Dumbest Things People Have Said About Your Chickens/Eggs/Meat - Part 2 : Chicken Boogaloo.

[Dayrel]

Bottom line: Although alarmism is overblown, it is a good reminder to follow proper sanitation procedures around chickens. Seems common sense.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I saw something recently about how the increase in backyard chickens is bringing back salmonella too, I didn't read the article but thought that's absurd lol

Also I heard they were making the antibacterial etc soaps illegal because they found no difference in cleaning power or germ killing or whatever

Although all that said, I must admit that I wash my hands every time I go out there, I even wash them after touching eggs, etc., everything. I wash them way too much actually haha but yeah, I do wash them. A lot of that is just OCD but I also think it's gross not to lol but that's just for me aha

And the no kissing is the one thing I do strictly follow.... even though I would love to kiss mine. I heard they have it on their feathers? Idk.

But I'm probably somewhat sickly atm (maybe cause i eat absolutely terribly?) And obsessive about the handwashing so I probably actually would be one to get sick trying that lol

I wash my hands frequently because I'm in a lot of different stuff. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I'm rarely sick...and never with "stomach bugs."

Oh and I wash my eggs.... s why does it say not to?

I only really do it if they have a lot of poop on them though or if we're giving them away. And I do a quick rinse and wipe with a paper towel and another quick rinse.

I heard that the water has to be hotter than the egg so that the inside expands and doesn't allow room for germs to get in? And they colder than the egg will cause it to contract which allows germs through the membrane. So I only wash in warm or hot water.

But I never heard of not washing at all?

I don't douse them under the faucet though, just a quick rinse and wipe with wet paper towel, one more quick rinse to get any remnants off

I won't even wash poopy/dirty eggs...they go straight to the animals or the chickens. Unless it's just a spot that been deposited after the egg was dry. The eggs comes out warm and cools down which could draw bacteria in if the shell is more porous, right? I also don't eat floor eggs. There's rodents. I wouldn't eat food off a surface where rodents had been.

I wash my eggs in fairly hot water, large bowl, 1 tiny drop of soap and 2-3 drops of bleach and 6-8 eggs at a time. They bubble air out...nothing's being drawn in. I wash them quickly and rinse them under hotter water and set on a dedicated white bleached towel.

 

[GldnValleyHens]

Bottom line: Although alarmism is overblown, it is a good reminder to follow proper sanitation procedures around chickens. Seems common sense.

I am a slacker when it comes to washing my hands after chickens duties. I wash my hands before handling food or holding the baby but petting chickens or collecting eggs isn't something I am worried about. Holding ducklings however is another matter entirely, as they bath in their own poop water! I got salmonella maybe twice from accidentally handling my baby calls without washing my hands, and boy did I pay for it! Excrutiating pain and cramps in my abdomen, so horrible I was crying, then throw up. It stunk, and now I am paranoid in washing my hands after touching those slimy cute buggers.

 

[ShrekDawg]

I wash after coming inside from dealing with the chickens. I wash after petting the dogs as well. I know where the dogs have been and can feel and smell the dust and marsh water on me from them.

Come inside from working outside and you wash. My farming grandmother instilled that into me.

Probably the issue is just people's bad hand washing habits and chickens are just making it more visible. From observation in public restrooms I can say most people are disgusting. After hearing someone leave a stall and turn the water on for 5 seconds, I have yelled from my stall "Hey typhoid Mary, wash your **** hands." That actually does work if there are quite a few people in there. Gets everyone to truly wash for a bit because now everyone is paying attention.

Takeaway with poultry and their dust bathing habits, which could have poop in it, is you don't want it in your mouth. I don't kiss them. A couple like to snuggle under my chin and nap.

agree 100%! I wash my hands after petting the dog too lol mostly cause he gets my hands greasy/dirty. which is weird cause his coat isn't really greasy and he's very healthy/shiny coat but idk, I guess he just dust bathes lol he really does, he will go roll in the grass or dust so must stay in his coat I guess.

anyway, yeah, the amount of people who don't was their hands is crazy and gross! or the people who think just dipping in the water is washing them...

I learned in a cooking class in high school that you have to wash your hands for 20 seconds which was really bad to learn for my OCD

cause now I HAVE to wash them that long and I set a timer on the microwave, usually for longer, like 35 or 40 seconds, and wash them.

