Installing Indoor Cat Tree

[CJB]

Hi

 

Would like any advice you can offer. Have just discovered I am pregnant, do not know what was more of a shock moving into our house and discovering 12 chickens, or doctor telling me no it is not a virus you are pregnant!!!!

Anyway doctors thinks that keeping chickens has salmonella risk and are unsuitable to have around children under five. I have tried to find some info to back up his statement but cant, can anyone else please confirm this.

 

Thanks

[Looney]

Ooh, no advice re salmonella I'm afraid but congratulations!!

[xChicken04x]

congratulaaaaaaaaaaaaations!!!!!!

maybe it would be a good idea to get your chooks vaccinated just incase.

[SarahJo]

if you are careful while preganant, and scupulous re. hygeine, when in contact with the hens, then I am not so sure they will pose a risk. By the time your baby is a toddler - how many original hens will still be alive?. If you replace them - buy from a reputable breeder - ensure vaccinated, and apply the same hand washing/contact rules - Ben and Joe have come to no harm, neither have any other little ones - I took our original Ginger into nursery as the " Little Red Hen " LIVE CHARACTER from the story book

 

Others please correct me if I am wrong .....

[Lesley-Jean]

There's more rist to pregnant women from cats (toxoplasmosis) than from hens. If you do not know if they were vcaccinated then you could get the vet to do a feacal test. It would cost about £50 so I would be inclined to give a "pooled" specimen from all the hens. You don't need tons just a tiney bit from each.

[BeckyBoo]

If they're not suitable to have around children under 5 there's going to be an awful lot of homeles hens around! What a ridiculous statement to make, as long as you wash your hands, I have some of that water-free hand wash that you get at farms you can visit as it's quick and easy for my small gang and all their mates, but for you just get a decent anti-bacterial hand wash, just as you would if you were picking up your dog poo or emptying cat litter. And when your bub is a toddler he / she will LOVE the chooks, as all of mine do.

 

Oh yes, and

CONGRATULATIONS!!

 

(that's one hell of a virus - hope it's not catching! )

 

Mrs Bertie

[theherd123]

Oh wow that is some virus!!!

 

Another Omlet baby - v

 

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

 

So when will the little one be making an appearance into the world?

[Egluntyne]

Congratulations!

 

Mrs Bertie is spot on with her advice.

[Couperwife]

ooooh, congratulations

[Boris70]

I too am pregnant with pet chickens - and don't worry at all about them.

 

Yes there is a tiny risk with salmonella - so just make sure you wash your hands throughly after handling them.

 

Apart from that the only downside is that I'm not allowed to eat the eggs with runny yolks - so my husband is making up for me not eating them!

[Rhapsody]

Typical doctor- a load of doomongering twaddle with no evidence to back it up. Where does he get off with the under-5's comment? Did you ask for childrearing tips or confirmation of your pregnancy farmer's wives have been keeping back-door chickens and rearing babies for centuries!

[starboyhull]

I wonder what the world will be like in another 50+ years??? Do you think everyone will have got their comon sense back, or will all this p.c nonsense and health and safety have completely consumed us all.......

 

It will soon be too dangerous to even leave your house to go to work.....

 

People have kept animals for 100's if not 1000's of years, why is it only now that we have a problem.......

[Lovemychooks]

It will soon be too dangerous to even leave your house to go to work.....

 

Now that's an idea I DO like

[Jools]

I too am pregnant with pet chickens

 

How did that happen then!!! Sorry I have a "Not the 9 O'Clock News" sense of humour. Infact I can hardly listen to the news without hearing Pamela Whatsit delivering the punchline to the headlines.

 

I do apologise!!

[BeckyBoo]

heeeeeee heeeee heeeee!!! Mind you, small 40g egg over an 8 1/2 lb baby any day! Not sure about the beak and those claws though...

 

mrs Bertie

[Chickaboo]

I am a health visitor and I have never heard of any animals posing a serious infection risks to under 5's (as long as you a strict with hand washing etc, which applies to any animal), I certainly wouldn't advise not to keep them with children. Anyway Omlet hens are vaccinated against salmonella. Better a chicken than a vicious dog!

[Jules.]

Better a chicken than a vicious dog!

Hear, hear!

Congratulations on your pregnancy- fancy a home birth?!

[susiepoos]

I have never heard anything about risks regarding pregnancy and chickens - obviously you wouldn't want to get salmonella but basic good old fashioned hand washing is the best way to avoid that, getting eggs from a reliable source plus cooking them properly.

 

I was unfortunate with my first pregnancy and caught toxoplasmosis - it was a terribly anxious time for myself and my husband but luckily everything turned out OK eventually - I was 26 weeks pregnant before I was given the all clear - I always remember being told that there was a high risk that my child would be born severely brain damaged and blind - he's now a gorgeous 16 year old who's just completed his GCSE's and is hoping to get straight A's across the board - medics can sometimes be wrong but they have to advise you on the facts they have infront of them.

 

I found a great deal of support through a charity called the Toxoplasmosis Trust - unfortunately as a stand alone organisation it is no longer available but it is now part of Tommy's Childrens charity. Look them up and they will give you all the advice you need about all pregnancy related risks.

 

Good luck with your pregnancy and I hope it all goes well for you.