Pigeon loss

[Quacking Pigeon]

This year has been my worst year with pigeons dying. At the start of the year I was loosing most of my squabs as adult birds weren’t feeding them and they just ended up dying. More recently this week I’ve lost two squabs (one of which that had bad genes so I’m ok with it, and the other I have no idea why it died as it was getting fed and was fine).

Due to this I plan on selling almost all my birds, but first I need to worm (I’m doing now) and then run an antibiotic through. My birds aren’t vaccinated, but they are quite healthy. What should I do?

Also the Serbian Highflyer that was attacked by a rat is doing well, and I should have a Serbian highflyer squab hatching in a few days.

 

[laughingdog]

With this heat here, I've heard of parents stopping feeding Young that are already running around but not feeding themselves. I hope not problem for you too. I had this happen one year it was over a 110F for weeks seemed and I switched mine to to lr pellets and ice water making sure nest area was shaded and had a breeze ect even fan if no air flow. But that was mostly show birds. Course those dodo birds were feeding their babies feathers too I had to keep clean or squabs would choke on.. Good luck!

 

[Hokum Coco]

Due to this I plan on selling almost all my birds,

Bad years happen sometimes there is no one factor that leads to it. It may be just a bad combination of factors working together at the optimum time to give you a worst result. The same birds could give turn around results next year or even sooner in the future.
Assess the situation use your best judgement and preceded forward. Try not to get discouraged. When you Fail it is really only your:

F= First
A= Attempt
I = In
L= Learning.

 

[HuffleClaw]

Bad years happen sometimes there is no one factor that leads to it. It may be just a bad combination of factors working together at the optimum time to give you a bad result. The same birds could give turn around results next year or even sooner in the future.
Assess the situation use your best judgement and preceded forward. Try not to get discouraged. When you Fail it is really only your:

F= First
A= Attempt
I = In
L= Learning.

Great post!

 

[laughingdog]

Good words from Hokum coco, he is pretty spot on having many years of practical knowledge and experience. Everywhere is supposedly getting hit onand off with different sicknesses ect causing all sorts of outcome. I find it's lil wild migratory birds that are getting into lofts or around where pigeons and fowl forage ect, more than any other discernable factors I've tested, but could be many things with climate ect changing, and you gotta work with it or around, same as predator problems. Your birds will pull out of and get better over all after nature culls them hard unfortunately. Maybe try probiotics before antibiotics, as I remember having this problem years ago, and I switched to 16% natural cheap chicken layer pellets, probiotics mixed In feed pinch daily on sprayed moist food to stick, and dash of apple cider vinegar in water daily. All after had spent hundreds on multiple broad spectrum and specific antibiotics. I think if I remember right it was a simple gram negative bacteria or protazoan ect that antibiotics didn't work on anyway, but by then I'd lost some young and few five plus year old rescues.

 

[LamarshFish]

I just recently had a pair give up on their squabs. It was no fun to watch it happen over a day or two as their crops were meagerly filled and they faded away. Part of me wanted to intervene, but my short experience so far as told me they are better left to their parents. There may be reasons for it beyond our understanding.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Part of me wanted to intervene,

I always did intervene. Some times I was glad I did especially in first time parents. Other times I wished I had of just let nature take it's course as you say.