Salmonella Poisoning?

[DesertBird]

Sorry, I'm not sure exactly where this thread goes.

My grandpa thinks he got Salmonella poisoning from the chicks we recently got. Are all chickens carriers of this? The chicks are now 1 week old. He says he felt sick with abdominal cramps for 3 days, and then he passed out from a high fever, and when he woke up, he was fine.

I handle the chicks way more, and have not had any of these symptoms, so I'm very unsure as to if this is really Salmonella (we're making him go to the doctor asap) - we're both very careful and wash our hands for at least a minute after handling them, but we don't wear gloves. We also have two other groups of chickens we also raised from chicks, so we're not sure which one 100% could've given it to him, if it's really Salmonella.

Have any of you gotten Salmonella poisoning from chickens, especially new chicks, and if so, have you passed out from it?

 

[chickenE]

Just read this article... Never sure though how much is just media hype.

http://www.wral.com/north-carolina-salmonella-outbreak-linked-to-backyard-chickens/16859732/

 

[DesertBird]

Just read this article... Never sure though how much is just media hype.

http://www.wral.com/north-carolina-salmonella-outbreak-linked-to-backyard-chickens/16859732/

Huh. Thanks for the article! It doesn't seem to have much research/proof to back up the fact that it's actually linked to them, so hoping it's not. I've pet, kissed, hugged, etc. my girls for 6 months and I haven't had Salmonella yet - maybe I'm just lucky.

 

[Folly's place]

He may get tested, and your birds could be tested; then you'll know. I NEVER get my birds in my face, and always wash up when coming in from the barn, coop, or whatever. It's just reasonable to be hygienic! He might have food poisoning or ??? from something else. Mary

 

[azygous]

Yes, it's possible for Gramps to have gotten Salmonella from the chicks. He's in a susceptible group, as are babies, to be vulnerable. However, like e-coli, salmonella requires it to be transferred from hands to something you're going to be eating in order for it to get inside and do the nasty on you. Just handling the chicks isn't going to give it to you, and as long as you wash hands after you handle chicks, you won't get infected.

Chicks and adult chickens may or may not carry it in their guts, but if they do have it inside their guts, it probably isn't going to make them sick or you sick unless you transfer it onto your hands from their poop and then eat something with those dirty hands.

Now, I'm not going to suggest Gramps did not have a case of Salmonella. But there's also a chance it was just a coincidence he got sick, and it was from some flu bug. I doubt it would do any good to test him, actually his poop (sorry), because the pathogen has probably been eliminated from his body, but you can have your chicks' poop tested just for peace of mind.

 

[DesertBird]

Yes, it's possible for Gramps to have gotten Salmonella from the chicks. He's in a susceptible group, as are babies, to be vulnerable. However, like e-coli, salmonella requires it to be transferred from hands to something you're going to be eating in order for it to get inside and do the nasty on you. Just handling the chicks isn't going to give it to you, and as long as you wash hands after you handle chicks, you won't get infected.

Chicks and adult chickens may or may not carry it in their guts, but if they do have it inside their guts, it probably isn't going to make them sick or you sick unless you transfer it onto your hands from their poop and then eat something with those dirty hands.

Now, I'm not going to suggest Gramps did not have a case of Salmonella. But there's also a chance it was just a coincidence he got sick, and it was from some flu bug. I doubt it would do any good to test him, actually his poop (sorry), because the pathogen has probably been eliminated from his body, but you can have your chicks' poop tested just for peace of mind.

Thank you. I'll look into getting their poop tested. My grandpa has turned it into a lecture, even though he apparently didn't wash his hands after touching their poop. So it'll be nice to have it tested. Should I have all 10 chicks' poop tested?

 

[azygous]

You can do what's called a random flock sampling. Take one sample from three different chicks.

The way my lab had me do it was with cotton balls. You only need a tiny bit of fecal matter on each cotton ball. I sealed each one in its own baby food glass jar, careful to label each jar as to what it was from and my name and phone number. Then I placed them in a box and mailed them to the lab.

When I had my chicks tested for salmonella the impetus was a news article that salmonella had been discovered at the hatchery my chicks had just come from. I wanted to know if they had been contaminated. It turned out they were negative for salmonella. It gave me peace of mind knowing they didn't have the pathogen in their intestines.

However, even if they had tested positive, it wouldn't have been a major concern. As long as the chicks had healthy immune systems, they were in no danger of getting sick. And as long as I washed my hands after handling them and cleaning their brooder, I wasn't in any danger either.

 

[DesertBird]

You can do what's called a random flock sampling. Take one sample from three different chicks.

The way my lab had me do it was with cotton balls. You only need a tiny bit of fecal matter on each cotton ball. I sealed each one in its own baby food glass jar, careful to label each jar as to what it was from and my name and phone number. Then I placed them in a box and mailed them to the lab.

When I had my chicks tested for salmonella the impetus was a news article that salmonella had been discovered at the hatchery my chicks had just come from. I wanted to know if they had been contaminated. It turned out they were negative for salmonella. It gave me peace of mind knowing they didn't have the pathogen in their intestines.

However, even if they had tested positive, it wouldn't have been a major concern. As long as the chicks had healthy immune systems, they were in no danger of getting sick. And as long as I washed my hands after handling them and cleaning their brooder, I wasn't in any danger either.

Thank you, good to know! I wouldn't want to get rid of them.