And I am on my phone most of the day and don't go outside much so I think that's part of my problem - I go out to do a few things and come back in, etc., so I wash my hands that many more times rather than going outside and working for the day and washing them once when I come back in. And I just splash them under the water for various other things too, if I touch something worthy or whatever, it's bad lol

anyway, yeah, exactly! they're bathing in who knows what lol and with mine, their run is too small and just dirt and their debris really (new coop is sooo close to being done finally) so I trust them less aha cause they will bath in there, though I have added pine pellets which broke down into nice clean bathing material which they loved. But now I've been letting them free range every day, at least for a few hours, so they found a dirt hole to dust bath in. The dirt is clean, which is nice they can actually get a real, cleaning dust bath, but I still wouldn't trust kissing them haha

Have these people writing this ever stood in a bathroom and watched how many people do not wash their hands when they visit the washroom. Whether you go or not, if you touch the handle to get out and someone else has touched it...there's your contamination. And then these people who don't wash their hands handle food. Ugh.

From WebMD...first 2 points are washing hands/contaminating food. Some pets themselves can infect. Oh boy.

• Food may be contaminated during food processing or food handling.

• Food may become contaminated by the unwashed hands of an infected food handler. A frequent cause is a food handler who does not wash his or her hands with soap after using the bathroom.

• Salmonella may also be found in the feces of some pets, especially those with diarrhea. You can become infected if you do not wash your hands after contact with these feces.

• Reptiles, baby chicks and ducklings, and small rodents such as hamsters are particularly likely to carry Salmonella. You should always wash your hands immediately after handling one of these animals, even if the animal is healthy. Adults should also be careful that children wash their hands after handling reptiles, pet turtles, baby chicks or ducklings, or small rodents.

The source of above mention: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/tc/salmonellosis-topic-overview#1

Hey...you beat me too it!

Same here...you wash after being outside, going to the bathroom and other bodily functions (blowing noses), handling food stuffs especially raw meats etc and anything that's come in contact with raw meats. People cross contaminate their food with the BBQ utensils all the time. I've got dedicated utensils that I change out if cooking for extended time. I don't know how people aren't sicker than they are with the things they do.

I don't know how people can not wash their hands after all that stuff!!

Bottom line: Although alarmism is overblown, it is a good reminder to follow proper sanitation procedures around chickens. Seems common sense.

Exactly!

I wash my hands frequently because I'm in a lot of different stuff. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I'm rarely sick...and never with "stomach bugs."


I won't even wash poopy/dirty eggs...they go straight to the animals or the chickens. Unless it's just a spot that been deposited after the egg was dry. The eggs comes out warm and cools down which could draw bacteria in if the shell is more porous, right? I also don't eat floor eggs. There's rodents. I wouldn't eat food off a surface where rodents had been.

I wash my eggs in fairly hot water, large bowl, 1 tiny drop of soap and 2-3 drops of bleach and 6-8 eggs at a time. They bubble air out...nothing's being drawn in. I wash them quickly and rinse them under hotter water and set on a dedicated white bleached towel.

that's good to know it might not be that bad then but for me i think it might be, idk ha I like obsessively wash them a bazillion times a day for at least 20 seconds, usually 35 (allows me time to hit start and get to the sink lol), not just most people's quick 2 second dip under the water, and my hands are pretty dry. Not too bad but a little. They used to get really bad in winter then get better aha but ya, idk

and ahhh shoot now you have me all paranoid cause I never thought of that we get somewhat a lot of dirty eggs cause sometimes I forget to collect them for days lol but I've been better. But we still eat them and have been fine. Although usually the really dirty ones get washed so I've only really eaten ones with just a few spots on them but still

that sounds like a good idea but I'm paranoid about using soap and bleach on eggs I'm eating, that it's gonna poison them or affect the taste haha

I am a slacker when it comes to washing my hands after chickens duties. I wash my hands before handling food or holding the baby but petting chickens or collecting eggs isn't something I am worried about. Holding ducklings however is another matter entirely, as they bath in their own poop water! I got salmonella maybe twice from accidentally handling my baby calls without washing my hands, and boy did I pay for it! Excrutiating pain and cramps in my abdomen, so horrible I was crying, then throw up. It stunk, and now I am paranoid in washing my hands after touching those slimy cute buggers.

I wash them after touching them, eggs, anything. Heck, even after touching the gate lol

but wow that is awful! I'm sorry! I wanted ducks but now I'm not so sure aha

 

[Wickedchicken6]

agree 100%! I wash my hands after petting the dog too lol mostly cause he gets my hands greasy/dirty. which is weird cause his coat isn't really greasy and he's very healthy/shiny coat but idk, I guess he just dust bathes lol he really does, he will go roll in the grass or dust so must stay in his coat I guess.

anyway, yeah, the amount of people who don't was their hands is crazy and gross! or the people who think just dipping in the water is washing them...

