How nasty are chickens

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by Hailey
(Kentucky)

Question

How nasty are chickens? Can baby chicks give you diseases? What kind of disease? Can it kill you?

Aren’t you aloud to let baby chicks stay in your house for about 3 or 4 days? Are baby chicks nasty?

Answer
Baby chicks are usually quite healthy and much less likely to carry diseases than adult chickens are. They have just come from an egg that was allowed to incubate and hatch.

People eat fresh eggs all the time and they are usually quite healthy. Disease associated with eggs is usually present on the outside of the eggs due to unclean human habits in egg factories.

When we keep chickens or any animal we become totally responsible for their living conditions. If the cage, pen or housing we keep them in is “nasty”, that’s our fault, not theirs.

If their environment is so dirty they cannot stay clean, we are not taking good care of them. Chicks and chickens poop.

Unlike dogs or cats using a litter box or going outside, chickens just poop where they are when they feel the need.

The smaller the area we keep them in, if not cleaned regularly, the nastier it will be.

Chickens living outdoors can get worms that live inside them and little bugs that live on them.

Chicks and chickens kept in unclean areas can get sick. Humans handling chickens and droppings and not washing hands can become sick.

Someone that considers baby chicks nasty, probably just doesn’t like chickens or the work it takes to keep them healthy and clean. That’s OK. Chickens aren’t for everybody.

Baby chicks must be kept warm (and clean, well fed with clean water always available), where ever you keep them, or they will die.

The warmth inside a house is not enough. A heat lamp is the usual way to keep them warm. They must be able to absorb warmth for their bodies, that a mother hen would provide for them, until they grow a full set of feathers.

A good chick brooder will provide about 95 – 100 degrees F of heat for newly hatched chicks.

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