Contact with other animals??

[GuineaGirl]

I have a ringneck dove and absolutely love him - I have only had him about 3 months, but he has just captured my heart. I also have 2 guinea pigs, and my b/f and I allow all the animals to have as much play time as possible outside their cages. We let Boo (the bird) fly free and we have a sort of low, collapsible fence we put on the floor for the guineas, and they all really like it.
Recently Boo's taken a huge interest in the guinea pigs and they seem to like him as well. Whenever they are out together, Boo will go hang out with them, and if we leave the guinea cage open, he will fly into it. So far I've allowed this, but I'm not sure I should continue as I'm worried about health risks. Both Boo and the guinea pigs have always been completely healthy; I've had Boo for 3 months and the pigs for a little over a year - neither have had any exposure to other animals while in my care.
I guess my question is, do you think this is likely OK (I know there is always some degree of risk in allowing animals of any species to have contact with each other) or is this taking careless chances with my babies? For those who have multiple pets of different species, what kind of contact do they have and have you ever had problems?
Thanks!!

[Lori~D]

I personally think its fine as long as they all get along. If everybody got so crazy as some do about all the risks involved in our lives then we would all live sterile unhappy lives. Heck if they are healthy and they like each others company...so-be-it. IMO!

[my-africangrey-echo]

I agree if they seem to get along why stop now... I just wouldn't leave them together unsupervised at least until you have no doubt they will not hurt each other.

[Courtzrocks]

I heard a story about a cat and a crow who were best friends, the cat was very protective of the crow. It was so cute!!! Our old lab used to LOVE the guinea pigs, he would lick and flea them haha, so cute! I say let them go for it.

[Ashling]

My lory and dogs get along well, but there's just the risk of transferring worms/ mites. They're all very healthy, and play about twice a week together. I had a pet rat once attack my bird, but then they are egg eaters, and guineas are herbavores. If they're enjoying each others company then go on- you only live once make it fun!

[Buteo]

Our Bouv loves our Pi and she returns it, but I keep a watchful eye on them when they have access to one another. I don't think anything bad would happen delibrately, but I also know all too well how accidents can happen. There are other things I try to discourage - like her chewing on the edges of his ears when she's in preening mode...
or him kissing her (that big tongue of his knocks her right off her claws).

Max is Graced by ~The-Dude-L-Bug on deviantART

No matter how condfident you are in the bird and the Guinea Pigs present behaviours, ALWAYS keep at least one eye on them.


I would try and keep the bird out of the pig's cages though...just to reduce the possible contact with the GP's saliva on food or toys & their droppings.

[Amie]

I'm sure this is just a general caution thing, but I know of several bird people who won't allow their birds near any kind of rodents. I THINK it's because of the fear of diseases the rodents might carry. . .you know, considering all rats to be dirty, nasty beings and such. . .and I'm sure it's just an overreaction to something that happened a million years ago and still lingers. But, you might want to google it, just to be safe.

If there's nothing of importance to worry about, I'd keep up with it.

[Lori~D]

The diff between a Guinie pig and a rat is the fact they are not scavengers like rats are there fore they dont tend to carry as much disease and anyhoo - pet rats dont get to scavange garbage as well.

[GuineaGirl]

Thanks for the replies - I'm glad it's probably all right, especially as they look really sweet together. Buteo makes a good point about the cages though, so the guinea pig cage is off-limits to Boo from now on.
I'm new to the board and still learning my way around, but I will post some pics once I figure out how :)

[ccg]

I had an old mut, she lived to be 18 years and a wild red tail hawk that were friends for 5 years. The dog was so old and the hawk was a baby (she was not wild caught, I rescued her), they used to snuggle up together on the back porch. In the 5 years we never had a problem. I had to get the dog put down due to the old age of 18, she was a great dog though. As for the hawk, he has been released into the wild and still comes back a few times a year for a visit and a good old feeding.