I learned in a cooking class in high school that you have to wash your hands for 20 seconds which was really bad to learn for my OCD

cause now I HAVE to wash them that long and I set a timer on the microwave, usually for longer, like 35 or 40 seconds, and wash them.

And I am on my phone most of the day and don't go outside much so I think that's part of my problem - I go out to do a few things and come back in, etc., so I wash my hands that many more times rather than going outside and working for the day and washing them once when I come back in. And I just splash them under the water for various other things too, if I touch something worthy or whatever, it's bad lol

anyway, yeah, exactly! they're bathing in who knows what lol and with mine, their run is too small and just dirt and their debris really (new coop is sooo close to being done finally) so I trust them less aha cause they will bath in there, though I have added pine pellets which broke down into nice clean bathing material which they loved. But now I've been letting them free range every day, at least for a few hours, so they found a dirt hole to dust bath in. The dirt is clean, which is nice they can actually get a real, cleaning dust bath, but I still wouldn't trust kissing them haha





I don't know how people can not wash their hands after all that stuff!!



Exactly!



that's good to know it might not be that bad then but for me i think it might be, idk ha I like obsessively wash them a bazillion times a day for at least 20 seconds, usually 35 (allows me time to hit start and get to the sink lol), not just most people's quick 2 second dip under the water, and my hands are pretty dry. Not too bad but a little. They used to get really bad in winter then get better aha but ya, idk

and ahhh shoot now you have me all paranoid cause I never thought of that we get somewhat a lot of dirty eggs cause sometimes I forget to collect them for days lol but I've been better. But we still eat them and have been fine. Although usually the really dirty ones get washed so I've only really eaten ones with just a few spots on them but still

that sounds like a good idea but I'm paranoid about using soap and bleach on eggs I'm eating, that it's gonna poison them or affect the taste haha



I wash them after touching them, eggs, anything. Heck, even after touching the gate lol

but wow that is awful! I'm sorry! I wanted ducks but now I'm not so sure aha

Happy birthday is about 20 seconds long, just so you know. I wash my hands after all the same stuff. And I totally hug my chickens...every day. I wear an outer shirt long sleeve shirt I take off in the house. I need to get coveralls. The dust kills my allergies.

My coop is an older garage with a dirt floor. I know there's the odd rodent. The girls dust in the chosen holes they've made. I adjust accordingly. I use shavings in the nest boxes. Every week or whenever I have to bed the chickens, I use the nest box shavings to bed and put the fresh shavings in the nest boxes. And I make sure there's a fresh layer of shavings before the nest boxes. That keeps the hens from tracking stuff into the nest boxes and the eggs stay nice and clean. Makes life a lot easier...lol.
The smaller blue egg in the top right...I tossed it.

I have to collect every day. I have 60+ chickens....lol.

 

[GldnValleyHens]

We still eat poopy eggs, as long as the poop is minimal, and we wash before eating them. We have organic free-range eggs that are too expensive to waste! But the football eggs go to the dog, who appreciates chicken poo along with his snack. YUCK!

 

[Wickedchicken6]

We still eat poopy eggs, as long as the poop is minimal, and we wash before eating them. We have organic free-range eggs that are too expensive to waste! But the football eggs go to the dog, who appreciates chicken poo along with his snack. YUCK!

Never a waste to toss them here...they get tossed straight back to the pets or chickens. Less food fed from that end of the scale.
(I just like less work)

 

[ShrekDawg]

Happy birthday is about 20 seconds long, just so you know. I wash my hands after all the same stuff. And I totally hug my chickens...every day. I wear an outer shirt long sleeve shirt I take off in the house. I need to get coveralls. The dust kills my allergies.

My coop is an older garage with a dirt floor. I know there's the odd rodent. The girls dust in the chosen holes they've made. I adjust accordingly. I use shavings in the nest boxes. Every week or whenever I have to bed the chickens, I use the nest box shavings to bed and put the fresh shavings in the nest boxes. And I make sure there's a fresh layer of shavings before the nest boxes. That keeps the hens from tracking stuff into the nest boxes and the eggs stay nice and clean. Makes life a lot easier...lol.
View attachment 1036408 The smaller blue egg in the top right...I tossed it.

I have to collect every day. I have 60+ chickens....lol.

Yeah, that's how I learned it and did that at first, but now it's transformed to where I have to be 100% positive it's really 20 seconds so that won't work..

