Child and Brooder Question

[TexasAggieOfc]

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Children making a PB&J? QUICK! CALL THE AUTHORITIES! SOMEONE IN A 100 MILE RADIUS MIGHT HAVE A PEANUT ALLERGY!

 

[krcote]

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Children making a PB&J? QUICK! CALL THE AUTHORITIES! SOMEONE IN A 100 MILE RADIUS MIGHT HAVE A PEANUT ALLERGY!

 

[FenDruadin]

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I do have a friend (online) whose granddaughter is so completely allergic to peanuts that she breaks out in hives if she goes down a plastic slide where another child has formerly gone down with microscopic bits of peanut butter on her fingers. As you can imagine, the poor child almost never gets to go to the park. And that's not her only special need.

So I actually do sympathize with this a lot, this idea that we can be more considerate of other peoples's special needs. But of course, it can also be taken to extremes. Should we all stop eating pb&j because one child in a million breaks out in hives from it? Frankly, I think that approach will just breed more allergies and, in the long term, greater suffering.

For anyone interested in the current movement away from over-protecting our children, there's a great blog by Lenore Skenazy on the topic here: Free Range Children . She's kinda snarky sometimes and maybe a little extreme, but I believe the work she is doing is so important. I want a future filled with people who aren't afraid of their own shadow, and I don't think we can do that if we're afraid of our own shadows on behalf of our children.

And can I just say: I was SO PUMPED to see that several people agree with me wholeheartedly here. I was a little afraid I would get flamed, but seeing that I'm not the only one on these boards who feels this way makes me SO HAPPY and also gives me so much hope for our children's future. Yay!

 

[jtbrown]

As a mother of a 5 and 6 year old and a health care provider, I sometimes leave out little bits of a story as it involves my children being filthy outdoors, playing in mud. They snuggle animals (including the back of neck of the mille fleur d'uccle pet chicken - the only 'pet' among our 44 chickens). I keep a clean not spotless house. I really think we have over sanitized our children.

We (as a society) are so protective of food that I think the slightest bacteria in food cause us food borne illnesses. That being said, I am all for being reasonable and I think the safety of our food supply is a huge issue. And now due to mass produced food, one bit of contamination can effect a huge number of people, so the alerts are necessary, just frustrating to me. I

t is just hard sometimes to find that balance without going overboard either way. There is another book I read, Last Child in the Woods. It talks about free play, letting kids roam a bit by themselves, etc., different to the above poster but similar vein.

Obviously you want kids to be safe, and to OP I was originally very worried as we kept our chicks brooded in our basement (walkout) and there was a salmonella scare at our hatchery to boot. We did fine, with some common sense precautions. So, I certainly would be concerned about safety too, especially under 1, but hang in there, kids are much hardier than we give them credit for.

 

[jessicayarno]

I myself and 3 of my children have asthma... One of my children, being my step-son is the sickest one of all of us, and is on all kinds of inhalers and medications.. My other 2 children rarely have to use their inhalers as do I... I really believe that it is because his mother (my step-son's) is such a clean and germ freak and is constantly sanitizing everything.. I use vinegar to clean almost everything in my house and I refuse to allow my children to use hand sanitizer..With that being said, my first batch of meat birds were started indoors for 2 wks and none of us were harmed in any way.. I like the suggestion of using air filters over the top of the brooder, that is a great idea.. If we aren't exposed to dirt and germs at a young age, our bodies never build a good immune system.. I have seen kids that were raised in complete filth that never got sick, and I have seen children raised in a totally sanitized environment that were sick all of the time.. Go figure

 

[ChickiKat]

I am a respiratory therapist. I own chickens. I am not trying to scare anyone. I just want people to know that chicken dander can carry fungus that once in the lungs can be very dangerous. In making this statement I feel that I am giving good information for you to make a decision on. Just like I would tell you that washing your hands after going to the bathroom is a good idea.

 

[AV Brahmas]

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Uh-huh. So does human dander, dog dander, cat, house dust, pollen, air in general......ad infinitum. It is time you stopped telling us how everything is going to kill us. Birds carry salmonella and next thing you know you cannot even touch raw chicken without gloves and you must use sanitizer on everything it touches. Eggs are Satan and getting a REAL Caesar Salad in a restaurant has become almost impossible. I'm tired of it!!!! Repetitive low level exposure builds up immunity and is a good thing. Study your history and broaden your horizons!

