Personal hygiene when owning chickens and other animals

[PopoMyers]

I'm imaging a caffinated hen singing the egg song

Some of mine already sound caffeinated.

 

[Borders3]

Our public water reeks of chlorine, so I have been using our inside filtered water for the chicks. Once they're bigger I will transition them to hose water.

If you fill a bucket and leave it to stand the chlorine will evaporate out of the water.

 

[PopoMyers]

All my shoe soles are waterproof, so I wash my shoes off of poop, dirt, etc. before coming indoors, do not change shoes. Dry them on an absorbent mat the door, which gets washed with other rugs. Wash hands after coming inside or washing eggs, handling any bird. Tools are all outside, used for both garden and coop, and poop gets put in the garden eventually, so do not see a need for sanitizing or separating them. Reminds me, I have to get some coop dirt for the chick to bathe in and be exposed to the cocci to build immunity.

 

[Backyard_Alchemist]

I do my best to keep track of "inside" and "outside" hands. I wash them frequently, especially after handling eggs or being outside in general.

I have a pair of steel-toed boots I use only for working the farm, and then a few other pairs of shoes I only wear to town/travel. The boots stay right on the inside of the house door, after the two welcome mats. I try not to visit the other farmers with those boots on - I'll wear wellies or something similar if I can help it.
Generally I wear some kind of jeans and a specific hat. If it's been a tough/mucky day, then I'll try to wash the clothing immediately. I also take off my jewellery before I work. I've seen enough accidents to know a wedding ring is not more expensive than a human finger.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I do my best to keep track of "inside" and "outside" hands. I wash them frequently, especially after handling eggs or being outside in general.

I have a pair of steel-toed boots I use only for working the farm, and then a few other pairs of shoes I only wear to town/travel. The boots stay right on the inside of the house door, after the two welcome mats. I try not to visit the other farmers with those boots on - I'll wear wellies or something similar if I can help it.
Generally I wear some kind of jeans and a specific hat. If it's been a tough/mucky day, then I'll try to wash the clothing immediately. I also take off my jewellery before I work. I've seen enough accidents to know a wedding ring is not more expensive than a human finger.

This is why I wear a silicone ring. I’m sure my husband is simply ecstatic that I wear a piece of rubber on my finger daily instead of the nice expensive set he bought, but I prefer to save those for nice occasions while also saving my fingers from potential disaster

 

[picklestheduck]

I’m not super strict about this, but wash hands when I come in, leave muck boots outside the house door in the garage etc. I don’t change usually unless I get especially dirty. I will be much more sanitary when dealing with injuries, sickness, new animals etc in the farm in general. Oh I will change clothes and everything when quarantining new critters.

 

[Maddcatter]

Huh... This thread has taught me that most people apparently do the same things I do. I have a few set of boots, they all go into the coop, but my chickens and duck free range. If I go outside I, I understand I am stepping in chicken poop. I wash my hands everytime I go inside. I also keep bleach wipes handy for door knob cleaning and such (which happens once a week or so). My tools get hosed off if they're muddy. They all get used all over the property.

... If someone/something gets sick, I may do more stringent measures.

That being said, my husband got salmonella a few months ago from fast food. I've had chickens for about a year. Sometimes the answer really is "everything in moderation", imo.

Also, the person whom said ducks are the best at being dirty is hilariously accurate. Thank you for that!

 

[TJAnonymous]

Hi all, wasn't sure of the right forum to post this question in. I'm wondering about hygiene with regard to:

1. hands
2. shoes
3. tools

Do you all have strict rules/regimens about how you keep yourself and your things clean? "Always wash hands after feeding the chickens or collecting eggs," "have one pair of shoes/boots that you use for chicken chores and nothing else," or something like that? What about tools? I just got back from fluffing the bedding in my coop and decided to wash/disinfect the pitchfork, wheelbarrow, and bucket that I was using afterwards before returning them to the garage. Is that overkill?

I have a pair of muck boots that I use for walking through the chicken yard and/or barn area. I take these boots off by the garage door because I don't want to track any manure, bacteria, etc through my house.

I *always* wash my hands after I've been around the animals or out in the garden.

I use sand in my coops for the floor and poop boards. I created special "sifters" to use while cleaning my coops. These always stay in the coop and are never used elsewhere.

I have a recycled feed bag underlay in my nesting boxes which allows me to pull out all the contents and dump it into my compost wagon so I am not touching any of it. If the feed bag ever looks gross, I simply chuck it in the trash and grab a new one. I still wear gloves regardless so I don't get anything on my hands by accident.

I put straw on the floor of my duck coop since they actually nest and sleep on the ground. I use the same pitchfork for cleaning in the duck coop that I use for my horses & goats. Other than spraying it off with the hose if it needs it, I don't do anything special for this tool.

I have a Gorilla cart that I use for most everything around the farm. When I sift the sand in the chicken coops, it goes in the wagon and hauled to the compost pile. I use this cart when I clean goat house, duck coops, horse stalls, you name it. I also use it to haul compost to the garden, firewood to the house, and more. I do spray it out with the hose regularly. We also will toss a bit of bleach in it once in a while just to give it a good cleaning....usually before our granddaughter comes over since she likes to ride in it.

 

[fuzzi]

If you fill a bucket and leave it to stand the chlorine will evaporate out of the water.

The water company uses not just chlorine, but chloramines. It doesn't "gas out", unfortunately.

 

[BDutch]

My mom tells of when she was growing up in Australia, in the years before air conditioning. At dinner time her mother would set out all the food in a nice display, and then grab her trusty bottle of fly spray and mist all the food and dishes and the kids with it "so everyone can eat in peace". Mom and all her brothers would be coughing at the spray, Nana would tell them to hush.
... It was DDT.
They survived. Does that mean it didn't impact their health? Should everyone bathe in it?


What I've observed through the course of my struggle, is just how oblivious people are and want to be about the spread of bacteria.
If you share a bathroom, there are other people's feces on your toothbrush (mythbusters proved it, btw).
If you go to the beach, there is aerosolized sewage in the ocean breeze.
Every time you touch a public door handle, you are spreading stuff on your skin you'd never touch if you could see it with the naked eye.

So, the myth of being "too sterile" just because one is not slathering themselves in bacteria is not something I believe. No matter what, they're going to get on you. Live on you, poop and breed on you, and eat you alive.
But what causes illness is dealing with too many at once. Sanitation keeps the numbers down so our immune systems can compensate.
We're already contaminated with Salmonella. When it's at the end of our digestive process it's fine. When we eat a bunch of it at once, that can mean a whole lot of toilet misery and possibly much worse.
* Forgive me if I'm too enthusiastic on the topic, but honestly I can't find it in me to hush.
Also, you're in Hawaii. You have every reason to believe the environment is a pleasant thing that wants you to live.
You can go wash your hair in some Shampoo Ginger, while I stare at the pots with dormant bulbs that should be making some for me. Stupid Florida winter!

I got salmonella long ago (before I had chickens) from eating chicken roast that was probably infected and undercooked.

I don’t wash my hands after feeding the chickens. Only after cleaning or touching poop/ poopy stuf. If the eggs are clean I don’t wash them or my hands.

I have wooden pop on shoes for chicken visits and gardening. Never wear them in the house. Like to leave all shoes at the door and wear socks in the house.