I never thought of a long sleeve shirt! that's a good idea. sometimes mine scratch me by accident ha I don't spend enough time with mine

Mine is a TSC coop kit but it's inside a chainlink dog run and in the yard. I've added various materials, like shavings, straw, sand, pellets, etc. but now it's mostly just dirt aha but the new coop and run I'm going to try deep litter/composting in the run.

I'm sure there's probably rodents in mine too since it's by the woods but I don't think they get in the actual coop.

yeah, mine make their own bathing holes too in the run and free ranging but this one was just like the perfect spot. There was a kiddie pool sitting on it and I moved it so they could find bugs and they just took right to it for bathing lol

I do have shaving in mine and try to replace them regularly but I never thought of putting fresh ones outside the boxes! And tbh I could probably clean the coop more often aha

See, I would have eaten that lol but you probably have plenty of eggs!

Oh wow! I only have 8 and they don't all lay on the same days so it's not as big of a deal if I forget to collect aha

We still eat poopy eggs, as long as the poop is minimal, and we wash before eating them. We have organic free-range eggs that are too expensive to waste! But the football eggs go to the dog, who appreciates chicken poo along with his snack. YUCK!

doesn't the bloom protect them from bacteria anyway? so I wouldn't think just eggs being laid and cooling off would let stuff in as opposed to washing it in cold water and washing the bloom off but idk.

but yeah, we sometimes give the dog eggs just cause he loves them and they are good for him but I never thought to give him the poopy ones! lol

one time I literally gave him like 5 or 6 eggs because I dropped a piece of wood on the nest box and broke a bunch and he just kept taking them lol I thought he would eventually refuse but nopeee. And he didn't even get sick lol but he's like 130, 140 pounds haha

Never a waste to toss them here...they get tossed straight back to the pets or chickens. Less food fed from that end of the scale.
(I just like less work)

thats a good idea haha

 

[Wickedchicken6]

Yeah, that's how I learned it and did that at first, but now it's transformed to where I have to be 100% positive it's really 20 seconds so that won't work..

I never thought of a long sleeve shirt! that's a good idea. sometimes mine scratch me by accident ha I don't spend enough time with mine

Mine is a TSC coop kit but it's inside a chainlink dog run and in the yard. I've added various materials, like shavings, straw, sand, pellets, etc. but now it's mostly just dirt aha but the new coop and run I'm going to try deep litter/composting in the run.

I'm sure there's probably rodents in mine too since it's by the woods but I don't think they get in the actual coop.

yeah, mine make their own bathing holes too in the run and free ranging but this one was just like the perfect spot. There was a kiddie pool sitting on it and I moved it so they could find bugs and they just took right to it for bathing lol

I do have shaving in mine and try to replace them regularly but I never thought of putting fresh ones outside the boxes! And tbh I could probably clean the coop more often aha

See, I would have eaten that lol but you probably have plenty of eggs!

Oh wow! I only have 8 and they don't all lay on the same days so it's not as big of a deal if I forget to collect aha



doesn't the bloom protect them from bacteria anyway? so I wouldn't think just eggs being laid and cooling off would let stuff in as opposed to washing it in cold water and washing the bloom off but idk.

but yeah, we sometimes give the dog eggs just cause he loves them and they are good for him but I never thought to give him the poopy ones! lol

one time I literally gave him like 5 or 6 eggs because I dropped a piece of wood on the nest box and broke a bunch and he just kept taking them lol I thought he would eventually refuse but nopeee. And he didn't even get sick lol but he's like 130, 140 pounds haha



thats a good idea haha

The more eggs I've gotten...the pickier I've become...lol. This is true. I have 3-4 hens who like to lay their eggs in the corner under the roost and the eggs are wet then they hit that poopdust/mess. Still trying to break them of that. I'm moving them into the other pen where they can't do that...lol.

 

[ShrekDawg]

The more eggs I've gotten...the pickier I've become...lol. This is true. I have 3-4 hens who like to lay their eggs in the corner under the roost and the eggs are wet then they hit that poopdust/mess. Still trying to break them of that. I'm moving them into the other pen where they can't do that...lol.

Yeah, I've had a few lay in the run and I throw those out but I've also had a few lay in the corner of the coop and mine is a really small coop, off the ground like 2 feet, and it's just clean shavings in there especially since they sleep on the roof, so I still eat them lol they even dig a little hole/nest in the corner haha but usually they lay in the boxes

Maybe they are being bullied out of the nest or a lower ranking hens or something?

I admit even when I've had eggs break and gotten yolk on other eggs, I've eaten those eggs.... of course, yolk washed off first. Probably not the most sanitary or safest but I was okay lol although if there is a lot of yolk or it's really stuck on and doesn't come off then I give it to the dog