you the truth if it
did. Are they avian experts? Doubtful. From what I've read, natural gas (to
*humans*) "...does not contain any toxic component, therefore there is no
health hazard in handling of the fuel. Heavy concentrations, however, can
cause drowsiness and eventual suffocation."
( http://www.technocarb.com/natgasproperties.htm )
Keeping in mind that birds in general, and zebra finches in
particular are very fragile little creatures, and given the fact that
canaries were used in coal mines to detect natural gas (by dying!), I would
say that it's rather overwhelmingly pointing to the gas as cause of death.
I'm very sorry for your loss.
- DW
Tim Jensen
only makes sense, now that the weather outside is colder and we're
keeping the windows closed, the gas would have to float up to the
highest room in our house -- our kitchen. The gas would then collect up
there. And our poor little finches were only a couple of feet from the
ceiling. :-(
I only hope that they didn't suffer.
Tim
"GCarr" <gc...@cybcon.com> wrote in
news:uut4tii...@corp.supernews.com:
> With two birds dying at once I would suspect an air pollutant.
> Finches, not just canaries, were often used in mines to tell if there
> was poisonous gas in the air since small birds are much more sensitive
> to air pollutants. The only way to tell for sure it to get them both
> necropsied (animal autopsy).
>
Tim Jensen
Thank you for your kind words. This is the one part that really sucks
about owning pets -- having to say good bye.
Tim
BUG...@rochester.BUG.rr.com (DW) wrote in
news:3dee963a....@news-server.rochester.rr.com:
Tim Jensen
I've heard about the non-stick cookware before too. We hadn't used any
of that recently, but I'll be more careful with it in the future.
I'm sorry to hear about your lovebird. Did you have him or her for long?
Tim
"greavesmm" <grea...@adelphia.net> wrote in
news:LzwH9.6184$ov6.3...@news2.news.adelphia.net:
oldmolly
> This is why I'm concerned that it was either something that they ate, or
> the gas leak. The people from the gas company have told me that it's
> very unlikely that the birds died because of the gas leak.
It is likely that the people from your gas company know as much about birds
as I know about gas.
oldmolly
The birds
> were on our second (and top) floor in our kitchen, with their cage
> suspended from a chain about 1 foot below the ceiling.
You had birds in your kitchen????
In which case they could have died from any nuber of things. Birds do not
belong in kitchens with all the heat, fumes, smoke,cooking smells, etc.
geopelia
Fluttering finches can scatter seed husks, droppings and feathers a long way
from the cage. Not good in human food! An enormous farm kitchen, well away
from the food area, could be OK, but not in a small modern flat please. I
agree it is probably gas, but could it be a new cage where they could peck
zinc bits? More likely with hookbeaks. Very sad to lose them, they are sweet
little birds.
>
Tim Jensen
have a kitchen table. All our meals take place in the dining room. The bird
cage was at the opposite end of the kitchen from where food was prepared.
It wasn't a new cage...it was as old as the finches (approx. 1.5 years).
"geopelia" <phil...@xtra.co.nz> wrote in
news:GGTH9.35341$_h6.4...@news.xtra.co.nz:
C-C-C-Cainman
> The more I talk to people, the more I believe it was the gas leak. It
> only makes sense, now that the weather outside is colder and we're
> keeping the windows closed, the gas would have to float up to the
> highest room in our house -- our kitchen. The gas would then collect up
> there. And our poor little finches were only a couple of feet from the
> ceiling. :-(
>
> I only hope that they didn't suffer.
>
> Tim
I would think it would be like carbon monoxide where very little pain would
be involved and it would place them into a dream-like state. If it was the
gas leak they more than likely did not suffer.
revci...@att.net
annam...@gmail.com
is it possible for a centipede to eat aduld and baby finches
yuxi...@gmail.com
> Tim
yuxi...@gmail.com
> Tim
yuxi...@gmail.com
xpenenyx
>? 2002?12?4???? UTC-5??3:19:13?Tim Jensen???
>> Tim
Birds repository systems are like seven times more sensitive than
ours. So yes, it is quite possible that the gas leak killed them.
