# Is it safe to keep a wild pigeon?



## TG1989

About a week ago I found a baby pigeon on my porch and ive decided to take it in and feed it etc. But i was wondering how safe it is. Can i catch serious diseases? Bearing in mind if I let him out of his cage (acutally a big wooden box im using temporarily) he leaves droppings *everywhere*. I'm constantly cleaning them up and there isnt all that much mess being made, but isnt it still unhygienc and deadly to let this happen? I can't just leave him inside his box because he gets very unhappy, and when i let him out he gets very excited and wants to run around and play etc, but yea he poops everywhere so I have a real dilemma as to what to do. Can i catch tetanus or any other life threatening illness if it carries on this way? And what should I do about the situation? Thanks.


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## spirit wings

no, if we did catch diseses I would be dead now.. I have 40+ pigeons.. but I do use common sense and wash my hands when I come inside from cleaning up after them.. just like we are supposed to do after we go..umm to the bathroom. so clean up after your pet and then wash your hands.. you will live a long life.


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## TG1989

ah thats a relief. thanks. is there any way to potty train them? I tried reward and punishment for going in the right place but i havent had any success at all.


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## TG1989

oh btw you say you keep them outside. is it safe to keep a pigeon INSIDE your house?


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## tjc1

Since its a wild pigeon clean him up. I would hit him with mite spray to make sure. If you keep it healthy he will keep you healthy. Like any other animal (human also) if they are unhealthy there is a chance of passing something. Also as long as you clean up after the pigeon and wash your hands good after cleaning you will be good. Birds are kind of tough to potty train. I have a parrot that will go in the sink when she is out of the cage but otherwise its pot luck. Oh yeah it's safe for them to be in the house but they do need sunlight so a nice cage where you can let it sun itself on warm sunny days would be nice.


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## Pidgeys

Hey there,

I have one wild pigeon (now very tame) that I've had from about a month old. Shes just laid her first couple of eggs actually.
I've also taken in numerous other sick or injured wild pidgeys too.

No you can't catch any life threatening diseases. They can pass on diseases but only to other birds, not humans. You can get a kind of respiratory disease that is nicknamed 'bird fanciers lung' but it's not very common and you usually have to be around a lot of birds a lot of the time.

I regularly let my pigeon have a wash (she loves having a shower while perched on my hand) and have de-wormed and mited her. Pigeons tend to have mites rather than fleas. They look like really small brown grains of rice  

She roams free around our room and house and yes, we just have to clean up after her. Their poops are so small and only made out of seeds/grit/veges that it's not actually that gross. I find it easier to just let them dry out, that way they are really easy to just pick up and throw out. Covering furniture with old sheets can be really helpful too.

Or you can get these amazing things called flightsuits/bird diapers (google them). They are the best invention ever. You can slip them on your pidge and then you just need to change them every few hours or so. Nice clean house. You will have to let your bird gradually get used to them and occasionally some birds never do. Mine doesn't mind at all and it even doubles as a harness if I want to take her outside for some sun. 
Some people have their birds in these 90% of the time, but I prefer to use it if I'm taking the bird somewhere outside or to a room in the house that is communal (i'm flatting with a group of people). I also think that it must be much nicer for her to not wear it and easier for her to preen.

I have heard of people training their birds to only poop in one place. This takes a lot of time, patience and energy. If you are up to it, that's cool 

I have also bought a nice big cage that I keep her food, water and grit in. There's a couple of perches in there also. She sleeps in there every night and gets let out nice and early every morning.

I hope this big chunk of text helps!


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## tjc1

Actually you can catch life threatening disease from pigeons. There are several that can cause problems especially in compromised people. Even non compromised people can get very sick if basic things are not taken care of. Cleaning is the most important thing as old dropping can start to get fungis that can cause a couple of respitory problems. That it is why it is important to clean. Also being sanitary (washing hands) is important not to contaminate your self. Here is a list I found off the web 

The following are some diseases in birds which can infect humans: Chlamydiosis (Psittacosis), Salmonellosis, Campylobacteriosis, New Castles Disease, Allergic Alveolitus, Mycobacteriosis (tuberculosis), Influenza, Giardia, and Cryptosporidiosis

I am no way discouraging you as I love pigeons and have a bunch. But I follow precautions like any other animal you need to educate yourself. Even a nice cat or dog can make you sick if you dont clean up after them. Example is the litter box for cats is said not to be cleaned by pregnant women as they can get Toxoplasmosis


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## Jaye

tjc1 said:


> Actually you can catch life threatening disease from pigeons.


I am sorry... but you really need to be careful when you post a comment like this....in the vast majority of instances, your statement is not true, unless (as you clarify _later_ in your comment) you are already significantly compromised physicially/medically with some _certain, specific _malady or two or three.

If you look at the situation of a person who has rescued a pigeon or even a person who happens to have a feral nest or two in the vicinity of their window or door or such, or just folks who encounter Ferals on an everyday basis be it on the street or in a park....there is really zero chance of any sort of transmittance.

I understand the point of your reply... but please be careful when making blanket statements like that. You should probably have reworded your initial sentence.

Here's a great set of links Skyeking put together on the subject:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f23/the-misconceptions-about-pigeons-and-disease-25811.html




tjc1 said:


> Since its a wild pigeon clean him up. I would hit him with mite spray to make sure.


As we dunno how old the baby is, this may be premature advice. I would not go spraying or applying anything, nor even bathe a rescued baby Pigeon... if he/she is less than 12-14 days old. Don't mean to be contrarian, but we need more info on the size/age of the baby....


