Ive had my girls for 11 weeks now and have spent a lot of time with them so they are extremely tame. As well as the usual maintenance jobs around their coop I take a chair out in their run and they flock to me for cuddles, sit on my shoulders, preen my hair, maybe take a snooze in my lap, I have 6 so I'm draped in chickens, my husband refers to me now as the crazy chicken lady lol. I change my clothes, have boots just for my chicken jobs and wash my hands but a friend told me i should be taking a shower immediately if they're all over me like that. I keep their living space clean but I have young kids so I don't want to risk their health. Sorry if this seems like a weird question I'm obviously new to chickens! Any thoughts on if she's right?
I think changing your clothes and washing up is sufficient. There are people who actually have kids and chickens in the same yard space, the kids get chicken poop on themselves, and they survive. Soap and water do wonders!
You shouldn't have any concerns against zoonotic bacteria as long as you don't ingest food or use the facilities after handling your chickens without washing your hands. It's always best to wash your hands with antibacterial soap following every chicken session, but, other than if your chickens are visibly ill or such, you should be fine!
I put a dispenser on the wall for hand sanitizer and use it every time I walk out of the coop, I have my kids do the same. Not too worried about it. Gary
We always sat with our turkeys and chickens. I always just make sure that everyone washes their hands/or uses hand sanitizer .
Thanks for the replies everyone that seemed extreme to me too. You also answered another concern as my chickens will be free ranging in our backyard (our front yard is bigger) but the kids play back there sometimes so I guess as long as we are washing hands and I have the hand sanitizer at the ready they should be fine Today was exciting as the girls got to roam the whole yard for the first time! They loved it!
Yeah, she's a bit extreme....but letting chickens crawl all over you may be a bad habit to start. It's fun....until they get bigger and jump on you when you least expect it. Especially around the shoulders and head, shiney people eyes are an inviting target for bird beaks. Hand sanitizer is false security IMO and negligibly effective.... .....plain old soap, running water, and decent interval of hand 'washing' is the best bet. Can hear my mothers voice, haha.....'get that away from your eyes!'...and....'don't put that in your mouth!'.
Lol thanks, yeah am learning a lot fast at the moment! have noticed eyeballs are extremely appealing to chickens I started allowing them to free range in our whole backyard the last few days and I have to say they are less interested in me now which is probably a good thing! They still come for a quick cuddle but with so many juicy bugs, weeds etc to keep them occupied they're busy girls and have less time for me. They seem SUPER happy though so I'm happy too