Done ranting, but really folks...chickens are outdoor pets. I condone very small chicks being brooded in the house in cold weather only. Injured chickens stay in the house, IN A KENNEL, for 48 hours to protect from flys. No chickens walk on the carpet or sit on the headboard etc. That is unsanitary, gives chicken raisers a bad name, and may qualify you for the 2012 Jeff Foxworthy calendar.

I used to brood chicks at the local school, but we removed them at one week. The dust from the birds is not really much of a threat but the germophobes finally forced us out. You are really more in danger from the chicken house than the house chicken.

 

[ChickiKat]

My post is not to be telling anyone that everything is going to kill them. I am merely giving true information that chicken dander can be dangerous. Please do as you wish, but I would like for you to know a risk of indoor chicken brooding. And yes, cleaning the chicken coop has risks involved also with airborne particles. These things I don't say to anger anyone or argue. Just a message. You knowwhat, if keeping chickens indoors included a risk of possible night time chicken attacks on humans I would pass that information along also... I'm just saying!

 

[FenDruadin]

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Hi ChickiKat!

I don't want to leave the impression that everyone who points out a potential hazard is a fear-mongerer. In fact, I believe most people who warn against dangers are well-meaning, and I certainly count you among them.

It's just that there are SO many dangers in life... life IS dangerous, and I think it's easy to lose sight of this fact, and lose perspective on the cost and benefit of taking precautions.

I am fully in favor of hand-washing! And also, sterilizing surgical instruments, lol.

Also, bicycle helmets and child safety seats in vehicles. But I think it's really important, every time we think of protecting our children from something, to consider the likelihood of the danger compared to the benefit of letting them do it. Could my child fall off a swing and crack her head open? Sure. It's possible. Would "protecting" her from learning to swing, getting the exercise and fresh air and independence and body coordination it takes to swing, be worth the minuscule level of protection that taking away the swings would provide? Not in my book. No way.

Everyone makes their own choices, but me--I choose hardy, healthy, brave children over sheltered ones, even if that means there's a slightly higher chance of accidents. Which, by the way, I don't believe there is and the data bears me out on this (did you know that since the institution of "safety" measures on playgrounds such as softer landing surfaces and the absence of teeter totters and merry-go-rounds that the incidence of life-threatening accidents has actually *increased* on our nation's playgrounds... I have my theories on this but it's beside the point... just think about it, though).

The only thing that really angers me, is when professionals and other parents try to strong-arm or scare someone into doing the (ahem) "safe" thing. I had a boss when I was pregnant with my first who was convinced that I was endangering his life by having a planned & attended home birth. Although the data didn't support her belief even in those days, she was extremely aggressive about it and would even introduce me to others by telling them I was the one who was planning to endanger my child by giving birth to it at home.

No one does that to me any more because as I've matured I've developed a persona that deflects unwanted advice. But it still makes me angry when I hear of people doing it to others, because it's harmful to them and it's harmful to the child and it's harmful to our society when we start making decisions based on fear rather than on facts.

Here's what I think. It's great to tell someone what you think, to provide information you have that they may not have. Provide your expertise--please do--we all benefit when information is shared freely. Just skip the scare tactics and the pressure. And if someone makes a different choice--well, maybe they have their reasons. And whatever they are, they are their own to make.

And just to be clear, ChickiKat--I am NOT accusing you of scare tactics or pressure. I think you are just providing your own perspective, and doing so in a respectful manner and I have no problem with that. It's also possible that the OP's friend/co-worker was doing the same. I hope so.

In any event--happy chickening! My chicks are in the house, living with us and my three children, and on rainy days like today they don't even get to go outside during the day. So far no one is dying of tuberculosis.

Stay tuned!

 

[PressOn]

I was at work this afternoon and was, as usual, talking about my lovely chickens. We got to talking about the fact that we have our brooder inside. The Respiratory Therapist says that having them inside is putting my 11 month old at a greater risk for respiratory issues and tuberculosis. I cannot seem to find anything online about this.

Growing up around animals will help prevent allergy problems as an adult. One of my friends was used as a brooding child for a period of time years ago. The mother hen died the morning the chickens hatched. While the dead brooding hen was still warm, my friends grandmother took the chicks and placed them in bed with her two grandsons. The two boys brooded the chicks till they were able to keep themselves warm.​