Separate shoes for chicken run?

[Happy Novogens]

In process of building my run/coop but have been seeing talk of separate shoes for walking inside chicken run. (We are in AZ desert.) Is this something that is commonplace and everyone does?

We plan to only have 2 or 3 hens in a 10' x 20' run. I'm just imagining days of old where people had free run chickens in their yards and went about their daily business on the homestead without changing shoes, etc. everytime they were around chickens.

 

[Sara S]

In process of building my run/coop but have been seeing talk of separate shoes for walking inside chicken run. (We are in AZ desert.) Is this something that is commonplace and everyone does?

We plan to only have 2 or 3 hens in a 10' x 20' run. I'm just imagining days of old where people had free run chickens in their yards and went about their daily business on the homestead without changing shoes, etc. everytime they were around chickens.

Well it can depend on if you want to get poop on your shoes or not. I personally change shoes but it’s your preference on if you want to. I’d say it’s better since poop isn’t exactly clean


have fun with your new chickens!!!

 

[FBMcrazy8]

In process of building my run/coop but have been seeing talk of separate shoes for walking inside chicken run. (We are in AZ desert.) Is this something that is commonplace and everyone does?

We plan to only have 2 or 3 hens in a 10' x 20' run. I'm just imagining days of old where people had free run chickens in their yards and went about their daily business on the homestead without changing shoes, etc. everytime they were around chickens.

My grandma and grandpa always did. My grandpa was born in 1913. But back then a lot of them ran around without shoes. But back then things were different anyway and things are always changing. Including diseases. Older ones can get worse (easier to transmit) or evolve, and new ones can develop.

I will be having a change of shoes and so will my older 2 that will be helping. The other kiddos aren’t old enough to help yet but when they are, they will also have a change of shoes.

 

[MadGardener]

It's nice to not worry about chicken poo falling off my boots in public. A cheap pair of rubber boots and a boot brush by the door suit me well.

 

[Happy Novogens]

I'm imagining (since I don't yet have chickens) that any poos will dry out quickly and therefore not be sticking to shoes. I know my very large dogs' poos are dry in a few hours in our arid climate! (Unlike when we lived back east and those darn dog poos would be moist and yucky for days.) Heck, when I hang out laundry, it dries before the 2nd load is done washing.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I do because i dont wanna bring home other diseases from feed stores etc

 

[southwestclucker]

I wear my muck boots in the run 90+ percent of the time, and need to 100% of the time, but that's only because when I don't wear them, Floof (my sapphire gem) makes a BEELINE toward my feet and it makes me really nervous, lol.......

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is this something that is commonplace and everyone does?

I have shoes I slip on whenever I go outside just so I don't track a mess in the house. In the house I wear house shoes. It's not to do with chickens specifically, it's about tracking trash in the house from the chickens, from working in the garden, cutting the grass, or doing about anything else outside. I also have certain shoes I wear when out in the general public. My work shoes aren't exactly meant for public display. My work clothes aren't either.

I think where you may have heard that was in discussions of biosecurity and quarantine. You can track diseases or parasites from one flock to another if you wear the same shoes. You can even transmit certain diseases or parasites on your clothes. The big commercial chicken operations may not only require you to change your shoes when you show up for work but maybe your clothes too. You may even be required to take a shower. Trucks delivering supplies or hauling chickens away for processing or eggs for shipment may need to drive through a tire wash to sanitize their wheels. Hatcheries may have similar requirements. People whose livelihood depends on keeping their chickens healthy usually take biosecurity very seriously.

Some of us take biosecurity that seriously but most don't. But many of us do change shoes when we go take care of the chickens for various reasons.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

I have always had outdoor shoes. Then along came the chooks and I have a pair of TOMS that I just slip on as I go out the back door. Now that It's flower season I have my front yard shoes too. I also have a long rug at the back door from Costco that is very inexpensive and will change it out soon. My chicken shoes don't go off the rug. To be honest I am worried about the avian flu. I even worry about the people who mow my lawn tracking in other germs.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I have two pairs of chicken run boots-one for rain and one for dry weather. I dont care how hot it is, nobody wants to track cecal poop in the house