free range chickens and my kiddo.

[piglett]

When they would throw down fresh tar on the roads, my brother and I would run up and down them barefoot. It took lighter fluid to get that off and we're okay *twitch*.

Chicken poop on feet won't hurt your child. It could be messy though if it's tracked inside. You could have a hose set up by the door or a tub of water to rinse feet in before coming inside.

we remove all shoes at the back door

because after being in the chicken, turkey & duck pens your bound to step in something

 

[Beekissed]

Yep, our shoes are off at the door too. Too many layers of poop to bring them in on the carpeting. We have "work" shoes and regular shoes and regular shoes can be worn into the interior of the house and taken off in the bedrooms, whereas work shoes are always shed at the door, inside or outside, depending upon the severity of the dirt thereon.

 

[3chickchicks]

Yeah I have "backyard shoes". They don't come inside.

 

[speckledhen]

I always say that if the worst thing that happens to you is you get some poop on your feet, you'll have a beautiful life. Kids need dirt to grow. Poop just ferilizes them, LOL.

 

[Suzierd]

Sounds like the two year old would put it in her mouth, I would keep her out of it.

 

[speckledhen]

Sounds like the two year old would put it in her mouth, I would keep her out of it.

Well, you certainly don't want her eating it. Though it wouldn't kill her, you'd want to issue some firm "NO!'s". I'm sure youngsters on farms have walked through chicken poop for centuries, probably eaten some (ick) and lived.

Now, you didn't say if your chicks would include a male. If you end up with a rooster, you cannot allow small children around a free range rooster, even one that is normally friendly. Kids make quick, jerky movements and lots of noise and make roosters defensive and nervous. They can react suddenly and a small child is the right height to lose an eye. Only takes one flog to do that. Even my super sweet marshmallow of a rooster is visibly nervous when he hears kids screaming and playing at the neighbors, even though he cannot see them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I grew up on a farm with chickens free ranging and never wore shoes from schools out until school started except for trips to town or church or maybe when picking blackberries for canning, putting up hay, or other specific jobs where it was wise. We not only had chickens including one or two roosters, we had horses and cows that pooped a lot. One of my earliest chores was to gather the eggs every evening. I was probably around five when I was trusted to do that on my own. Some of those were in the hen house, with a lot of poop on the hen house floor. Some of that was in the hay barn where they’d hide a nest. I walked through a lot of various poop getting to that hay loft. I’m fairly healthy six decades later with a pretty strong immune system. I don’t think walking through poop hurt me.

I never had any problem with any chicken attacking me, except a broody hen would threaten if I got to close to her chicks. The roosters were never a problem, and yes, we played in their territory. They were livestock, not pets. We did not cuddle them or pet them. We did not chase them or play with them other than when I’d chase one down for the supper table. We let them be chickens. Two year olds were supervised when outside, usually by an older sibling.

Roosters can be a problem but to say you can’t have both a rooster and kids is just not right Cynthia. That’s been happening on farms for thousands of years. There is a risk, but there is a risk in everything you do.

 

[speckledhen]

Quote: Now, there you go misquoting me again, Ridge. Didn't say that. They need supervision. It is true that roosters should never be left unsupervised around very small children. We were talking about a 2 year old here, Ridge. There are plenty of stories here on BYC to back that up. Had friends whose toddlers have been attacked by roosters in their yards plenty of times; it's not a fantasy. One flog to the face by a nervous rooster and a child can lose an eye. HOWEVER, when a child is taller/older, they can be taught to handle the roosters. It's been said that a rooster is like a bull or stallion in a smaller, more agile package. Would you allow a 2 year old unsupervised around a bull? Of course not! Your experience is only that, your experience. Plenty of others have had different, more unfortunate ones. I would never allow small kids to run freely around any of my roosters. It's way too risky. And I keep good tempered roosters here.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Cynthia, I'm not going to argue with you. I like you too much. But I read it that way and I'm sure others would too. I wanted to be real clear with that. There is way too much that gets misinterpreted on here.

 

[ShadyHillFarm]

I'd prefer my kids wear shoes outside, but hey, sometimes they're in too big a hurry.

That said, we take our shoes off at the door and wash up before wandering through the house. I have to admit, the bare feet don't bother me as much as them treating the co-op like a playhouse. I can't tell you how many times I've found them in there horsing around, once even laying length-wise on the roosts!