Shared outside water; questionable worm castings; cat pee and poo

[KiwiSue49]

Ok, hard part over - trying to make the title short enough

Got my first two chickens two Saturdays ago.

1 - By accident the cats and chickens are drinking out of the same outdoor dish with water in it.
Can this be a problem to either of them?

2. Chickens have been free-ranging some of the time. Some of the places they have been rummaging is / are where old worm castings get dug into.

The castings contain pieces of cooked and uncooked egg shell.
Also, when my pet rats have finished eating pieces of raw chicken carkass, this has also been put into the worm farm.

Can this be a problem for the chickens seeing as there is quite a period of time before worm manure is put out into the garden?

3. Since the chickens have nicely dug over certain areas of the garden the cats have been peeing, and mostly likely pooping into where the chickens have scratched. The chickens have gone back to the same places to rescratch.
Is this potentially going to cause a problem?

Apologies if this should have been three separate posts.

Cheers,
Sue

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Cats can transfer toxoplasmosis to chickens, so if any are gonna be eaten they should be cooked well. I doubt that's gonna happen with yours by the sound of it. Chickens can eat all kinds of stuff without problems. I wouldn't worry too much. They tend to avoid stuff that is bad for them as well as they are well fed. Always wash you hands after handling chickens and cats.

Congratulations on your new birds.

 

[KiwiSue49]

Cats can transfer toxoplasmosis to chickens, so if any are gonna be eaten they should be cooked well. I doubt that's gonna happen with yours by the sound of it. Chickens can eat all kinds of stuff without problems. I wouldn't worry too much. They tend to avoid stuff that is bad for them as well as they are well fed. Always wash you hands after handling chickens and cats.

Congratulations on your new birds.

Thank you for the congrats oldhen

You got me thinking.
Does that mean then, that if say the cats were to consume raw chicken carkasses, then go and drink out of the water dish outside, then they could pass the toxoplasmosis onto them?

I had a go today fossil shell flouring them both - under wings, around the back of their necks.
With Tilly, I first held her, then decided it was easier sitting on ground with her between my legs

Have a different question, so will go post.

Cheers,
Sue

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I believe the toxoplasmosis in cats is transferred in the feces. That's why pregnant ladies aren't supposed to clean a litter box. I'm pretty sure that everyone who has ever owned a cat has gotten it themselves and chalked it up to the flu. I personally wouldn't worry. There are kinds of diseases animals can give humans but as long as you aren't getting too personal with critters and wash your hands you should be okay.