Official BYC Poll: Do You Wear a Mask or Respirator When Cleaning Your Coop?

[Cinnamon Roll]

Interesting that there is much concern about the keepers health who may spend a few hours in what they obviously believe to be a harmfull environment but the chickens who live in it are largely forgotton.
If the coops and runs are so dusty that the keeper needs a mask then perhaps we should consider providing masks for the chickens that deal with such conditions day in and day out.

Haven’t you heard of Bird Fancier’s Lung? Protecting yourself from pneumonia is a smart move.

 

[Shadrach]

Haven’t you heard of Bird Fancier’s Lung? Protecting yourself from pneumonia is a smart move.

I have. I don't have a dusty coop though mainly because I clean it daily. Since October I've had covid twice, the flu once and it was bad enough to send me to hospital, the Nora virus once and more recently a chest infection, a lingering present from the last bout of covid.
None of the above was passed on to me by chickens.
It seems from my recent experiences that if I'm going to worry about catching some disease or other, it's humans I need to wear a mask for.

 

[BDutch]

Interesting that there is much concern about the keepers health who may spend a few hours in what they obviously believe to be a harmfull environment but the chickens who live in it are largely forgotton.
If the coops and runs are so dusty that the keeper needs a mask then perhaps we should consider providing masks for the chickens that deal with such conditions day in and day out.

In general my coops and run are not dusty from DE. Only if I clean them out thoroughly.
My chickens are all middle aged and senior and I am certain not a single one ever died from DE.
The only time I had sneezing chicks was before I used DE.

PS Sorry you had to go through so many breathtaking diseases. This ‘confession’ is a big ‘eye opener’ for me. I only knew half of it. Please be more careful in the future.

 

[Folly's place]

Yes, there's a miserable amount of human respiratory disease going around here too, and wearing a face mask is a good idea, often. And adding dust from a coop while cleaning it won't improve anything.
Glad you're better, sounds like 2023 was a struggle for you, so sorry.
Mary

 

[Shadrach]

PS Sorry you had to go through so many breathtaking diseases. This ‘confession’ is a big ‘eye opener’ for me. I only knew half of it. Please be more careful in the future.

Yes, there's a miserable amount of human respiratory disease going around here too, and wearing a face mask is a good idea, often. And adding dust from a coop while cleaning it won't improve anything.
Glad you're better, sounds like 2023 was a struggle for you, so sorry.
Mary

Thanks but I only posted to illustrate that chicken dust was the least of my worries. My eldest and her husband have had covid four times in a similar time period so I'm not doing that badly.

 

[notabitail]

Other: My brother cleans the coop. I don't. And he does wear a mask.

 

[Kim in Spain]

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We all know how much dust those birds can create, so I'm just wondering who wears some kind of respiratory protection when they are in and around the coop - and when!

Have you had any issues from not wearing a mask?

Please vote and leave a comment below!

Just as a point of note, your chickens can die from the airborne dust - and they're used to it - so we humans are far more at risk from "foreign" bugs and germs! I use my coop for composting so it's very deep, but when i clear it for use i ensure my chickens can't access the area, to protect them from risk too.

 

[bigego9931]

I don't wear a mask. My coop is 15 x 30 and dust is in the air constantly to some degree. It doesn't hurt the chickens and pollen bothers me worse than the dust.

 

[Fx2032]

I don't wear a mask, not really thought about it, though I have Ducks and geese with hay bedding, so it tends to be wet rather than dusty.

 

[WHB3]

My use of a mask when in the coop, but especially when cleaning is to protect my old self from respiratory issues from the 'junk' which becomes airborne when I or the girls (no rooster here) are moving around. I've been most concerned about histoplasmosis from rat feces, but now with the rise in avian flu I want to do as much as possible to protect the girls, and myself. When Spring finally arrives, I'll use a mask outside when I'm doing deep raking of the run to expose the underlying soil to fresh air and sunshine.