Raising Chickens – Staying Healthy

How Do You Stay Healthy When Raising Chickens?

Wash your hands with soap and water after touching your birds or anything in their space; keep chicken gear and barn shoes out of the house; don’t eat or snuggle around your flock; cook eggs and poultry thoroughly; and keep wild birds and visiting vehicles away from your coop. These habits cover the four main risks: Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli, and avian flu.

Raising chickens is rewarding. You get fresh eggs and fresh meat, and it’s fun to watch them grow, play, and produce. But while your backyard buddies hand over those rewards freely, they can cost you if you’re not careful.

Poultry carries health risks, so it’s a good idea to learn about them before you get sick with something a little due diligence could have avoided.

Domesticated chickens, whether meat birds or laying hens, can carry three types of bacteria: Salmonella, Campylobacter, and E. coli. Viruses like avian influenza, better known as bird flu, also exist. Let’s take a look at each one.

Salmonellosis

Salmonellosis is an infection caused by eating food contaminated with one of several types of Salmonella bacteria. As the Minnesota Department of Health puts it, Salmonella live in the intestinal tracts of animals, including birds, and people usually get sick by eating food contaminated with animal feces.

It’s a myth that Salmonella lives only on the shell. According to the CDC, Salmonella can get inside an egg while it’s forming inside the hen, before the shell develops. That’s rare, and cooking eggs thoroughly takes care of it.

As an aside, I know a bodybuilder who has made himself sick with Salmonellosis several times by eating raw eggs. He says it’s just part of the game. Who am I to argue with a guy who can lift me over his head and toss me across the room?

Symptoms include diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, and vomiting. Symptoms usually appear within a few hours to a few days after exposure and last 4 to 7 days. In normal cases, treatment means waiting it out and drinking extra fluids to replace what you lose to diarrhea and vomiting. Severe cases may require antibiotics, so see a doctor if yours is severe.

Campylobacter

Campylobacter is a bacterium that typically causes diarrhea, often with abdominal cramps and pain. Poultry is one of its most common sources. Symptoms usually start two to five days after exposure.

Most people recover on their own with rest and fluids. If it becomes severe, or you have an underlying health issue that lets it flourish, you may need an antimicrobial, so seek medical advice.

E. Coli

E. coli (Escherichia coli) is a bacterium found naturally in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. It’s one of many coliform bacteria, and not all of them will make you sick. I’m going to talk about the ones that will.

E. coli passes from a chicken’s body into the environment in its droppings. Once exposed to air, the bacteria thrive for a few days and then dissipate. It’s also behind many food-industry recalls.

Infection comes from eating food or drinking water contaminated with a disease-causing strain. Once in your intestines, it releases toxins that cause diarrhea (often bloody), fever, stomach pain, and vomiting.

Anyone can get infected, but the people at greatest risk are the very young (especially newborns and children under 5), the elderly, people with weakened immune systems, pregnant people, and people who travel to certain countries.

Treatment is again mostly waiting it out. If you have bloody diarrhea, or symptoms last more than three days, get medical advice.

Avian Flu or Bird Flu

Avian flu viruses spread naturally among wild birds and can infect domestic poultry and other animals. Some strains cause severe illness or death in poultry flocks. These viruses usually don’t infect people, but rare human infections have occurred.

Bird flu can reach your flock at any time through visiting wild birds. When I wrote this, geese, ducks, and other migratory birds were winging in from unknown parts, and any one of them could carry a strain that wipes out an entire flock. Disease, including avian flu, also spreads on visiting vehicle tires and used chicken equipment.

The best protection is keeping your birds away from wild waterfowl like ducks, geese, cranes, and shorebirds. I’m not sure how often penguins visit your place, but they can carry it too. Hose off visitors’ tires before they enter your chickens’ living areas.

Lowering Your Risk

So we’ve covered the big four bacteria and viruses. Now what? How do we cut the chances of infection? I’m glad you asked.

Wash your hands with soap and water after touching live poultry. Do the same after cleaning waterers, feeders, roosts, and nesting boxes. You get the idea. If you’ve been in contact with your birds, wash your hands afterward.

Most of these pathogens are ingested, so don’t snuggle your birds while showing your friends how adorable they are.

Don’t touch your face, cover a cough, or scratch your nose with chicken hands, and don’t eat around your chickens.

Keep your chicken equipment, including barn shoes, outside the house. Keep very young children, older adults, and anyone with a weakened immune system from handling chicks and chickens.

Work in a well-ventilated area, like outdoors, when you clean or work on your chicken equipment. Keep the coop clean by shoveling out manure, changing nesting box bedding, and treating for mites and lice. If you buy used equipment, think twice. Diseases travel on tires, cages, and anything shared between chicken operations, and used waterers, feeders, and nesting boxes are always a crapshoot. I won’t buy them used.

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

I know we all love our chickens and treat them like any other pet. I’m so guilty of breaking these rules that it pains me to write this article. I did get sick a while back. I won’t thrill you with the details, but I lost a couple of pounds and was quite thirsty. Be careful handling your chickens.

FAQ

Can you get Salmonella from backyard chickens?
Yes. Chickens carry Salmonella in their intestines and pass it in their droppings, so you can get sick by touching birds or their surroundings and then touching your mouth, or by eating contaminated food. Washing your hands after every contact is the best defense.

Is Salmonella only on the outside of an egg?
No. It can occasionally be inside an egg, so cook eggs thoroughly.

How long do Salmonella symptoms last?
Usually 4 to 7 days. Drink plenty of fluids, and get medical advice if symptoms are severe.

How do I keep bird flu away from my flock?
Keep your birds from coming into contact with wild waterfowl, hose off visitors’ tires before they enter your chicken areas, and avoid using secondhand equipment from other flocks.

Thanks for reading. Leave a comment if you’d be so kind, and I’ll get back to you right away.

Dave

Chickenmethod.com