Backyard Poultry-Associated Salmonellosis Arkansas Department of Health

Backyard Poultry-Associated Salmonellosis

Background

Any backyard poultry can carry Salmonella germs that can make you sick. Always take steps to stay healthy around your flock.

Backyard poultry, such as chickens and ducks, can carry Salmonella germs even if they look healthy and clean. These germs can quickly spread to anything in the areas where the poultry live and roam. You can get sick from touching your backyard poultry or anything in their environment, touching your mouth or food, and swallowing Salmonella germs.

What You Should Do

Wash your hands
- Always wash your hands with soap and water immediately after touching backyard poultry, their eggs, or anything in the area where they live and roam.
- Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not readily available. Consider keeping hand sanitizer at your coop.
Be safe around backyard flocks
- Don’t kiss or snuggle backyard poultry, and don’t eat or drink around them. This can spread Salmonella germs to your mouth and make you sick.
- Keep your backyard poultry and the supplies you use to care for them (like feed containers and shoes you wear in the coop) outside of the house. You should also clean the supplies outside the house.
Supervise kids around flocks
- Always supervise children around backyard poultry and make sure they wash their hands properly.
- Don’t let children younger than five years touch chicks, ducklings, or other backyard poultry. Young children are more likely to get sick from germs like Salmonella.
Handle eggs safely
- Collect eggs often. Eggs that sit in the nest can become dirty or break.
- Throw away cracked eggs. Germs on the shell can more easily enter the egg through a cracked shell.
- Rub off dirt on eggs with a brush, a cloth, or fine sandpaper. Don’t wash eggs because colder water can pull germs into the egg.
- Refrigerate eggs to keep them fresh and slow the growth of germs.
- Cook eggs until both the yolk and white are firm and cook egg dishes to an internal temperature of 160°F to kill all germs.

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these severe symptoms:

Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F
Diarrhea for more than three days that is not improving
Bloody diarrhea
So much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down
Signs of dehydration, such as:
- Not peeing much
- Dry mouth and throat
- Feeling dizzy when standing up

Symptoms of Salmonella

Most people infected with Salmonella experience diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps.
- Symptoms usually start 6 hours to 6 days after swallowing the bacteria.
- Most people recover without treatment after 4 to 7 days.
Some people—especially children younger than five years, adults 65 years and older, and people with weakened immune systems—may experience more severe illnesses that require medical treatment or hospitalization.
For more information about Salmonella, see Salmonella Questions and Answers.
For more information about Backyard Poultry-Associated Salmonellosis, click here.

Other Resources

Arkansas Department of Health

Backyard Poultry-Associated Salmonellosis

Public Health Safety