Can Backyard Chickens Make You Sick? What Every Potential Chook Keeper Should Know!

The idyllic image of hens clucking contentedly in a sunlit garden while providing fresh eggs for breakfast has driven many Aussies to embrace backyard chicken-keeping. This growing trend offers numerous benefits: sustainable food production, reduced food miles, and the simple joy of connecting with nature right outside your back door. However, beneath this charming picture lies an important question that deserves careful consideration: Can these backyard chickens potentially make us ill?

What prompted me to write this article was the fact that I have heard from several customers over the past month who had mentioned concerns about potential risks. Some of this is understandable based on the recent Avian influenza outbreaks in Northern Victoria. Others are inspired by a health concern that they believe is related to their backyard chickens - rightly or wrongly.

The Hidden Health Risks of Backyard Chickens

While backyard chickens can be wonderful additions to your household, they do carry certain health risks that every responsible keeper should understand. These birds can harbour various pathogens that, without proper precautions, may cause human illness.

Bacterial Concerns: The Primary Culprits

Salmonella represents perhaps the most significant health risk associated with chicken keeping. These bacteria naturally reside in chickens' intestinal tracts and can contaminate their droppings, feathers, and eggshells. Human infection typically occurs through the faecal-oral route through touching contaminated surfaces and then inadvertently transferring the bacteria to your mouth.

Salmonellosis symptoms include diarrhoea, fever, and abdominal cramps, which typically develop 12-72 hours after exposure. While most healthy adults recover without treatment, the illness can be particularly dangerous for young children, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with compromised immune systems.

Campylobacter is another common bacterial concern. Similar to Salmonella, it causes gastrointestinal distress including diarrhoea (sometimes bloody), abdominal pain, and fever. Campylobacter infections can occasionally lead to more serious complications such as reactive arthritis in rare cases.

Though less frequently associated with chickens, E. coli can also be present in poultry environments. Different strains cause varying symptoms, from mild digestive upset to severe illness requiring hospitalisation.

Beyond Bacteria: Other Health Considerations

Parasitic infections like coccidiosis primarily affect the chickens themselves rather than humans. However, their presence often indicates suboptimal hygiene conditions that may increase the risk of other transmissible diseases.

Avian influenza (bird flu), which is covered in more detail in a past article, represents a more serious but thankfully rarer concern. While most strains affect only birds, certain variants can infect humans, potentially causing severe respiratory illness. During outbreaks, chicken keepers should follow government guidelines in conjunction with our advice to protect both their flocks and themselves.

Practical Prevention: Keeping Everyone Healthy

The good news is that with proper management, the risks associated with backyard chickens can be significantly reduced. Here's how to keep both your family and flock healthy:

Essential Hygiene Practices

Handwashing is your first line of defence. Always wash thoroughly with soap and warm water after handling chickens, collecting eggs, or cleaning the coop. This simple habit makes a huge difference in dramatically reducing infection risk.

Dedicated footwear for the chicken area prevents tracking pathogens into your home. Consider keeping a pair of gumboots or shoes specifically for chicken duties.

Coop cleanliness matters enormously. Regularly removing droppings or using a deep litter system to “burn up” pathogens helps greatly. Hemp and wood shavings are both good sources of carbon needed for the composting process and effectively absorb moisture from chicken droppings. Hemp has the added benefit of being a smell and bacteria suppressor. Replace soiled bedding and nesting and always do a bi-annual sanitisation of all chicken coop surfaces to reduce the bacterial load in your flock's environment.

Safe Egg Handling

Collect eggs promptly and dry clean them with a brush if lightly soiled. Avoid washing eggs as the water will tend to remove the protective bloom and drive bacteria through the porous shell.

Store eggs in the refrigerator and cook them thoroughly until both whites and yolks are firm to eliminate potential pathogens.

Special Considerations for Vulnerable Groups

Children under five, pregnant women, elderly individuals, and those with compromised immune systems should take extra precautions around chickens. Consider whether direct contact is appropriate based on individual health circumstances.

The Balanced Perspective

While this information might seem alarming, it's important to maintain perspective. Millions of people keep backyard chickens without experiencing health problems. The key is awareness and prevention rather than fear. In 12 years of running Talking Hens and speaking with many thousands of customers, a tiny fraction would have ever mentioned to me a sickness they suspect may have come from their hens.

Like many worthwhile endeavours, raising chickens comes with responsibilities. Understanding and mitigating the potential health risks is simply part of being a conscientious keeper. With the right knowledge and practices, your backyard flock can be a source of joy, fresh food, and connection to nature - without becoming a source of illness.

So, in answer to the question: Can backyard chickens make you sick? The honest answer is yes, they can - but with proper management, the likelihood is significantly reduced. By implementing straightforward hygiene practices, maintaining clean living conditions for your birds, and handling eggs safely, you can enjoy all the benefits of backyard chicken-keeping while protecting your family's health.