Keep one in your pocket like Jeb!
Posted on 09/10/2016 9:26:15 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
If you’re an urban or suburban chicken farmer, there's a chance you may consider your egg-producing, feathered friends family. You may have even given your chickens names, and you certainly care about them deeply. But do you cuddle and kiss them?
As of July 2016, there are 611 people in 45 states with salmonella poisoning from contact with backyard chickens, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At least 138 people were hospitalized. “These outbreaks are expected to continue for the next several months since flock owners might be unaware of the risk of salmonella infection from live poultry or participate in risky behaviors that can result in infection,” according to the CDC.
The outbreak of salmonella can be traced back to chicks, ducklings and other poultry from multiple hatcheries in several states. People who have gotten birds that began life in these hatcheries are getting sick after close contact with the birds. However, the CDC notes, all live poultry can carry salmonella bacteria, regardless of where they were purchased and even if they look healthy and clean.
Of course, not all of those who have gotten ill have kissed their chickens. Any human contact with an infected bird can lead to illness. The CDC explains how:
People become infected with Salmonella when they put their hands or other things that have been in contact with feces in or around their mouth. Young children are especially at risk for illness because their immune systems are still developing and because they are more likely than others to put their fingers or other items into their mouths. It is important to wash hands immediately after touching poultry or anything in the area where they live and roam, because the germs on your hands can easily spread to other people or things.
To minimize the risk of salmonella poisoning from live poultry, the CDC recommends always assuming that contamination can happen and recommends the following.
After touching live poultry or an area where they've been, wash your hands with soap and water. If none is available, use hand sanitizer. Don't let children under age 5 handle or touch live poultry without adult supervision. If you have clothes and shoes soiled from being around poultry, wash your hands after removing them. Cook eggs that you’ve collected from backyard hens thoroughly since salmonella can pass to the interior eggs. Clean equipment and materials associated with the birds. Don’t bring live poultry inside your house.
And, while the CDC page doesn’t mention it specifically, I think it’s safe to say the agency would recommend NOT kissing or cuddling your backyard chickens.
I have had two VERY unpleasant roosters through the years; they ended up in the stew pot pretty darn quick!
I wear gloves when cleaning the coop which I basically do everyday. Also I handle the chooks with gloves most of the time and wash hands after. And yes all our chickens have names. :-)
I’ll hug my ducks until they pry them out of my cold dead hands.
I would like to try some Muscovy. Have you raised those? Any recommendations?
We also have a wood/deer tick issue where we live. I understand Pea/Guinea Hens are voracious tick eaters. Any experience with them?
LOL!
We’ve raised two steer calves - and you’re right - they are adorable.
They were named, ‘Dinner’ and ‘Supper.’ ;)
Only animals that are not for eating get real names around this barn. Of course technically they all get eaten in the end but I refuse to milk a cow named "Hamburger".
It just doesn't sound right.
Our pigs were named breakfast, lunch, dinner, and second breakfast, but I called them all Rose. That way I could tell the boys they smelled like Roses when they needed a shower.
Guineas are great for insects and they are the best watch dogs you can have. Nothing comes in the yard without being announced.
What tests do they perform to determine histoplasmosis? My brother-in-law is a farmer and his health is severely compromised. They have run numerous tests and all with inconclusive results. But one symptom (of many) that triggered this inquiry is that my brother-in-law told my wife that his lungs look like they were hit by a shotgun blast.
Thanks! They’re on my list!
Yeah raccoons are something awful. We’ve lost birds to them as well.
That’s what we thought initially, actually, but given the damage to the shed door, cinderblocks moved, and the big wide path of flattened ferns we think it must’ve been something bigger.
Some Roosters, just like some of us men, will get carried away with showing everybody that they are large and in charge. May need to be bought down a peg or two.
I know. My first thoughts too, but since the poster is named Diana, I figured I should be a Gentleman- this time.
I wish that Hennie Pennie was still around. She would come Into the house, sit on my lap and sing to me softly. You know that soft little ~~~~~~~~pock~~~pock~pock~~~~~ that chickens do.
Keep one in your pocket like Jeb!
We raised some Muscovy growing up, neighbor had Guinea Hens. Muscovy were very hardy, good layers, very quiet, and very friendly. They can fly, which helps them avoid predators. They do tend to forage away from water more than our other ducks. Guinea hens were VERY noisy, and for whatever reason often the first victims of predators— if a fox or bobcat comes around to stay they will wipe them out if they aren’t extremely well protected. I live in one the tick “hotspots” in the US, but have never really had any issues with ticks and poultry.
“I remember fifty years ago when everyone was buying baby turtles with painted shells. Then came the Salmonella scare and the warnings that the paint could deform the shells.”
I remember those, back in the 1960’s. You could also buy colored Easter chicks and ducklings at the same stores. I think Woolworths sold them.
“I have had two VERY unpleasant roosters through the years; they ended up in the stew pot pretty darn quick!”
One of my favorite family stories was about that. My father’s job at age 5 was to feed the chickens. One day a mean rooster jumped on his back and pecked him. My grandmother comforted my dad and said, “I’ll fix his little red wagon”. They had fried rooster that very night.
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