Safe for pregnant women to handle chickens?

[karmical]

Hi ya'll

I have a friend coming to visit for the weekend (who's pregnant) and she's wondering if it's safe for her to handle (pet, feed some treats, etc) my chickens....she's wondering if it's anything like how pregnant women aren't supposed to be around kitty litter. I'm pretty sure there's no worry, but she's FINALLY pregnant after trying for more than 5 years and I'd hate for something bad to happen and have her wonder if it had to do with my chickens!!

Maybe I just answered my own question!!! (Better to be safe than sorry?)

Still curious though if anyone's ever heard/experienced a reason for someone who's pregnant to stay away from chickens.

Thanks!

 

[Kentucky~Momma]

From my personal experience, being pregnant and having chickens, everything was fine. I discussed everything with my doctor. I would suggest that she give her doctor a call, they should be able to tell her if it is safe or not. That is what I should do if it were me.

 

[arlee453]

As long as she doesn't lick the chickens, and washes her hands after handling them she should be fine.

 

[SebrightLover]

lick the chickens!

 

[karmical]

LOLLLLL....."lick the chickens"....LITERALLY laughing out loud!!!

Edited to say.... love it, Arlee...and she's coming from Charlotte like you!!!

 

[Buff Hooligans]

That's chicken-lickin' good!

 

[SeaChick]

Well, the kitty litter thing is because of toxoplasmosis, which can be fatal to a fetus. There are mixed opinions about whether chickens can spread toxoplasmosis, see below:

Response from Dr. Pavia

The good news is that chickens do not carry toxoplasmosis... There is no major risk of airborne exposure to chickens of which I am aware.

The bad news about chickens has to do with Salmonella and Campylobacter. Many chickens carry these organisms and excrete them in their, well, you know, their chicken sh*t.

Whether this poses any risk to you would depend on whether there is anyway you are likely to have exposure to their droppings in your food. For instance, if your vegetable garden is below their coop, that could pose a risk.

Good luck

ATP

Dr. Greene: Other animals also get toxoplasmosis, including cows, pigs, chickens, and goats.

Hope that helps,
Stacey​

 

[silkiechicken]

So just don't eat their poo! Easy enough!

 

[Wildsky]

Pregnant woman worry WAY too much.............

 

[Dinos_rock]

Quote:
That is true a lot of the time, but better be safe than sorry.