Children holding chickens

[chickmill]

Hi I just got 3 chickens and have been amazed by my childrens reaction to them. They want to hug and hold them all the time (thank God they have to go to school) I grew up on a farm and never considered chickens as pets and although I got them for my kids I was not expecting them to have so much physical contact with them. Question is, should I be concerned about this contact and limit it or do I let chickens and kids enjoy it?

 

[luvmychicknkids]

Oh, definitely let them enjoy it!!!! If my children could get by with it, a chicken would go to school on their shoulder every day. Nothing feels much better than chicken hugs.

OOpsy....and a big, huge,

 

[CUDA]

As you can tell by my avatar, I don't worry about my kids playing with the chickens...

 

[smom1976]

my kids play with them all the time and when it comes time to do any chicken chores.. they all jump because it has something to do with chickens.

 

[flakey chick]

The only concern I would have is to make sure they wash their hands well. The more they handle the chickens, they easier it will be to catch them.

 

[Dar]

my daughter is always playing in the chicken coop

my 16yr old son is a closet chicken lover..

just remember proper hand washing when the kids are done

 

[Chickybaby]

My son has been "helping" with our chick(en)s since we got the first ones 6 months ago. I made sure he was not too rough when the chicks were little, and that he washed his hands as soon as he came inside. It is not uncommon for him to be found talking to them or holding them. He has a few that are his particular favorites. They have just started laying so he's on egg patrol now, too

. He loves them and it's helping him to learn a lot of new things (me, too!).

 

[BearSwampChick]

My grandson, Nathan, loves the chickens and can usually catch them. He calls himself a "chicken expert".

This was taken in June.

 

[CritterHill]

I've installed a bottle of hand sanitizer in the play house because every time the kids were out in the yard, they would find their way in with the chickens!

So I just trained them to use the sanitizer afterward. I don't think I would even ordinarily be that crazy about it (they are generally covered with dirt anyway), but one of them is immune suppressed.

I don't think you can hold them too much. They love it!

 

[chickmill]

Thank you all for your reassuring responses, however one thing that echoed through all of them was "wash your hands", why? When kids play with their dog, you don't generally make them wash their hands so what is it about chickens that make people say wash your hands after handling. What do chickens carry?