Dirt digging and coop dirt

[Coopcheney]

I am not sure if this is the place to post this but as of late I have been reading about the fungal infection growth in the U.S. and if I should be worried about coop dirt or my chickens getting sick? I like to move or dig dirt around for them to pick worms and maybe I’m nervous post Covid but should I be concerned? They say it lives in moist soil or dirt. Any advice to calm my nerves would be appreciated.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

In controlling fungi outdoors, you will be fighting a losing battle. With about 3 billion species around the world and the largest organism on earth is a single fungus that covers 2.5 square miles. A study in New Jersey found about a half million occurrences of 1400 species across the state. Fungi is so pervasive that you can make sourdough bread just by leaving the dough out on the counter and wild spores in the air will populate it. To ease your mind, species are mostly benign.
I would be much more concerned with viral or bacterial pathogens. Especially bacteria that the overuse of antibiotics has caused antibiotic resistant species. A lot of people die annually from antibiotic resistant bacteria. Agriculture is a big cause of that. Most families of antibiotics are used in both animals and humans.

 

[Shadrach]

Keep digging. Dig the chicken droppings in while you're at it. Scrape the top couple of inches off once a year and you get wonderfull compost and may even take out a few pathogens.

 

[Coopcheney]

In controlling fungi outdoors, you will be fighting a losing battle. With about 3 billion species around the world and the largest organism on earth is a single fungus that covers 2.5 square miles. A study in New Jersey found about a half million occurrences of 1400 species across the state. Fungi is so pervasive that you can make sourdough bread just by leaving the dough out on the counter and wild spores in the air will populate it. To ease your mind, species are mostly benign.
I would be much more concerned with viral or bacterial pathogens. Especially bacteria that overuse of antibiotics has caused antibiotic resistant species. A lot of people die annually from antibiotic resistant bacteria. Agriculture is a big cause of that. Most families of antibiotics are used in both animals and humans.

Thank you so much for writing this.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I want to add a bit more about fungus, which is the family that includes mushrooms and yeasts. The numbers are so vast and sometimes so microscopic that they aren't widely studied. Even though about 150,000 species of fungi have been discovered, it is estimated there could be between 3 and 12 million species. 95% of fungal diversity has never been documented. To say the least, it is a grossly understudied branch of the tree of life. Animals are more closely related to fungus than plants are. The fungi and animal branches diverged a good deal later than that of plants.
Apparently when dinosaurs disappeared was a time when fungi really took off in diversity. That is because as is surmised, with the sun blocked out for an extended period, things that didn't need the sun survived and with plants and animals dying all over the globe, things that eat decaying matter flourished. That would be things like fungi, slugs and snails. Animals ingest their food, fungi absorbs it. Some fungi can kill, some makes you high, some are nutritious and some live on and in our bodies. That's what dandruff is.