Premature Death of Ring Neck Doves

[Apollo@2117]

Greetings!
I acquired a rescue male white dove & purchased a female of the same type. They blessed me with 2 healthy chicks & I put one with each parent. They receive dove/pigeon food, pellets, thawed corn & millet daily with fresh water along with yearly avian vet visits. All was good until mid-August when I returned home to find the first baby dead. Soon after I discovered the other one dead on the cage floor. From information found on the net their life span is expected to be 12-15 years but they were only 3 years old. Given the close proximity of their passing can anyone offer an answer as to the cause? BTW the parents both appear fine. Your knowledge & suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[jak2002003]

That's very sad... and strange. If is was some disease or predator / parasite, then I would also expect the older birds to have been ill or died.

It could be the parents killed them (if they wanted to be back with their partner for breeding), but it would be strange that it happened at the same time and in different cages with no missing feathers or wounds. How long have they been separated like that?

I would keep the bonded pair together and remove the youngsters. You can use fake eggs if you want to stop them making more babies.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Welcome to BYC! I am very sorry for your loss. I am not able to direct you to someone that has more knowledge then me but were there any wounds or bleeding?

 

[Apollo@2117]

Thanks for your sympathy. They were my friends. No wounds or bleeding - just found them on their cage/aviary floor cold & limp with their respective parent hovering around them in disbelief. Very sad image.