Have you as humans gotten sick...

[SarahFair]

Have you gotten sick from stepping in poop, handling sick chickens, etc..?

My dad always worries that my kids are going to get sick from my chickens and he harps SO much that I myself and starting to worry..

 

[Wynette]

No one from my farm has.

 

[speckledhen]

Nope.

 

[Teach97]

not being human I am not sure if yuo want my experience, but nope we dogs haven't gotten sick either. That being said...stepping in chicken poop or any other poop is still nasty! Especially when it squishes between your toes!!

 

[mfsakc]

No - but let common sense prevail. Wash hands after handling the chickens and designate one pair of shoes to be "chicken" shoes when going into the coop/run. Don't wear those shoes in the house. Kids will be fine!!!

 

[Lil Chickie Mama]

Oh, I am so glad you asked this!!! I don't have an answer but I will be watching. I saw an episode of "House" in which the patient (child) was very sick because he played in an area that was once home to chickens and the chicken poo or fungus from it (

) or something made the kid sick. It had been years since chickens had been there but the fungus or something was still in the ground. Scary...

Hope this was just Hollywood fiction as my chickens will be around my kids (when I have kids) and where the baby chicks are now, will eventually be the nursery room. Please people, tell us that there is no cause for worry!

 

[Southernbelle]

Histoplasmosis? (or something like that) The germ lives where animals do and I've heard to wear a mask when you muck out the coop because you breathe it in and it can cause a respiratory infection. However, that's only when you're cleaning, not just handling the animals.

Maybe he's worried about E. Coli or Salmonella (spelling?) or even Avian Flu. They've mentioned all these in the news before - kids getting sick after going to a petting zoo, etc.

If he can tell you specifically what he's worried about, maybe you can counter his arguments with some solid research. Good luck!

 

[TriciaHowe]

Nope, neither I nor the kids have ever been sick from them. I even fell in the coop about 6 weeks ago after my auto waterer overflowed so everything was a wet, stinking mess.

I landed on my knee and scratched it up really bad. I was moving my chicks out of there (it was my grow out pen but couldn't use it anymore until it dried out) so had to keep going until the job was done. I came in and washed it really good with soap and water and put some triple antibiotic on it. Thankfully all was ok. I was worried about infection just from being in such a dirty wet invironment.

 

[ranchhand]

No problems here, for 16+ years now. I always wash after handling, feeding, etc. And I always wash BEFORE handling the chickens, too. Especially the chicks.

 

[Southern Gardener]

Nope. I always wash my hands and have coop shoes. However, the dogs roam the yard and come in the house.