Q: Can I clean our birdcage?
A: In general, you do not have to worry about cleaning a birdcage of a bird that you have had for a while, that you bought in a reputable pet store, and that looks healthy.
However, taking some precautions may help you decrease risk:
Always wash your hands before and after you clean the cage and wear gloves to make sure. Very rarely (according to the CDC, in 1979 there were only 116 cases reported) a bird may become infected with a disease called Psittacosis, a zoonotic disease caused by Chlamydia psittaci, which is typically transmitted from infected avian species to humans by inhalation of infectious aerosols. Human psittacosis normally infects people with lower immunity, such as older people, and it should always be suspected in a patient with pneumonia who has had recent contact with a diseased or dead bird. There is no known effect of psittacosis on pregnancy.