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## Jaye

TG1989 said:


> About a week ago I found a baby pigeon on my porch and ive decided to take it in and feed it etc. But i was wondering how safe it is. Can i catch serious diseases? Bearing in mind if I let him out of his cage (acutally a big wooden box im using temporarily) he leaves droppings *everywhere*. I'm constantly cleaning them up and there isnt all that much mess being made, but isnt it still unhygienc and deadly to let this happen? I can't just leave him inside his box because he gets very unhappy, and when i let him out he gets very excited and wants to run around and play etc, but yea he poops everywhere so I have a real dilemma as to what to do. Can i catch tetanus or any other life threatening illness if it carries on this way? And what should I do about the situation? Thanks.


1) can you post a photo ?

2) is he healthy (seemingly) ? What is he eating ? 

3) would you entertain the though of releasing him back to the Feral world, if you know of a good, sizeable healthy flock somewhere near you ? or is there a specific danger out there which you want to protect him from (i.e. lots of hawks, a neighbor who shoots Pigeons, etc...) ?

Start with these questions and we can give you more suggestions as to how to best deal with your concerns.....

Thanks for caring, BTW


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## tjc1

Really Jaye my second sentence clearly states about the compromise. What did you want me to do is state that first. Maybe I should have put the cleaning part in first because without the fungis you can't get sick. Grow up and dont be so wound up and read everything. I am stating some mere facts that if you have certain conditions or do not cleanup after the animals you can get sick.


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## NZ Pigeon

Jaye said:


> I am sorry... but you really need to be careful when you post a comment like this....in the vast majority of instances, your statement is not true, unless (as you clarify _later_ in your comment) you are already significantly compromised physicially/medically with some _certain, specific _malady or two or three.
> 
> If you look at the situation of a person who has rescued a pigeon or even a person who happens to have a feral nest or two in the vicinity of their window or door or such, or just folks who encounter Ferals on an everyday basis be it on the street or in a park....there is really zero chance of any sort of transmittance.
> 
> *I understand the point of your reply... but please be careful when making blanket statements like that. You should probably have reworded your initial sentence.*
> 
> Here's a great set of links Skyeking put together on the subject:
> 
> http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f23/the-misconceptions-about-pigeons-and-disease-25811.html
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As we dunno how old the baby is, this may be premature advice. I would not go spraying or applying anything, nor even bathe a rescued baby Pigeon... if he/she is less than 12-14 days old. Don't mean to be contrarian, but we need more info on the size/age of the baby....


The fact the pigeon is running around suggests to me its over 14 days old.


His statement is not true unless he clarifies his compromise??? Which he did?? So why pick on his statement. Ornithosis can effect and even cause death in a healthy human too.

Your statement claiming there is really zero chance is completely false so maybe this needs to be re-worded. Does the use of really prior to the word zero suggest the zero statement is not 100% accurate? Otherwise I do not see the need for the use of this word. It leaves room for interpretation on a word that should not be interpretable - (zero)


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## Msfreebird

Just for the record, you can catch something from a cat before you will from a bird.......unless of course you eat their poop.
The answer is simple......wash your hands and use the same precautions you would with any other animal.
I've been rescuing birds and wild animals since I was 12, that's 47 years. I've been a vet tech for 40 years. I've raised raccoons, skunks, squirrels, chipmunks, to name a few, and all kinds of birds. The only thing I've caught from an animal was ringworm- 3 times, and 'cat scratch fever'- once.....All from cats.
So I have to agree with Jaye. Under normal circumstances and good hygiene, your chances are ZERO.


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## tjc1

But that is what I am saying. I stated it several times clean clean clean. If you do that you should be good. Why is my statement being ripped apart? I also stated that you can get sick from any animal if you don't clean clean clean. And following good hygiene. Holy cow sometimes you people can be so annoying.


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## Pidgeys

Didn't mean to open up a whole can of worms! Thanks for setting me right about the sicknesses you can catch.

I guess it must just be reasonably uncommon as I have not heard/read about any instances of it happening.

I hope the original poster doesn't freak out over all these illnesses you can get. I'm sure just being smart about hygiene and cleanliness will keep you reasonably safe from harm.


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## tjc1

And thank you NZ PIGEON


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## Msfreebird

tjc1 said:


> But that is what I am saying. I stated it several times clean clean clean. If you do that you should be good. Why is my statement being ripped apart? I also stated that you can get sick from any animal if you don't clean clean clean. And following good hygiene. Holy cow sometimes you people can be so annoying.


I wasn't directing my response to you.



Pidgeys said:


> Didn't mean to open up a whole can of worms! Thanks for setting me right about the sicknesses you can catch.
> 
> *I guess it must just be reasonably uncommon as I have not heard/read about any instances of it happening.
> 
> I hope the original poster doesn't freak out over all these illnesses you can get. I'm sure just being smart about hygiene and cleanliness will keep you reasonably safe from harm*.


My point exactly........And I think that is what Jaye was pointing out.



tjc1 said:


> And thank you NZ PIGEON


Sometimes 'debating' (I call it nitpicking) an issue can go overboard..........show me the statistics


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## NZ Pigeon

Some may call it nit picking, that's their opinion. In this case I see it was important to provide some balance. The Thread maker wanted to know if their were risks. 

A member here pulled apart another member for explaining the importance of cleanliness to minimise the risks and at the same time stated there was "really zero chance" of picking up a disease from a pigeon. This is false and I think my post which some may deem as "nit picking" was not only relative but also an appropriate response to Jaye and inline with the tone of his post to tjc1 . But that's just my opinion.

I agree though, Show me the statistics as I am a facts man so would love to know what the risk factor is... surely we can all agree there is a risk. Minimal maybe but its there


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