[teebo]

A family member and i were watching a show today,about pigeon droppings,and the show was saying that the droppings carry disease...is this true.

 

[LUCKYT]

I think the way to answer this is if you had 50 parakeets free Flying in the room next to you there is a health risk, if you had twenty cats in your house, yes there is a health risk, if you lived in a house with your family and twenty Cousins, there is a health risk. NO creature is not able to pass on a problem to people. BUT it only happens with poor Hygiene, poor care and no common sense. Your dog or cat are also able to get you sick if no common sense is used. IT is insane too say you can not catch something from them.... BUT there is more chance of you getting sick from your "visiting cousin" than the average Pigeon. I had a friend in the 70's catch "parrot fever" from a rare macaw, sorry can never spell that name, you know, the LARGE purple endangered kind. Begins with an "H" It can happen but i am more worried about "how old is that milk in the fridge?" JMHO Dave

 

[Msfreebird]

I think the way to answer this is if you had 50 parakeets free Flying in the room next to you there is a health risk, if you had twenty cats in your house, yes there is a health risk, if you lived in a house with your family and twenty Cousins, there is a health risk. NO creature is not able to pass on a problem to people. BUT it only happens with poor Hygiene, poor care and no common sense. Your dog or cat are also able to get you sick if no common sense is used. IT is insane too say you can not catch something from them.... BUT there is more chance of you getting sick from your "visiting cousin" than the average Pigeon. I had a friend in the 70's catch "parrot fever" from a rare macaw, sorry can never spell that name, you know, the LARGE purple endangered kind. Begins with an "H" It can happen but i am more worried about "how old is that milk in the fridge?" JMHO Dave

THIS IS THE BEST RESPONSE I HAVE EVER HEARD TO THAT QUESTION!!!!!
And its "Hyacinth Macaw"

 

[LUCKYT]

THANK YOU! I have a mental block on the spelling of that word for some reason! I had two under my care when i worked for "Noah's Ark"pet centers, toted as being the worlds largest at one time, now out of business. BOY could i tell you stories of my experiences there! One was named Pinix and the other Tuson. ( sorry, i have a mental block on Arizona town names too! ) Lost one to "Parrot fever" Sorry, i can not spell the ORN. word either LOL! Dave

 

[TAWhatley]

I, agree .. that was a very good answer, Dave!

Your macaw is a Hyacinth and the disease is ornithosis aka psittacosis .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psittacosis

There is a similar thread going on here today: http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f5/fungus-in-the-poop-34366.html

Terry

PS: Phoenix and Tucson

 

[LUCKYT]

Thanks Terry, I am some what literate, but when things have strong memories attached too them i seem to have a mental block! LOL! And i am not kidding about that! I have a real problem dealing with the days i was in the Pet Business. I saw it from very open eyes, and was not happy with what i saw. Even as a 9 year old, i knew something was not right. BUT i wanted to be near the Animals. And at that time, that was just about the only place i could get as much contact. Dave

 

[cryllc]

The show teebo was talking about is what got my whole argument going today as well. I myself did not see it but it sounds like it blew everything out of proportion and did nothing for the image of our pigeon friends.

 

[LUCKYT]

Teebo, what show was it? I have Tivo, and can watch it when it is on again. Dave

 

[John_D]

Dave, you've explained so well in a few lines what took me over a page to write to my town council's public health department - but then I was answering some specifics and giving some statistics too in my case. Excellent post!

One thing I mentioned to them was that according to the UK Chief Coroner's reports for (I believe) 2005, 6 persons died from Ornithosis (all emloyment-related and none specifying pigeons as the carriers) whilst in about the same period over 2,000 people died from (or had as a contributing cause) the so-called 'hospital superbugs'. Seems to me I'm safer with a flock of pigeons than in a hospital!

John

 

[tuxedobaby]

i read pigeons carry less disease than the average family dog!pigeons are clean,like to bathe,and are NOT vermin ridden pests like which is portrayed by media,pest companies and pigeon haters,,as with any animal its always wise to use basic hygeine when handling,feeding etc or cleaning lofts,,its common sense really!

 

[UncleBuck]

The only show I have seen about removing pigeon poop is Dirty Jobs. I love that show, poor Mike spends a lot of time in poo!
Please remember that if this is the show you are referring to, the people who own the company have a business of removing pigeon poop. What kind of business plan would I be able to write if I did not list all the "Potentially" dangerous diseases associated with pigeon poop? How many clients would I be able to sell my services to?
If in fact this is the show, I have to tell you I found it extremely funny that they were scraping dried pigeon poop off of roofs and sills. Sunlight in the best sanitizer and cleaner in this world. (They even tell you if you might have been exposed to TB to place your items, clothing, etc, in the sunlight.)
Pet pigeons are much less likely to spread a disease to you if you follow basic cleaning and health guidelines.

 

[teebo]

i believe the show was Verminators on Discovery ,.the attic was full of pigeons,and dead ones.poop was all over the attic floor and bugs were in it,one good thing they did was catch the babies and send them to a shelter,and when i said to my friend before i found out what they were going to do with the young ones,she said ,so what they are rats.. it did kind of upset me.i don't consider pigeons rats.

 

[teebo]

here it is,i cant find the video.http://blogs.discovery.com/verminators/2008/06/episode-8-horro.html