Diseases passing to HUMANS, not a sick bird. Help?

[MyNYfarm]

I could not find a suitable heading for this post, so I hope this is ok.

I grew up on a farm. Have been around farm animals for almost 60 years *yikes, I'm getting old*

I walk around barefoot, eat veggies and fruits from my garden without any thought to washing them and germs are NOT on my mind. Yes, I know to wash my hands after handling animals and/or doing farm chores, but that's a given.

My son's wife is vegetarian. Not vegan, and isn't upset about others eating meat. My son was raised eating everything, but since they got married 11 years ago, he is pescatarian.

Their son (age 7); my grandson, is raised pescatarian as well.

Here's my dilemma, I only see my grandson a few times a year because of distance. We live several states apart. He is scheduled to come stay with me for a week starting this Saturday and his mom is "very concerned" that I have week old chicks, and more hatching soon.
She's convinced my grandson WILL catch salmonella and a whole host of other diseases from them.

She grew up in a city, has no experience around raising animals.
She and my son stayed at a Air BNB last year that had free ranged chickens and the owner told them that if they touched or were CLOSE to the chickens, they needed to wash and then sanitize their hands, use saline spray to clean their nostrils and IMMEDIATELY change their clothing and put them in the "red bag" so they could be steam sanitized before being washed in hot water. Shoes worn where the chickens walked could NOT be brought in the house.

This terrified my daughter in law and now that I have chickens, she's convinced my grandson will get very ill from mine.

I sent her reassuring info (including how many other things carry salmonella that they eat/contact) and assured her I would make sure he washed his hands after touching them, yet she's still very paranoid.
I did my own Google search of the potential risks and unfortunately there's a lot of misinformation out there, and a lot of over exaggerating the risks as well.

My grandson is soooo excited to play with baby chicks and I want him to enjoy the experience.

I need help, suggestions, articles links, advice, ANYTHING I can send his mom to set her mind at ease.

Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any help.

Lisa in New York.

 

[FrostRanger]

Uh, saline spray and putting your clothes in a biohazard bag? I get being careful, but they're chickens, not radioactive waste

The only thing I'd point out that while it's important to practice sanitation, keeping kids too protected from germs makes them more likely to develop allergies. Not that I think that would persuade her at all. I am sorry that her first exposure to chickens was to someone who (barring medical issues on their end or known issues with their flock) was massively paranoid

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It's always good to wash hands after handling any critter, but we all don't always do that. I personally think a bit of dirt helps to build the immune system. I don't have proof beyond surviving this long as well. I grew up on a farm and have always farmed in some capacity. Kids are more likely to catch diseases from other kids than they are from critters.

 

[FrostRanger]

It's always good to wash hands after handling any critter, but we all don't always do that. I personally think a bit of dirt helps to build the immune system. I don't have proof beyond surviving this long as well. I grew up on a farm and have always farmed in some capacity. Kids are more likely to catch diseases from other kids than they are from critters.

This. How often have gotten sick from being in school? A lot. It sometimes felt like I caught a mild cold nearly every month. How often have my animals made me sick? Not even once

 

[Ecarroll]

This. How often have gotten sick from being in school? A lot. It sometimes felt like I caught a mild cold nearly every month. How often have my animals made me sick? Not even once

I completely agree, especially with young children, getting sick is a regular occurrence from classmates, and I have never gotten sick from any of my animals or someone else’s animals.
This article about salmonella might help, especially the part about how you usually get it from eggs and meat, and the part about how backyard chickens are unlikely to get it https://www.mypetchicken.com/blogs/...ksf9gxbonSVcY9a-ylR0yk2wZJeLtnkcveRbf2XlE4oqP

 

[nuthatched]

Hazmat bags were excessive, just wash your hands.

 

[DonyaQuick]

She and my son stayed at a Air BNB last year that had free ranged chickens and the owner told them that if they touched or were CLOSE to the chickens, they needed to wash and then sanitize their hands, use saline spray to clean their nostrils and IMMEDIATELY change their clothing and put them in the "red bag" so they could be steam sanitized before being washed in hot water. Shoes worn where the chickens walked could NOT be brought in the house.

Honestly, I can't think the AirBnB owner actually gave those instructions. But...it does sound like a paranoid interpretation of something much more reasonable, like "wash your hands if you touch them," the thing about shoes for biosecurity and/or house cleanliness, and perhaps a bag for anything that needs more thorough cleaning. Something is really off with this.

The fact that YOU aren't sick from your birds should be enough to settle the issue as far as other normally healthy people go (different situation of course for imunocompromised etc.), and if not that then the fact that chicks are sold in open bins in stores the general public enters where nobody does a hazmat routine. But...even the best examples won't sway a hypochondriac. Hopefully I'm wrong about the situation; best of luck.

 

[Eggcessive]

Most chickens nowadays do not have salmonella. Simply washing his hands after handling the chicks is plenty. If you contact your local state NPIP inspector, they can test for pullorum (salmonella) and give your chickens a clean bill of health, to prove it to the paranoid helicopter mom.

 

[DLA]

My husband is a city boy and has health anxiety. He's was the same way. Eventually after we had chickens for a while and we hadn't keeled over from some terrible chicken disease he eased up a bit. People that aren't raised on farm or at the very least with backyard livestock have trouble understanding. You are just fine, you raised your son with no problems as so many other people have. That is the only proof she should need. Who is she going to trust and believe? Some random stranger's weird ideas or the experienced and knowledgeable family member that loves and cares.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is a link I found with the contact info for NY state NPIP testing:
https://www.poultryimprovement.org/documents/OfficialStateAgencies.pdf
I think some NPIP testing can also be done through Cornell.