Well, when my family first got chickens, I was very young, but I don't remember not being allowed to hold chicks. We didn't get chicks until I was a little older, though, but we have small kids around a lot.
Reading that list of 'safe-handling instructions', I don't agree with most/all of the precautions. Basically the 'precautions' I take (that I've never thought of as such) are:
- wash hands before handling chicks, where possible (if a chick has escaped the brooder, there mightn't be time to wash hands first). I don't use sanitiser, just soap and water like a would normally.
- wash hands after handling chicks, especially if they've pooped on you or you plan to eat directly after
- nuzzle with a closed mouth, not an open one. Actually this is more because I'm afraid of scaring the chicks.
- if you're sitting with them on your lap, put a towel underneath the chick so it doesn't poop on your clothes
- I would be inclined to hold the chick myself for small children and just let them pat it, or put it on their lap and watch them to make sure they don't squeeze the chick. Also make sure the child has washed hands before and after (okay, so I'm obsessed about clean hands at any time)
As the chickens get older, I'm not so obsessed about hand-washing or small-children-holding-chick. I guess I'm worried about giving germs to little chicks, but bigger ones can handle it better, especially after they've got feathers, they're big and fairly hardy.
Oh, and I agree about not keeping them somewhere were food is prepared, but keeping them in a main living area is fine, I think, as long as someone's not going to be driven mad by the peeping.
Of course, I'm not a professional or anything, but my family's had chickens for as long as I can remember, and chicks on and off since I was about 6. Most of what I know is experience from that, and what I've said is basically what I've done, and I've never had any chicks or chickens die on my from handling or germs - in fact, I've only had one chick die on me and I never touched it, it hatched looking ill and weak, and the chickens that have died have either been very old, overheated, or taken by foxes.
I do a lot of what I call 'chicken therapy' with the autistic kids I babysit. It's not a real therapy but I think it should be, or at least animal therapy. I was a little worried at first about them being rough, but autistic chidlren and little children are very empathetic and caring about animals, and won't intentionally do anything to hurt it. That's not to say that they might unintentionally grip to tightly, so you've got to watch out for that, but generally they're gentler with animals than they might be with toys. If you're really worried about kids squeezing the chicks too tightly and hurting them, just hold the chick yourself and tell the child to only pat.
from Rachel.
Reading that list of 'safe-handling instructions', I don't agree with most/all of the precautions. Basically the 'precautions' I take (that I've never thought of as such) are:
- wash hands before handling chicks, where possible (if a chick has escaped the brooder, there mightn't be time to wash hands first). I don't use sanitiser, just soap and water like a would normally.
- wash hands after handling chicks, especially if they've pooped on you or you plan to eat directly after
- nuzzle with a closed mouth, not an open one. Actually this is more because I'm afraid of scaring the chicks.
- if you're sitting with them on your lap, put a towel underneath the chick so it doesn't poop on your clothes
- I would be inclined to hold the chick myself for small children and just let them pat it, or put it on their lap and watch them to make sure they don't squeeze the chick. Also make sure the child has washed hands before and after (okay, so I'm obsessed about clean hands at any time)
As the chickens get older, I'm not so obsessed about hand-washing or small-children-holding-chick. I guess I'm worried about giving germs to little chicks, but bigger ones can handle it better, especially after they've got feathers, they're big and fairly hardy.
Oh, and I agree about not keeping them somewhere were food is prepared, but keeping them in a main living area is fine, I think, as long as someone's not going to be driven mad by the peeping.
Of course, I'm not a professional or anything, but my family's had chickens for as long as I can remember, and chicks on and off since I was about 6. Most of what I know is experience from that, and what I've said is basically what I've done, and I've never had any chicks or chickens die on my from handling or germs - in fact, I've only had one chick die on me and I never touched it, it hatched looking ill and weak, and the chickens that have died have either been very old, overheated, or taken by foxes.
I do a lot of what I call 'chicken therapy' with the autistic kids I babysit. It's not a real therapy but I think it should be, or at least animal therapy. I was a little worried at first about them being rough, but autistic chidlren and little children are very empathetic and caring about animals, and won't intentionally do anything to hurt it. That's not to say that they might unintentionally grip to tightly, so you've got to watch out for that, but generally they're gentler with animals than they might be with toys. If you're really worried about kids squeezing the chicks too tightly and hurting them, just hold the chick yourself and tell the child to only pat.
from Rachel.
