Pigeon is one of the most abundant wild bird in the cities. Some people hate them because of the poops they do everywhere. I know how allergic it is for some when they do droppings. How irritating!
People who keep them as pets even know better how difficult is it to clean their poops. Here let me answer first why do pigeons poop so much?
Pigeons poop so much because of their fast digestive and metabolic systems. Whatever they eat, digested within 2 hours. As they have easy access to food in cities, they eat more and excrete more.
Birds droppings can be harmful and toxic to mankind. They should be cleaned instantly. Let’s talk about some facts about the dropings of pigeons and some precautions you need to know.
Contents
How often do pigeons poop?
It is very difficult to know how frequently they excrete the waste. According to some experts.
The number of times a bird poops in a day correlates to its size
Zielezienski said
By considering this we have a pathway that summarizes that smaller birds have a small stomach and digestive system. Also, they have higher metabolic activity whatever they eat is digested within minutes.
For example, a smaller bird (budgie) can do 40-50 droppings a day. Pigeon is a medium-sized bird
One pigeon can do 48 pounds of guano (poops) a year. On average he eats 20 grams of food and drinks about 35 ml of water a day. 0.13 pounds of poops is calculated. Here is the average calculated by us.
| Time | Water | Food | Poops |
| Daily | 35 ml | 20 grams | 0.13 pounds |
| Yearly | 12,775 ml | 7300 grams | 48 pounds |
According to some owners of pigeons, they excrete almost one time every 15-45 minutes. But every night they control and do it in the morning.
A pet pigeon eliminates wastes from the body more frequently than a Pigeon in the wild.
Why do pigeons poop so much as pets?
Pet owners take care of their birds very politely. They wanted them to keep them healthy and happy all the time. Foood is obviously the favorite diet of any living organism,
1. Availability of food
There is the availability of food all the time in their cage. As they eat more, they excrete more. Moreover, they have less space to fly. Some owners keep them in the cage which also affects their rate of poops.
2. For easy flight
There is also another theory around this. Have you ever noticed pigeons in your area keep flying all the time? They sit only for a few moments. Birds poop before taking flight for flying efficiently and quickly.
That’s the reason you will never see a pigeon flying and droppings at the same time. When they take flight, they keep their toes back under the cloaca. They don’t want to dirty their feet so control themselves from droppings.
There is a case where a pet owner collects 17 pounds of poop from two pigeons in 6 months.
How much should pigeons poop?
Bird poop tells a lot about them. You can easily understand how healthy they are! It is the best way to keep their health stable.
If pigeons are excreting low amounts of waste it means they are not getting the proper nutrients or they are not eating enough food. You should always make sure ta place enough amount of food daily that keeps them healthy.
If enough food is available and still they are not eating, There are chances of diseases. You should read out this article to know which disease they have.
If there are watery droppings, there is a chance of drinking more water. For example, if you feed them fruits or juices, this can happen. If they are doing this constantly it may be diarrhea
Any problem in their digestive system can lead to problems in their poops. You should always look after the droppings.
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How Harmful is pigeon poop?
There are some diseases related to pigeon poop that can spread to humans. There is a bacteria in pigeon poop, if injected by humans or any animals it can be proved toxic.
You may be wondering how a human ingests the poops! There are chances some splashes of poop fall into the food or not washing their hands after cleaning their waste.
You should always wash your hands and protect your food.
Another disease cause histoplasmosis in humans. It is caused when hundreds of thousands of poops make an environment that leads to growing the fungus that leads to this disease. There is no case seen in the UK. It is slightly possible.
Cryptococcus neoformans is spread through dried wastes. In short, diseases are spread only to those persons who have weak Immune systems or have organ transplants or any serious diseases like HIV / AIDS and patients treated with cancers.
These diseases are not spread from person to person.
Pigeon poop is used as fertilizer
Did you know, In the past, their waste is used as fertilizer, you can also use it for the backyard plants? What you have to it to collect the material, is put it in a composter until they are dried and broken. After that mix these with the soil. Your soil is ready to boost the growth of your plant.
Summary
Birds’ poop depends upon the size of their body. Smaller birds do more droppings than larger ones. As they eat more, they digest more.
Pigeons get a lot of food in the city. People also feed them. That’s why they never run out of food and poop.