# Dead Pigeon found in coop



## pigeonman25 (Jun 7, 2015)

When I came home to check on my birds, I found one dead on the floor. It had some bleeding from around it's eye. Could it have been killed in a fight with another bird? They didn't seem to be sick, so what killed it when it was only 2 years old?


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## CBL (May 13, 2014)

Odds are canker and its eyes were pecked after the fact by one of the birds trying to get it to get up. When a bird suddenly dies, it can very be be from canker, were the birds molting by any chanse, would NEVER hurt to always start with a canker treatment. Also deworm the birds regularly.


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## pigeonman25 (Jun 7, 2015)

The birds finished the molt a month ago. There was the Adeno Virus going around and my birds were having some watery droppings. I don't think that they had the Adeno virus. The bird was very healthy, then, it was dead the next day. I don't know much about canker and it's symptoms but now I am worried that the other birds might be sick. All i know is that the death took me by surprise and I needed an explanation. Thanks


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Could have been anything. Was he showing any symptoms of being off a bit? Maybe you just hadn't noticed. Doesn't really point to canker, any more than any illness. as he should have been showing symptoms of being sick. They try to hide sickness until they are so sick that they can't hide it any more. But there are still signs. Acting a bit off, or drinking more, eating less, maybe quieter than normally. Hard to pick these things up unless you really spend some time and watch them. I would keep an eye on the rest and see how they act. Do you have many birds?


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

pigeonman25 said:


> When I came home to check on my birds, I found one dead on the floor. It had some bleeding from around it's eye. Could it have been killed in a fight with another bird? They didn't seem to be sick, so what killed it when it was only 2 years old?


The answer to youre question would have to come from a vet that did a necropsy. No one can tell you from the Internet.


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## pigeonman25 (Jun 7, 2015)

I am not that interested in knowing what has happened to the bird. I just wanted to know of what COULD'VE killed the pigeon. I am a novice at keeping pigeons and just wanted a few extra opinions, beside my neighbor(who has experience racing pigeons) who has mentored me on keeping pigeons.


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## pigeonman25 (Jun 7, 2015)

I don't keep many birds at all. The max I have ever kept was 8 birds. Then I had 6, now, after the death of this bird, 5 remaining pigeons. I am constantly checking on them and I would've noticed a difference in their health. All of the birds are less active as the weather is beginning to get cold, so it was hard to tell. Thanks for everything I just wanted to know what could've killed the bird out of no where. I don't think I'll ever know just from reading it off the internet. It is not a reliable source


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

It wasn't out of nowhere. He was ill with something. I know you feel that you would have noticed, but you can't really know if they stop eating as much or start drinking more water, or something a little bit different in their posture. These are subtle things. The more you watch them, the more you notice subtle things. I'm sorry you lost him. Where in Mass. are you?


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## pigeonman25 (Jun 7, 2015)

I am in central mass. I am just not experienced enough to notice something as subtle as a posture change. I can notice food consumption and water intake and things like that, but his posture didn't seem off to me. He looked healthy, but I don't have a trained eye. Is there a virus that is going around in my location.


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## Jr Brown (May 22, 2012)

pigeonman25 said:


> I am not that interested in knowing what has happened to the bird. I just wanted to know of what COULD'VE killed the pigeon. I am a novice at keeping pigeons and just wanted a few extra opinions, beside my neighbor(who has experience racing pigeons) who has mentored me on keeping pigeons.


I would be interested in hearing what your experienced neighbor had to say. Did he examine the bird? Has he examined your other birds and their droppings?
And is there any evidence of mice being in your loft?


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## pigeonman25 (Jun 7, 2015)

There was some evidence of chipmunks in my loft. My neighbor said that my birds are having some watery droppings and he thinks that they have parasites or a virus. He said that he would bring over some meds, but I didn't get the full story. I would have to ask him the next time I see him, which will probably be this weekend.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

You really need to fix the loft so that other things can't get in. Your birds aren't safe otherwise. If a chippy can get in, then so can mice and rats. Rats will kill your birds. We have had other members come on who have found a loft full of dead birds because of rats.


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## Chuck K (Jan 12, 2013)

The bleeding around the eye is caused by other birds attacking the dying bird. You will also many times see that the upper back has been picked at until it a lot of the feathers are missing and the skin on the back is sometimes bloody too.

I think the sudden death you are experiencing is Adeno Virus type II. I also believe it gets passed on to birds that have attacked the dying bird. When you see a bird that does not look like it is feeling well isolate it or when it dies it will pass on the problem. I lost fourteen birds from one loft until I started paying close attention and isolating those that appeared sick. When no other birds died while in the loft the disease disappeared. 

I did not have the birds examined by a vet. I think in most cases vets are willing to take your money, but don't have any more of a clue as to bird diseases than an educated fancier. I believe this disease to be Adeno Virus Type II because that is one of the only diseases that kill an apparently health pigeon within 24 hours. I personally believe this disease is being carried by one type of small biting mosquito. When this mosquito makes it's appearance (migrates) through my area in the fall I will lose some birds. I have kept the losses down by keeping a very close eye on the birds, and isolating any that seem to be off form. 

I have been traveling for work a lot this year, and my wife is taking care of the birds. She does not know what a sick bird looks like, and I have lost four so far this year with two more that I have isolated. Once true winter weather starts to set in the disease will be gone. I think that is because the mosquitoes are gone. I am in the south where the weather can stay warm for much longer, but most of the deaths are confined to early fall.



pigeonman25 said:


> When I came home to check on my birds, I found one dead on the floor. It had some bleeding from around it's eye. Could it have been killed in a fight with another bird? They didn't seem to be sick, so what killed it when it was only 2 years old?


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

pigeonman25 said:


> I am not that interested in knowing what has happened to the bird. I just wanted to know of what COULD'VE killed the pigeon. I am a novice at keeping pigeons and just wanted a few extra opinions, beside my neighbor(who has experience racing pigeons) who has mentored me on keeping pigeons.


You can only find out for sure what killed the bird if you had a Dr do a necropsy . Otherwise there are so many choices to just take a guess. It is not clear if the bird had any symptoms but even then it is just guessing. If you want a list of pigeon diseases I would google it, some of the pigeon supply's sites also have some information on the most common.


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## hamlet (Oct 26, 2004)

Hello. Have your racers ever been medicated? Or wormed. I have read that a certain drug which wipes out the enemy, leaves the bird vulnerable to the second, most definitely lethal version of the same bug. That can kill within 1 0r 2 days. Can u give them carrot juice in the water? Then cut garlic. Then ACV in the water on other days. Do disinfect their dishes. Do they get to fly outside? Thanks and sorry for the loss.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

You can collect the dropping of your other birds for a few days, keep them in the fridge, and take them to a vet to have them look at under a microscope. They can tell you if there is a high bacteria count, and what it is. This may be helpful to knowing what happened, and if your other birds need treatment. But to do this, you often have to have a relationship with a vet already, which is a good thing to have anyway.


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