Can Opposum Blood give Hens a Disease? Strange Dilemma...

[AngelzFyre]

No, birds don't get rabies..but if they got into the blood or saliva of a rabid animal it could be transmitted to humans. Same as with any animals or people that come in contact with them when infected. No fun to have to get the rabies shots, even prophylactically...been there, done that!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

opossums get rabies only very, very rarely. They are not quite as immune as birds, but pretty close.

 

[AngelzFyre]

Opposums here in Alabama get it, along with raccoons and foxes. A rabid opposum is why I had to go through the rabies series.
He was rabid, foaming at mouth and growling with a huge open wound on his side... and up in a tree across the road, when the neighbor shot him and killed him we picked him up and put him in garbage bag and took him to Health Dept where they sent his head off for testing. Came back positive so that all of us that were in contact with it had to go through series of shots even if we thought we didn't get blood or saliva on us.

 

[buildingmyark]

Okay, Now I'm paranoid. What if the blood dripped on the leaves of the fig tree and dried. If I were to brush by one of those leaves and it contacted my skin am I in danger of getting a disease?

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

Not if the blood is dryed.

 

[AngelzFyre]

Quote:
Agreed!

I'm sure you'll be fine, more than likely your opposum encounter was just him looking for an easy chicken dinner and nothing more.
I'm really sorry for making you paranoid, I was just trying to emphasize not contacting the blood itself when wet or the carcass of the opposum without being careful. Just good idea to dispose of any critters as carefully as you can...that's all, I promise!

I'm sure your fig trees are okay by now and with so much time passed, so is everything else.

 

[buildingmyark]

Thank you again, AngelzFyre. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

 

[AngelzFyre]

You're very welcome!

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Now I'm paranoid. What if the blood dripped on the leaves of the fig tree and dried

By the time the blood has dried, the virus is dead.

It can't survive long outside a body.

There's no need to panic​