Do any of you have zebra finches? We've had four or five over the past few years (some given to us) and apparently we haven't been caring for them as intensively as some websites recommend.

If you have (or had) them, do you REALLY wash the cage, perches, toys etc. with warm soapy water every day?? Do you give them fresh greens and fruit every day? Do you take them to an avian vet and have their little toenails trimmed?? And mist their feathers?

Holy cow, I thought we were taking good care of them. Our last one died this afternoon--we were talking about getting a couple more, but after reading a few articles, I'm not sure I'm up to the kind of care they apparently need.

Sorry you lost your pretty finch. I love zebra finches. They have such a soothing, soft beeping song. Used to have a large cage that contained 3 pairs and 3 nests. Even got to watch a clutch be laid and grow up! This was many many years ago. I never did all that maintenance. Can't imagine how the care of such birds could have changed over the years.

Any ideas why your birds died? Little birds don't live a lot of years, maybe 5? If your last one was female, maybe egg-bound?

Thanks, Sparky. I did some internet searching, and my best guess is that her crop became swollen.

We had three that were given to us, so don't know their age. They just eventually turned up dead over a period of months. The male that was the mate of the one we just lost only lived a few days after we got them. We figured she'd be right behind him, but she lived two or three years.

How sad......
.
. I'm sorry you lost your little feathered friend.