Children and chickens newbie question

[Midders]

Hi

I am new to chicken keeping. I have 4 delightful girls, have had them for a week and they are settling in well. They have a coop and run in my back garden and they are allowed to roam freely about my garden in the afternoon. I also have young children- a 3 yr old and a 1 and a half yr old. I am doing all the sensible things, not leaving the kids in the garden unsupervised. I did loads of research before getting my chooks as I wanted to be totally prepared.

But, I have since read on some websites that children should not be in contact with chickens because of illnesses they could contract. This has worried me somewhat. Obviously, my chickens are pooping in the garden but I am cleaning it up ASAP. My children have 'garden shoes' that they do not wear inside the house and I wash their hands once they have stroked the hens or have been playing in the garden. Although I am cleaning the poo like an obsessive poo cleaning machine, my kids have got it on themselves and their shoes. This seems unpreventable as they are sharing the same space...and I want them too, the chickens are our pets.

My question is- am I doing enough? Are my children too young to be exposed to the bacteria ? Am I allowing myself to be frightened by some of the more hard line websites- the " you should never let a child of under 5 yrs near a chicken" sites.


Any advise greatly appreciated but go easy on me, I am new to chicken keeping, I love my chickens but am worried that I may in someway be being careless with my children's well being.

Thanks everyone

[Kuikentje]

Oh dear. The OCD brigade strikes again.

I am new to chickens too but this is my take on it. Trust me, I'm a nurse. I am willing to bow to the greater experience of everybody else on the forum, but this is my opinion only.

The best way of maintaining hygiene and preventing the spread of infection is simply washing hands. Frequently and thoroughly and always before eating and after using the loo. Certainly after handling the chickens, just to be on the safe side. It sounds as though you are doing all the right things. I suppose there might be an issue if the children put their hands to their mouths or faces straight after handling the chickens, but as you don't let them out unsupervised, that is unlikely to be a problem. Obviously you will have to help the little ones wash their hands as even adults don't always do it thoroughly enough.

I don't know how chickens may differ from other domestic animals - maybe it is easier to catch something, I don't know - I do think we worry a bit too much about our children, especially when they are so young. But I would think that normal hygiene, changing shoes and the other things you are doing, should be okay.

Purely for the sake of my professional credibility, I admit that I am not an Infection Control Nurse. I do know a fair bit about poo, though

[Midders]

That's what I wanted to hear! Thanks.