Baby lovebird died :(

Hi all,

On Sunday we acquired a baby black-masked Fischer's. He was 5 weeks old (I thought this was a bit young, but the breeder has been doing this for many years with no issues), had been hand-raised and was eating seeds on his own. We put him in a cage by himself but next to our other birds (another lovebird and our Amazon).

Monday and Tuesday (yesterday) he was just fine; he managed to houdini out of a tiny gap in the cage twice, and I found him cheerfully wandering the floor, and otherwise he was hanging out in the cage chattering to the other lovebird.

Yesterday evening, I noticed him sleeping on the floor of the cage, so I picked him up. He seemed so sleepy he couldn't keep his eyes open. If I set him down, he'd walk a couple steps to a stable spot and go right back to sleep mode. Upon putting him back in his cage, he picked through his food, sat on a perch for a few minutes, and then went right back to sleeping on the floor. This sleepiness was a very sudden onset; he had been climbing around and cheeping just an hour earlier.

This morning he was dead We have no idea what happened, nor does the breeder. Does anyone have any ideas?
We were offered a replacement and as we're really upset at losing this baby, we're reluctant to take it unless we know if we did something preventable, or if this was just a freak accident/hazard of having a baby bird.

There is no draft near the cages, and the ambient temp ranges from 70 at night to 78ish during the day. He didn't fly into anything (he wasn't flighted, and escape from the cage was a short drop to the carpet). The dog didn't touch him when he was out. He had a shallow bowl of seeds on the cage floor and was seen eating. That's all the variables I can think of.

So sorry for your loss. I wouldn't consider this a hazard of having a baby bird. I would consider getting one a bit older to start with. You must be sure he is eating and drinking since the first few days are so full of changes for him. I advise anyone getting a new bird to have it health checked at the vet and keep it quarantined from your other birds to be on the safe side.

Thank you. I think we will wait for the next one to be at least 6 weeks old.
I had seen him in the food bowl and he would nibble at food offered to him, so he was eating.
I know our 2 resident birds are not sick either, as they both just returned from vet checkups, so if it was illness he already had something well into his system, and it is probably not contagious as all his siblings and roommates are fine. We will watch our survivors though.

Never allow another bird near your birds unless you quarantine for 30-45 days. That is the first thing I would advise. Birds are notorius for hiding their illness. Second, was he being handfed when you got him? Was the breeder still feeding him formula? He may pick around his seeds however he might not actually be eating them. Did you see him drink water? How was he given water at the breeders? Are you giving him in a similar container? Could he have possibly gotten into something when he was walking around on the floor? I am wondering if there was something toxic he might have ingested. The only way to know for sure is to have a necropsy done. What I would do moving forward is make sure to house him away from your other birds for the first month, month and a half. Then I would make sure he can indeed eat on his own. I would also take precautions that he cannot get out of the cage. I am thinking if he can sneek out he can also possibly get his neck stuck in there if it is tight enough. My daughter had two cockateils die, it is so upsetting and I am sorry for your loss.

Aw, i'm so sorry about your baby bird. It is so upsetting and makes you feel a little helpless and confused.
i know i got my blue crown from a breeder that i trust very much and they were careful to 'over-wean' (he was weaned for quite a while but they won't release them until they feel confident that even under stress, they will still eat on their own and not need/want the comfort of handfeeding formula). Anyhow, even with everyone being so careful, he tested positive for yeast and bacteria on his initial vet visit the day after i got him. Nothing major and the vet said it's really common but we still used medication to make sure he was ok, being so young and in a 'strange' environment. So, anything can happen. Maybe when you get another, go ahead with your own vet checkup so that you know where you stand from the beginning. It's a nice 'peace of mind'!!

I agree with brianlinkles.

Were his droppings green or black? Often times, when a bird is starving, their droppings will be completely black. This is one of the biggest ways to find out if a bird is eating enough or not. Another is whether or not there is enough fecal matter in the droppings.

Best way to find out why he died is a necropsy if you refrigerated the body. Freezing the body destroys the cells and makes it more difficult to find out the true cause of death. Necropsies, depending on where you get them from, may cost $5 to $300.


Sorry for your loss! I hope that when you do get another, that it will be healthy, strong and eat well!

I don't breed Lovebirds but don't they wean around 8 or 9 weeks of age?? So you bought an unweaned baby and the breeder didn't tell you to hand feed? How sad. He may have starved to death.......Nothing against you, you didn't know. The breeder is certainly not ethical.

This really concerns me for many reasons.
Breeders should never wean a bird early, they are putting the birds health at risk.

First of all I would like to extend my condolences to you.
It breaks my heart when I hear a young bird die, even before it had a chance to experience life
I am so sorry to hear such sad news, and very sorry for you loss.

If I may recommend, next time you purchase a young bird, please please make sure they are not younger than 8 weeks of age, providing they are not a larger parrot.

In order for any breeder to wean a baby, they choose when to start the weaning process, they would have to start very early, around 3-3.5 weeks of age to have them fully weaned by the age of 5 weeks.

Never at 5 weeks of age!!! weaning that young is extremely risky, and unethical

I am glad they agreed to a replacement, if you decide not to get another bird from that breeder, they should refund your money.

I strongly encourage you to get a necropsy done, then the guessing will be over and you will have some answers that will give you peace of mind.
In the future please listen to your inner voice, it's never wrong.

I sure hope your next bird will be healthy and I wish you all the best.

So sad for you and the bird that would have had a beautiful life with you. Please be sure to talk to the breeder about it, but be prepared to find a defensive person at the other end of the conversation. Be sure to discuss that for the safety of the bird, you want the new bird at 8 weeks and you can ask for the breeder to keep you informed about the weaning schedule and when this/or/that started.

Blessings to you. I'll say a prayer for the precious baby Lovebird. Did s/he have a name?

I am so sorry for your loss... I think that 5 weeks was way too early and the breeder should not be force-weaning to get them sold faster I got my IRN at 8 weeks and, had I known he was that young, I would not have taken him yet. He does not yet know how to eat on his own completely...he is confused by "hard" foods and is trying to figure it out, but mostly I am feeding him very soft food and working towards more solid food. I just can't see a 5 weeker being able to get sufficient nutrients from seeds...

5 weeks is much too young to be weaned all my lovebirds wean at 8 weeks old or later as so most lovebirds. I would say it could be three things, 1: He wasnt really weaned yet and starved (most likely), 2: He might have gotten into something while he was out of the cage and you didnt know, or 3: He was sick. Birds are great at hiding sickness until it is too late that is why you should either get a bird vet checked before putting it with the others or quarantine it for 30 days. Im so sorry for your loss I know it must be hard