# Sudden bird death



## PamperedPigeon (Sep 23, 2014)

We lost one of our bonded female pigeons suddenly (we had only the two birds as pets) about five days ago - she seemed perfectly fine that morning and was dead by the time my daughter got home from school. In shock we took Rio’s remains to an exotic pet veterinarian to find out what happened. The necropsy revealed fluid in her lungs while everything else seemed normal. The veterinarian suspects a parasite (sarcocystis) and sent off samples of her lungs and liver for testing. He is waiting to see the results of that before focusing on any treatment of Lola, the surviving bird. We are worried sick about Lola and we have been keeping a very close eye on her. We kept her inside over the weekend and power washed the outdoor enclosure that they're in during the day while we are at work. Her eating, drinking and stool all appear normal - she is on a nest with two fake eggs most of the day and night (she used to only take the day shift) and has no one to help with that job now. She seems very quiet and health appears normal; we are guardedly optimistic that she is okay. We have an outdoor aviary they stay in during the day and a large bird cage inside during the night until morning. My husband and I are very interested in finding out what happened and how to help Lola. After losing Rio, we felt Lola might be a mental wreck but it seems my husband and I are worse than her. They both turned one in September and our first birds (we hand raised them from about 5 days old). Any advice would be much appreciated, as I don't think we will have the test results back until after the long holiday weekend. We want to get Lola a new friend, but aren't willing to risk it until we know for sure what happened and how to keep them safe.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Am very sorry for the loss of your pet Rio and hope Lola does ok. Please let us know what happened. We lost our about five or six month old pigeon to circovirus which only affects young birds less than a year old. She had aspergillosis in her lungs. It is good that you are checking to see what happened and I wish you the best with Lola.


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## PamperedPigeon (Sep 23, 2014)

The results of the samples sent out were inconclusive. The vet said everything else appeared normal except for the fluid in her lungs - her weight was perfect and she even had food in her crop when he opened her up. His best guess, based on past experience with pigeons, was that it was a virus.

Thankfully, Lola is doing well.


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

PamperedPigeon said:


> The results of the samples sent out were inconclusive. The vet said everything else appeared normal except for the fluid in her lungs - her weight was perfect and she even had food in her crop when he opened her up. His best guess, based on past experience with pigeons, was that it was a virus.
> 
> Thankfully, Lola is doing well.


A virus can cause heart trouble and in turn it can't pump fluid out. It happens to people as well. One of my friends in fact, but she recoverd
I'm sorry to hear you lost a pet this way .


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Glad Lola is doing OK. Am very sorry to hear about Rio.


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