death of a zebra finch

Question
My 2 year old female zebra finch died suddenly 5 days ago. She was very small even for a finch and laying eggs was always hard for her and the last egg finally killed her.I found her on the bottom of the cage with a bloody jelly bean size protrusion coming out of her bum and she died 2 hours later. I am concerned about the male as he is depressed and not eating much. Will he eventually get over her and be OK alone? He is in his own cage next to Mom and Dad's cage so he can hear and see them and not be totally alone, just alone in his cage. Could he die of a broken heart or do I need to get him a partner? I don't want to put him in the cage with the other 2 as I am afraid the males will fight over the remaining female. I raised him and his sister from eggs and this is the only home he has ever known so I don't want to give him to the pet store and I would miss him too much. He is very healthy and I spoil all of them.I am disabled and live alone - they are my family. I prefer not to get another bird as cleaning 2 cages is hard for me and the 2 of them being brother and sister they fought alot. If he could die of a broken heart or will not live long without her then I will find him a wife. If I do, what are the chances they will get along and how long should I wait before bringing a new female to him? Thank you so much for your time and advise. I am devastated by her death and want to do what is best for him.

Answer
I'm sorry to hear of your loss. It is best to get him another girl to help heal his broken heart. If you don't it may kill him. So best to get him another girl but if possible, go through a breeder. Birds from breeders are usually more healthy and have better little personalities on them than store bought birds.
Also, I may be able to shed some light on your girl's death. From the sound of it, she was under calcified. Female birds need calcium and even more of it when they are getting ready to lay. The fact she had such problems with laying eggs makes me believe that she was producing something called "wind eggs". Wind eggs are eggs that don't have a good outer shell on them. This makes it much harder for the female. The fact she survived one is something of a miracle. The best way to deal with this is one or all of these methods:
Put a cuttle bone in the cage
Add calcium to the water (this can be bought from the website ladygouldian.com)
Giving them crushed egg shells from hard boiled eggs

I hope this helps you. Best of luck