Animals are often the cutest when they are young, it is said that babies are designed to be cute so that their parents see them as fragile and thus want to take care of them.
You may want to instinctively touch and take care of a baby bird as well, but can you get sick from touching a baby bird? This article looks into it.
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Can you get sick from touching a baby bird:
Baby birds are very cute and cuddly, its understandable that you’d want to touch and cuddle up with these birds, but doing this isn’t recommended.
You can get sick with salmonella if you touch a baby bird, here is what you need to know about it:
Touching a baby bird can expose you to salmonella. Live poultry like baby geese, ducklings, chicks, and baby turkeys can all expose you to this sickness.
You can become exposed to salmonella if you touch, kiss, or hug baby birds
Some birds will show signs of having salmonella and you will see signs of this like the bird being lethargic, the bird having ruffled feathers, and diarrhea coming from the bird, but some birds will be asymptomatic, so you won’t realize that a bird has this ailment.
The bird’s appearance may look healthy and clean but this is not always the case. The tiny germs that cause salmonella will pass through the bird’s poop and will contaminate all parts of the bird’s body.
A duckling that has no problem being touched is also concerning. Birds, especially young birds, should see you as a predator and try to keep away from you.
If the bird doesn’t try to keep away from you as you try to touch it then there is something wrong with the bird.
Can you get sick from touching a dead bird?
Touching a live bird is dangerous and so is touching a dead bird.
Touching a dead bird may not seem that dangerous but the bird’s body will not only expose you to salmonella but it will also expose you to the organisms that are involved in decomposing the dead bird’s body.
These organisms include flies, insects, and bacteria. Touching the dead bird will expose you to these flies, insects, and bacteria which will expose you to even more diseases
What to do if you touch a baby bird?
If you touch a baby bird then you’d need to wash your hands with soap and water as soon as you can. You’d also need to thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water if you touch any area where the bird roamed.
If you don’t have access to water and handwash or soap when you can use hand sanitizer on your hands to kill off the bacteria and then wash your hands when you can.
Make sure that you don’t touch your mouth right after touching the bird. If you touch your mouth then the salmonella germs will enter your body and infect you.
If you have a compromised immune system, or if a young child, whose immune system isn’t as robust as an adult is, touches the bird then their bodies may not do so well when trying to fight the infection.
Recovery from a salmonella infection in a person with a robust immune system usually happens within four to seven days but if your immune system is not robust then antibiotic treatment may be necessary.
It may be necessary to go to the hospital if you get sick with salmonella. Signs of salmonella in humans include developing a fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps
If this condition is not treated it can end in death so visit the hospital if you think that you’ve been infected with salmonella
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other duck related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Ducks Picking On Another Duck, Why Do Birds Break Their Eggs If You Touch Them?, When To Take Ducklings From Their Mother
