Backyard chickens and salmonella risk during pregnancy

What does the evidence say about backyard chickens during pregnancy?

1. Handling or coming into contact with animals such as birds can raise the chance of a Salmonella infection, and in about 4% of cases, Salmonella causes bacteremia, bacteria entering the bloodstream, which can lead to serious illness or death for the pregnant person and death of the fetus. 1
2. 2020 was a record year for backyard-poultry-linked Salmonella outbreaks in the United States, with 1,722 illnesses reported across 50 states, about one-third of affected people hospitalized, and two-thirds of those with exposure information reporting contact with chicks or ducklings in the week before getting sick. 2
3. Among people in that outbreak who reported bird contact, 72% had purchased poultry for the first time that year, and the main exposure route identified was handling birds directly or touching surfaces and environments contaminated with their droppings, which is why thorough handwashing after handling birds or cleaning a coop is the most emphasized precaution. 2
4. A 2023 case report describes a newborn who developed bloody stools from a Salmonella strain matching the family's backyard flock, even though the baby had never visited the coop, over 150 miles away; investigators concluded a parent likely carried the bacteria home and exposed the newborn, and the report specifically advises families to weigh the risk to newborns and young infants living in the household before keeping backyard poultry. 3
5. Separate from Salmonella, a 2022 monitoring study of more than 4,000 people exposed to birds infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 found only one confirmed human infection, and all monitored symptomatic cases were mild, though the report does not address pregnant people as a specific risk group, so that question remains unaddressed by this research rather than answered by it. 4

Is backyard chickens safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. Nausea and smell sensitivity can make coop cleaning especially unpleasant right now. No research points to early pregnancy carrying a different Salmonella risk than later on, so the same core habit, thorough handwashing after any contact with the birds or their coop, matters from day one rather than kicking in at a certain week.
• Second trimester. A practical time to set new household habits, like keeping a dedicated pair of shoes for coop visits by the door and deciding who in the household handles the messier cleaning jobs. These small logistics do more for lowering exposure than anything specific to this trimester.
• Third trimester. Bending, crouching, and reaching into a coop gets harder and less stable with a full-term belly, which is a good practical reason, separate from any documented change in infection risk, to hand that chore to a partner or family member for the rest of pregnancy.