Chickens and children

[Syl in Tucson]

Oh my gosh, bless your heart. I've never posted before, but couldn't resist. My husband and I have raised 5 biological children and several foster kids. We now have grandchildren. Lots of grandchildren..who spend almost every day with us, 10 german shepherds, 5 cats, tilapia tanks, a whole bunch of rabbits and our ever fluctuating flock of chickens. Right now the grandkids range in age from 3 weeks to 7 years and there's a set of twins on the way. They are constantly in the pens or digging up my garden.
Poop happens. in my experience, the problem happens when the poop stops. Kids step in poop, they play in poop, and sometimes they eat it. ..."THATS NOT COCOA PUFFS!!!!" .."GET THAT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH !".... "EW . LET'S GO WASH YOUR HANDS!!"
And that's how my day goes. Been that way for 30 years. Before that, my Mom and Gramma (bless their souls), raised me and my MANY siblings the same way.
The result? I have a cast iron stomach. So do my kids. My grandkids are rarely sick. They eat all their veggies (they help me gather them from the garden), and we are happy. We wash hands BEFORE going outside. BEFORE dealing with the fish, and BEFORE going inside. We wash up again when we make it into the house. Do we once in a while get a stomach bug? Sure. Hard to tell if its from the all the poo that gets slung around here or the fact that our house is like an Amtrack station. And yes. I've caught them slinging poo.
So advise from an old lady who on occasion has to dodge a "squishy rock". Relax. Wash hands often and enjoy your babies and your critters. They grow up so fast. And then one day, they are all gone and you're waiting on grandbabies.

 

[rozygrace]

The idea that I should l lock my kids in a playpen while my chickens roam free is hilarious! I believe in free range kids even more than I believe in free range chickens!

 

[Hanna8]

Sure the risk of disease is there, but I don't think it warrants building a play pen for your child... Let them have fun, practice good hygiene, keep and eye on them, and as long as your yard isn't completely smothered in poop, things will almost certainly be fine. The people who tend to get sick the most are the ones who go nuts trying to avoid germs. Their immune systems then can't handle the things they can't or don't avoid.

 

[rozygrace]

Thank you @Syl in Tucson
I was feeling pretty bad! I was feeling like a bad mom! So I did lots of research and among the dangers in my kids life, chickens are WAY down on the list. They are more likely to get a disease at school than in the yard. And they are more likely to get sick from an unwashed piece of fruit or an undercooked piece of meat than from decomposing droppings. The cat litter box or a public restroom or toys at a doctors office are all way more gross than the chicken coop. I wish people didn't just react to poop with a big yuck and could talking about actually diseases and risks. I expected a more liberal and understanding audience in a chicken forum. Oh well...
So thanks for backing me up Syl!

 

[rozygrace]

Thanks @Hanna8
Because my six chickens roam in a space that is over an acer in size now, the droppings are NOT at all concentrated! Also I have noticed that the droppings decompose VERY quickly around here! Within a week, what was a dropping among the leaves is just dirt, rich in nitrogen!

 

[littlelizzy123]

You are not a bad mom! I grew up on a farm, and I came into contact with poo on a daily basis. My mom and grandma taught us to wash our hands and not to put our hands in our mouths, and we played with frogs, garter snakes, mice, and bugs, and we raised horses, pigs, cattle, rabbits, chickens, and ducks. If you live on a farm long enough, it is a given that you are going to get poop in your mouth at least once. You would not BELIEVE how far that stuff can be flung from animal hooves, or a terrible little brother. I'm not telling you it's ok have have your infant crawling on a poop-covered mudhole or in the cattle lot, but the lawn is fine. Maybe put a big quilt down for baby to play on.

 

[crazyfeathers]

In my opinion some people are so worried about germs and diseases that their children practically live in a bubble. I am the baby of 12 brothers and sisters, we were raised outside not inside playing on kindles and video chatting. Our best friends were each other and our farm animals. Our favorite game was playing in the pig barn were there was poo in places up to our ankles, did we get I'll - never... we wallowed with the pigs in the mud holes, rode on the cows that had fly bites, worked in a 1 1/2 acre garden without gloves and never ever wore any shoes. We were very healthy children all 12 of us, a funny bit of information it wasn't odd to see animals inside our home as they often came in for a visit lol. Children these days have no tolerance or immunities because of the way they are raised. To top it all off, when we were filthy little creatures our mother didn't reach for the hand sanitizer she pointed to the creek and threw us a bar of soap (maybe it was the blood suckers that kept us healthy lol). I will raise my grandbabies the same way, my one and only so far is 8 months old and spends every mild to warm day outside, spending time with me as I do morning chores resting comfortably in his stroller. He seems to enjoy the animals and the activity. We love the outdoors and will raise our children and grandchildren in them, preferably with no shoes. Lol

 

[Syl in Tucson]

Whew! SO GLAD I DIDNT GET BLASTED! Wouldn't have mattered much, I wouldn't change a thing. Sounds like you are mixing enough worry with common sense Rozygrace. Its a difficult balance, isn't it?