The average lifespan of pigeons is between 5 to 7 years, but some birds die suddenly due to various reasons.
You can protect your pigeons from dying by caring for them and providing them with a secure place to live. Furthermore, you can train them to tackle stressful situations.
Why Do Pigeons Die Suddenly? Pigeons can die suddenly due to injuries in an accident when birds strike windows and vehicles with a high velocity. In addition, the predators like cats and hawks attack pigeons and kill them instantly. Furthermore, they can die due to bacterial or viral infections, electric shocks, and bird poisoning due to lead or after eating rust.
The prominent reason behind their sudden death is accidental death.
However, some diseases can also result in unexpected loss of their life. It is like a nightmare for those who love their pigeons and are confused about their sudden death.
So, you can also take your pet to a Vet for their checkup to figure out the reason behind their bad health.
Injuries
Injuries can be deadly for pigeons when they strike the glass windows at high velocity. When they see their image in the window, they get an idea of the natural habitat and hit it directly.
You can prevent a collision by adding a tap or some feathers on the outer side. In addition, you can use stained glass to provide a cushioning effect and reduce the rate of collision.
Not only do pigeons collide with windows, but they hit the cars also. All these measures can protect your birds from dying suddenly due to injuries.
Predator attack
Millions of birds, including pigeons, die due to predator attacks each year. They are prone to predator attack as they can be the prey of feral cats outdoors.
In addition, hawks, owls, snakes can also swallow them instantly. Man is the most prominent predator for birds that hunt and kill them on the spot.
The old birds cannot take defensive measures against predators like quick flying and fighting with them. Sometimes pigeons start fighting and this is dangerous.
Therefore, the young ones are more vulnerable to predator attacks as they cannot identify the predator tricks when they are attacked.
You can protect your pets from predator attacks by keeping them safe in the cages so domestic cats cannot eat them.
You can train them to get down the ground in their cage when a hawk is trying to attack them. Moreover, they need to be trained to fly away from predators by adopting defensive strategies.
Diseases
Healthy pigeons can die suddenly due to severe bacterial and viral infections. Moreover, Streptococcus gallolyticus is one of the prominent bacteria affecting the pigeons’ organs and muscles.
It occurs naturally in the intestines but when it crosses the intestinal barrier and causes the death within hours.
Contamination occurs due to salmonella affecting the intestines walls and allowing bacteria to cross the barrier easily.
In addition, green color and slimy appearance of feces indicate contamination. You can use antimicrobials like amoxicillin for their treatment.
Similarly, Paramyxovirus (type 1) causes viral infection in them and is responsible for their sudden death.
Furthermore, it can pass through drinking water and affect their respiratory system. It is a contagious disease, and the infected pigeons usually die in 2 to 3 days.
You can use supportive therapy to cure the virally infected pigeons by giving electrolytes and probiotics. An effective way to provide them with electrolytes is to add electrolytes to water.
Allergic reactions
They can suffer from allergic reactions that result in sneezing and downy feathers. In addition, pollens, strong odors, and a few food items can be allergic to them.
My pigeon was allergic to fumes produced from hair sprays, so I tried to avoid the contact of pigeons to fumes to prevent such reactions. The allergic compounds can cause rashes on the skin or the feathers start falling off.
You can avoid allergic reactions by determining whether your pigeons are allergic to smells or some food items like wheat or peanuts.
Fear and stress
Pigeons have emotions like a fear that can kill them suddenly due to shocks. For example, they can die due to fear of predators or loud noises.
It is a threatening stimulus that can result in the loss of lives as they cannot control their fear-related emotions.
Loud noise can cause cardiovascular problems in the birds, like the high-pitch sound produced by bursting balloons. It can be a shock that can cause heart failure resulting in the sudden death of pigeons.
You can train your pet about threatening stimuli by exposing them to the expected stimulus.
For example, a social alarm is more threatening for the pigeons than a conditioned stimulus like a predator.
Electric shock
Pigeons can die suddenly when they touch the electrical wires during flying. In addition, electric shocks by the light towers and cell phone towers kill them instantly when they collide with them.
They can die from electrocution that can occur due to problems in electrical circuits. It can cause cardiac arrest, fractures, and sudden death in birds.
Poisoning
Pesticides are also responsible for killing many pigeons due to their poisoning effect.
In addition, the birds eat rust material present in their cage when they are not getting sufficient minerals to meet their eating requirements.
The rust contains copper sulfate that has a poisoning effect on their health and leads to their death.
Lead poisoning occurs when they consume lead fishing weight. Lead is also present in the bones of dead animals or preys contaminated.
What are the signs of dying Pigeon?
The symptoms like slimy feces of green and shivering indicate that your bird is dying. Moreover, their feathers become puffy, and they stop eating.
If your birds start changing their pattern and consume more water, it means they will die very soon. Sometimes, they can not fly or walk properly, and they go to ventilated and isolated places.
One of my friends has two sets of pigeons at home, and a female pigeon started showing illness symptoms like inability to fly and died after 2 days.
Furthermore, they find difficulty in breathing and are unable to fly properly. You can comfort your pet when they die by wrapping a towel around it. In addition, you can put them in a safe and warm area.
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