# Has anyone kept pigeons and rabbits together in the same house



## Seijun (Apr 14, 2010)

As a child, my parents had a pigeon loft outside with free range pigeons (a flock of about 50). I always wanted a pet rabbit, but the lady my parents knew who bred rabbits, told us we would not be able to keep a rabbit alive due to having pigeons around. She said the rabbits, when exposed to pigeons, would get cold-like symptoms and die within a few days. We ended up getting a rabbit anyway. We kept it in a hutch outside, on the opposite side of the yard from the pigeon loft, but just as the breeder had predicted, the rabbit died within a week with cold-like symptoms. 

Fast-forward 25 years. I have three pet doves, and my partner, who lives in another city, has 2 pet rabbits! I am terrified that if the doves and rabbits were to ever be in close contact with one another, his rabbits might get sick and die.

Can anyone here shed some more light on this problem? What disease might it have been that the pigeons transmitted to the rabbit? Has anyone here ever tried to keep rabbits and pigeons together in the same household?

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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

Though I have never had pigeons and rabbits together but the following thread might enlighten you on the possibilities of problems both may have when in contact with each other.

www.pigeons.biz/forums/f5/pigeons-and-rabbits-living-together-78013.html

Not aware of cold like symptoms etc. somebody else might throw the light on that.


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## faerielady (Dec 6, 2015)

My friend had rabbits and chickens together. The rabbits were eating the chicken poop & getting sick.


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

Bleak!!!!!!! Ew


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## Seijun (Apr 14, 2010)

Thank you for the info guys. I will be contacting some exotic pet vets to see if they have ever heard of rabbits dying from contact with pigeons.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

It's not a good idea. Besides the rabbits getting sick from eating pigeon droppings, rabbits can be aggressive and hurt the pigeons.


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## Seijun (Apr 14, 2010)

We wouldn't keep them in the same enclosure together or let them be loose together in the same room. I am much more concerned about airborne disease.


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## pigeian (Jun 8, 2015)

When I was a kid I got a bunny, but because we needed to build a hutch the rabbit lived in the pigeon loft for about a month, at the same time we had a ring neck dove in there and the 2 of them paired up as if they were mated and the dove would coo and carry on while the bunny chewed on his feathers. everybody got on just fine without sickness.


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

I just adopted a mother rabbit and her four kits. I could not imagine them and pigeons together. The op chimed in and said worried about airborne diseases. I would not worry about anything if they have a clean well ventilated seperate enviroment.


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## Jelandusn (Jan 4, 2016)

I had pet rabbits and parakeets when I was younger. They were in the same room, but separated by a gate when I wasn't home. One day I came home to find the gate had been knocked down and three of my parakeets were on the floor bleeding because they had been plucked by the rabbits. They would eat feathers they found on the ground if I didn't get to them fast enough. I guess they didn't care that the feathers they ate from the birds were still being used. The birds could fly, so I'm not sure how they caught them.


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