CDC Issues Warning to Stop Kissing Chickens; Really

Ask someone if they have chickens as pets and they would think you're crazy, right? Wrong. I took to Facebook to ask my friends if they or someone they knew had chickens that roamed their backyard, even came inside their house, and I was shocked to see how common it was. My friend Emily said, "I used to and they were like pets, we even had one ride on our golf cart steering wheel as we would drive. It was awesome."

You're probably wondering what provoked me to ask in the first place and there's actually a really good reason.

According to Newser, because backyard chicken keeping is on the rise, they found it necessary to issue this warning: cock-a-doodle-DON'T kiss your chicken. Yes, really.

But why? A new study has revealed that outbreaks of human salmonella is on the rise among people who live with poultry; specifically those who treat their chickens just like pets. Just by allowing them in your house exposes you to salmonella bacteria.  Cluck. I mean, yuck.

The CDC says the most common cause of infection appears to be geese and baby chicks. Additionally, they say that while they're cute and can be cuddly, the birds need to remain outside, hands must be washed before holding them and you can't kiss them.

Well maybe if you weren't such a chick magnet you wouldn't have this problem.