# Do pigeons carry diseases?



## gucciprada

As in a 3wk old pigeon if they claw or bite you will they give you rabies or something?

Also when is a good time to start feeding a 3 week old pigeon as to say they were rescued from a bad situation.How do you feed them and how should i provide them with water?


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## jbangelfish

*Not normally, no.*



gucciprada said:


> As in a 3wk old pigeon if they claw or bite you will they give you rabies or something?
> 
> Also when is a good time to start feeding a 3 week old pigeon as to say they were rescued from a bad situation.How do you feed them and how should i provide them with water?


Pigeons can carry diseases but the only one that I know of that is transmittable to humans is Histoplasmosis. The pigeons don't have it, it comes from a mold that grows in wet pigeon manure. It would take a fairly long time for this to show up.

They do not have rabies or anything that would transmit to you from a bite. It would be extremely rare for a pigeon to be able to break your skin in the first place.

How do you know that your pigeon is 3 weeks old? If the bird is 3 weeks old, you will have to feed it and give it water. It is not old enough to do this for itself.

Bill


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## gucciprada

jbangelfish said:


> Pigeons can carry diseases but the only one that I know of that is transmittable to humans is Histoplasmosis. The pigeons don't have it, it comes from a mold that grows in wet pigeon manure. It would take a fairly long time for this to show up.
> 
> They do not have rabies or anything that would transmit to you from a bite. It would be extremely rare for a pigeon to be able to break your skin in the first place.
> 
> How do you know that your pigeon is 3 weeks old? If the bird is 3 weeks old, you will have to feed it and give it water. It is not old enough to do this for itself.
> 
> Bill


I don't know how to pronounce his-to-plas-mosis but i'm sure my pigeons don't have it.

I glad these animals do not carry rabies because i picked one of them up and he/she did not try to nip or bite me.

I know the animal is 3 weeks old because i compared pictures from a link i clicked on and that showed pigeons from age 1 day/1week/2week/3week and so on up to 3 months fully grown.

How should i encourage them to eat?


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## Victor

Hi Gucciprada and welcome to Pigeon Talk!

As in handling any animal or pet, it is always wise to wash your hands with soap and water just to play it safe. I have 8 pet pigeons and I handle all of them every day. My pigeons living quarters are cleaned almost every day, and are provided or given regular treated baths, and I still wash my hands. I also keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in my pigeon coop. If I have a guest over to see them and handle them I insure their hands are cleaned afterwards just as a preventative measure.

Bites, well I am sure used to that. My pigeons are all used to me and most of them fly on me and are trained on a command, but will bite and peck me when in a playful mood or just being jealous if I happen to be paying attention to one and not them. Sometimes I get a irritating pinch if I don't make a fist if they happen to be on my hand and reach down and bite it but I have yet to get hurt.

Now, their claws are another problem that I will admit need attention. A couple of them have some sharp ones and will scratch my arm. It is time to lay out some bricks in the aviary for them again.

The babies should be ready to eat on their own in just a few more weeks. If you are going to train them to feed and drink, it is really quite easy. We have a thread on here that I will try and find unless someone finds it first to show you how to do it. I am at work now on break and my time is almost up.

Enjoy your pigeons and it is great to have you. Please read all the sections. There is much information here.


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## Victor

gucciprada said:


> How should i encourage them to eat?


At a young age, they should be introduced to small bird seeds. They are not quite ready for the regular pigeon feed diet. Mine for example get a regular blend of pigeon feed, with supplemental additions such as split green peas, lentiles, small yellow (not cracked) pop corn, raw of course, cut raw peanuts, brown raw rice, and shelled unsalted sunflower seeds. But as young ones, they are not ready for these yet. 

Place the seeds in a small bowl, and with your fingers, swirl the seeds so they can see and hear the action. Same with the water. They are pretty smart and will soon learn the action to take.


