Sudden death of two budgies same night

Question
QUESTION: My new budgies had been living with me for two weeks and had a very
healthy appetite and ate  the kale, apples, seeds, fruits I offered.  I read
everything I should and could not feed.  NO AVOCADOES.  I fed them for the
first time yesterday Papaya with some of the seeds and they loved it.  I had
trained them to use a ladder to climb up my arm and eat millet spray.  The
cage was near a heat vent but not close and I always covered them at night.  
The only other difference is I instaled a natural air ionizer in a room adjacent
and had run it that day but I have two other budgies in another cage and
they seemed to have no problem.  I kept cage clean and free of waste, clean
water every day with Avian vitamins and minerals in their water.  I also added
some cotton to their nesting box as they seemed to want to nest.  It seems
last night the femasle went into the box (I thought to lay eggs)  The male
remained outside on a perch.  I covered them and this morning found them
bth dead in the box!  I can't take this heartache.  I don't know if I can every
get another bird.  What could possibly have happened?  Two on the same
night seems they were somehow poisoned....

ANSWER: Hello Rene,

I am so sorry about your birds. It sounds to me like you were doing everything right. Are the other two birds ok? Was there any blood or did it seem like the birds were injured? Where did you get the nest box and cotton? If you had just put the nest box in, maybe there was something wrong with the wood or cotton. Could they have ingested some of the cotton or wood? I really am not sure why these birds may have died. It sounds like everything was ok. I personally don't think the birds died from the nestbox or cotton, but it is possible. My only other thought is the air ionizer. This could definitely be a logical reason why they died. Birds sense of smell is so much more sensitive than ours. What does the air ionizer omit? Have you ever smelt a chlorine smell in your house? If the birds that died were closer to or facing the air ionizer this is a reason why your other birds did not die. If i were you i would remove the air ionizer immediately. This is a probable reason for their death.

I am very sorry about your birds.
Any other questions feel free to ask.

Calyopea

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your reply. The air ionizer does not emit any odors or chemicals,
it is a ionizer.  It was running on the minimum and in an adjacent room.  The
kitchen is over twenty feet away.  I did use a non stick skillet to warm not
cook on high heat some butter and garlic that night, but only an hour before I
noticed the female was in the nest box.  The nest box was purchased at the
pet store where I got the birds.  I did put in millet spray inside the box to
encourage their going in there and there was cotton inside which was also
sold at the pet shop as "nesting material"  I added some of my own cotton
from my own cotton balls (maybe these are sterilized with some chemical?)
the nest box looks exactly like the ones I have seen on web sites about
breeding budgies.  Only today I read that they do not require nor should have
string or cotton added, the small circular bottom in the nest box suffices to
keep the eggs from rolling.  They were very hyper active compared to my
other budgies.  Always clinging to the side of the cage and greeting me with
shrieks and song.  I loved them in such a short time and I feel so guilty to
think I contributed to their deaths.  I used a tiny amount of Softscrub which
has bleach but extremely diluted with water to keep the top of the nest box
which the male defended ferociously clean to keep their feet from too much
contact with old waste.  I suppose this did it.  Either way I am heart-broken
and waiting before I make a decision to replace my birdies.  I specifically
watched the cage at the pet shop to find twobirds, a female with her breeding
stage cere and her man I could tell they adored each other and brought them
home.  THey only yesterday came out of their cage for the first time besides
the times they crawled on their ladder to eat millet from my shoulder.  They
walked into my bedroom and took two small chews each of my bedroom
"mountain grass" carpeting which might have a water-repellent treatment on
it, I am not certain of this.  But it was minute and I quickly recovered them
and put them back in the cage.  So sad to lose these little formidable
personalities.   I am very sad.  I am thinking of getting a cockatiel thinking
they might be a little hardier.  Or maybe nothing more for now.  We'll see.  
Thanks for your timely reply.

Rene

Answer
Hello Rene,

Again, i am so sorry to hear about your birds. Truly, i know how you feel..i lost two of my birds on the same night to an unknown cause. 1 year today actually (4/01/08)...So i know how you feel. But please, the worst thing to do is beat yourself up about it. Any of the things you mentioned could've been the problem. I have never owned a cockatiel, just budgies and a sun conure, so i can't really tell you what they are like from experience. Make sure you read up on them before purchasing it. Bigger bird means bigger cage, bigger mess, different diet...etc. I really hope everything works out for you though!

Hope I was able to help!
(any other questions feel free to ask...don't forget to rate the answer!)

Calyopea