I'm pretty particular about it, as we've had a horrible bout of bacterial mastitis in the cattle (killed two heifers and a calf, almost lost another heifer), and I'm constantly aware of E-coli, salmonella, and other dangerous pathogens I'd rather not bring into the house. Farm shoes stay OUTDOORS. Period.
We have an area in the garage for all of the farm shoes. I actually have four pairs: Knee-high insulated muck boots and rubber ankle boots, either of which might be worn to tend the cattle and chickens depending on weather and depth of mud; slip-on sloggers if weather's dry, just for chickens; and a pair of tennis shoes for everything else outdoors but not for chicken or cattle manure. My grandkids each have a pair of rubber boots they wear to collect eggs, and I don't allow them to wear any other shoes into the pens. All shoes come off in the garage, then step into the house to put on other shoes or just socks or barefoot.
I didn't use to be picky about it at all. Always wore shoes in and out of the house, no big deal. And we do wear other shoes for shopping, going places, run to the mailbox, etc. that are okay inside or outside, I don't care. But if they go into the pens or pasture, OFF they come at the door and get washed or sanitized.
That's my biggest issue with animal hygiene; the shoes. I've pondered keeping a tub outside the chicken gate with water and a daily dose of bleach, to step through when coming out of the pen; or at the water hydrant where we hose off boots after tending cattle. Might do that. Again, mastitis, E-coli and salmonella.
Next, we always wash hands when coming in from outdoors, especially if we've touched anything that has been near the cattle or chickens. Eggs, harnesses, calf bottles, garden hoses, feed buckets, shovels, etc. I even have hand-washing stations set up at two outdoor hydrants, with a bottle of disinfecting soap in a coffee can, strapped to the hydrants. My grandson has tried every trick in the book to get out of washing hands (but Grandma, I wore gloves! But Grandma, I didn't touch anything! Yes, you did - you opened the gate, and you touched your boots. Go WASH.)
I don't sanitize tools - they only get used in contaminated areas anyway. No reason to bring a shovel into the house. But they ARE segregated: Tools used for chicken work live in the coop, those for cow work live in the barn, other tools live in the garden shed or garage. But if I work an area that is suspect for mastitis bacteria, or use a tool in a different area, then I wash tools at the hydrant before putting them away. Losing a chicken is one thing; losing a $$ cow $$ is quite another.
As for clothing, I don't really bother unless I got messy or muddy. I wear knock-around clothes most of the time anyway, as I rarely leave the farm. So feeding cattle or collecting eggs, no biggie. I'll keep them on inside, too. I only feel the need to change if I'm in physical contact with the cattle or their manure, or handling the chickens. I sometimes change twice a day if needed, especially socks and shirts. Extended handling of cattle and cleaning the coop warrants a full shower and change of clothes.
Last summer, I raised a bunch of pigs for slaughter. That work was soooo messy, muddy, smelly, icky and GROSS ... sometimes when I slipped in the mud and fell into their mud pits or manure, I hosed my whole body with the garden hose before coming into the garage to strip, and then ran naked to the shower.
So do you still think your habits are overkill? Probably not. But mine certainly are! LOL
I have always said you've gotta eat muck to be immune to muck, society is too much on the kill all bacteria path, motivated by the adverts, everything is anti bac this and anti bac that, which is ridiculous as our bodies are full and covered with bacteria. I personally avoid all products labelled as such. I also avoid all those products full of chemicals to make your clothes smell fresher for longer, who the hell wants to absorb those chemicals through contact with your skin, certainly not me.
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