keeping a lone pigeon in my kitchen

Question
A week ago on a cold snowy day my husband found a pigeon in a parking lot.  It seemed to have a problem--could not fly but didn't seem to have a broken wing.  Anyway, he brought it home and built a cage which he put in my kitchen.  This bird is a (***) making machine.  I do not feel that this is healthy for us.  The bird itself is very handsome.  I just don't want us to get sick from the bird's droppings.  I can't seem to find information about this.  Can you help?  Thanks.  Nancy Plant

Answer
Hi, Nancy.  Thanks for posting.

You will not become ill from the pigeon's droppings.  I've kept hundreds of pigeons for over 11 years, I'm with them several times per day, and I've never been ill as a result of being with them or handling their droppings.  I know hundreds of other people who raise lots of pigeons and no one has ever come down with any type of illness as a result of working with pigeons.  Of course, you don't want to let the droppings get into any food or anything like this, but just being in the same room with pigeon droppings will cause you no harm.  An unsanitary situation would be if you allowed this pigeon to roam around your home and mess anywhere it wanted to.

Thanks.

Chrys