Does my 4 year old daughter have bird germs?!!

[Chelsea and her doodle Piper]

So Piper is finding every dead bird in our yard (we have so many hit our high windows and die!) and he is also finding small bone carcasses and chewing on them! Aside from being gross, do any of you guys worry about the germs they are bringing in from this? I don't know how to disinfect him so my daughter isn't getting bird germs. Am I being way to anal? On a side note, my 4 year old brought one of the dead birds to the window for me to see (in her hands--puke!) that Piper had brought her. Nice.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I would start a daily "Bird Patrol" and pick up all the carcasses with a shovel & a trash bag. I don't know what kinds of germs if any they might contain, but it would probably just be a good idea not to let Piper chew them or expose your daughter to them.
There are also all kinds of ways to keep birds from flying into your windows. You can hang wind chimes and other kinds of gizmos that spin & scare the birds away; even plain old window decals help.
Good luck.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

No, you are not being anal. Birds carry serious diseases. Histoplasmosis and Salmonellosis are just a few. There are others. Karen had a good idea for you. First clean up and then let your dog out.

[Pat & "Tucker"]

If you are not sure that the birds are dying from hitting your window or from your dog hunting them down, I recommend calling your local animal control. Dead animals can harbor germs. Most people have heightened concern about West Nile Virus and Avian Flu. WNV can't be transmitted from a bird, it is transmitted from the bird to misquito then to the human. Rest assure there is no Avian Flu circulating.
The best things I would recommended are : call animal control if you have dying birds for no reason, keep the yard clean of the birds and wash hands frequently. For germs to be transmitted, it would be from the hands to the mouth, nose or eyes, or perhaps a cut in the skin or from the dogs mouth. So hand washing is most important and no kissing the dog on the mouth. Likely all will be safe!

[Chelsea and her doodle Piper]

Just to be clear, we always try to get any of the birds when we hear them CRASH into the windows (they are very large and very high windows). But little puppy is finding things we had no idea were there. In fact I was just out 2 days ago winterizing all the flour beds etc and didn't see anything. I had no idea we even had any carcasses...not quite sure what kind it was that he was chewing on. I scrubbed his paws and mouth, but feel like I need some doggy lysol! :o) I am very clean and all the bulldogs we have had in the past would never bother making the effort to sniff anything out even if they were able. ; ) so this is a new one for me!

[F, Calla & Luca]

I agree with Karen yet again. Prevention seems the best idea for the birds, dog and people. Try some of Karen's ideas for keeping the birds from crashing into the windows. If they don't work the Audubon society or online sources may have other suggestions. Dead birds will harbor many bacteria and attract insects and animals. Aside from diseases other have mentioned, birds carry other diseases such as psittacosis. It is most likely your daughter would not get anything but it would be best to be careful.