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## jbangelfish

*3 weeks is too young*

Not many birds will learn to eat on their own at that age, at least not pigeons. I would think this person is in for a week or two of hand feeding.

Bill


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## gucciprada

I think they are either 12-16days or 3weeks old i'm not sure.They are young and can barley walk but can stand on their feet.










Can someone explain to me clearly on how to hand feed these animals?


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## Pidgey

They've got a lot more to worry about from you than you do from them so wash your hands before you handle them!

Pidgey


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## Skyeking

gucciprada said:


> Can someone explain to me clearly on how to hand feed these animals?


Check this link for handfeeding:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=9682

You can also fill a syringe with baby bird formula push all the air out and put a nipple on it, (the reverse side of it)and allow the babies to put their beaks in the nipple (the side that screws on to the bottle) Let them eat out of it a little and then dispense more from the syringe and allow them to eat, and continue this till their little crops are full.

Keep the babies warm at all time, and feed only when their crops are empty.


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## gucciprada

It's very difficult to tell wether their crops are full or empty.

I have one bird that refuses to eat from a syringe seems like a fussy eater and one that won't stop eating.It's only been about 40-48 hours since i've been keeping these birds.

What is a good way to keep the babies warm if i have no heating mat?


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## Grim

They should maintain their own heat fine at that age. The parents would not even think of sitting on them at that old. Just keep them in a room with no drafts. Keep working on feeding the other bird. Where did they come from?


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## gucciprada

where came from an ac unit like in the picture showed.


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## Guest

As far as i aware it depends what and who the pigeon has come into contact with before you got them. I suspect most of the people on here are talking about tame pigeons but feral ones can be a different story. Here is a clip of text from my local counil website about feral pigeons.

"Feral pigeons carry diseases that are harmful to man, significantly more than the brown rat and yet people would not normally dream of feeding rats! The best known disease passed from birds to man is Psittacosis but over 40 more diseases can be passed from feral pigeon to humans, including potentially infectious diseases such as salmonella, tuberculosis and ornithosis.

These birds are also a source of allergens, which can cause respiratory illnesses like pigeon fancier's lung and allergic skin reactions. It is possible for these illnesses to be spread to people through contact with pigeon droppings, feathers, pigeon parasites, or where dead infected pigeons get into food or water sources."

I would love to know how you got on with those 2 little ones, did they survive? are they fully grown now?

Cheers Lee.


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## Teresa

Care should be taken when considering information from council websites, as they have their own agenda, i.e. scaring the public into calling the extermination companies.

*Most of the information above is misleading or simply incorrect*.
"Psittacosis", actually Psittacicosis, which is the same as Ornithosis or Chlamydiosis (one disease, nor three) can in fact be carried by pigeons, or any other birds, but note its very name is connected to parrots, these being the main carriers. This is the only bird disease that is contagious to humans, producing mild symptoms of flu. It is usually easy to identify, as the bird affected will sneeze and have running eye and nose discharges.
Histoplasmosis also affects people, but again it isn't specifically pigeon-related: the pathogen is a fungus that thrives in moist bird droppings, any bird's droppings, and nobody needs to worry about it unless they regularly come into contact with shovelfulls of it, in which case they should wear face masks to avoid breathing it in.
Some people can be allergic to the bloom (dust) in birds' feathers. This condition is very serious, and it's called Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis. Those unfortunate enough to have it must avoid contact with all birds.
The rest are urban myths. The remaining pigeon diseases and parasites don't pass to people or pets that aren't birds, because they are either different species of pathogens (like pigeon Salmonella, which is different from the kind we can get) or can only live off creatures with a higher body temperature than ours.

I have rescued countless numbers of shabby city pigeons, nursed most of them back to health, and kept as pets the ones that can't be released. In all that time of handling sick birds and their sick poops I have NEVER EVER caught anything from them!

I know that this thread is 2 years old, but it's still being picked up by search engines on the subject of pigeon diseases, and contibuting to giving pigeons an undeserved bad reputation.


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