Can Dogs Get Sick from Chickens? 5 Serious Illnesses

CAN DOGS GET SICK FROM CHICKENS

It isn’t uncommon for people that own chickens to also own one or multiple dogs. Many keep livestock dogs to protect their chickens from predators.

But what about protecting the dogs from harm? Can dogs get sick from chickens? They sure can!

Many diseases that chickens carry are species specific and cannot be passed to any other species, but there are some serious illnesses that chickens can carry and pass on to dogs.

1. Can Dogs Get Salmonella from Chickens?

DOG EATING A CHICKEN.  Can dogs get sick from chickens?
A DOG CAN GET SALMONELLA FROM EATING AN INFECTED CHICKEN.

Yes, dogs can get salmonella from chickens! Salmonella is a bacterial disease transmitted through chicken manure, raw eggs and either undercooked or raw chicken meat. A dog can contract salmonella from an infected chicken in many ways:

  • by eating chicken manure
  • by drinking or eating out of a chicken waterer or feed bowl that is soiled with chicken droppings
  • eating uncooked chicken eggs
  • by eating undercooked chicken eggs
  • by eating undercooked chicken meat
  • eating a live chicken
  • by walking in chicken feces and then licking its paws
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Symptoms of Salmonella in Dogs

SYMPTOMS OF
SALMONELLA
IN DOGS
YOUR DOG MAY
NOT HAVE ANY
SYMPTOMS AT ALL
DIARRHEA (MAY HAVE
BLOOD OR MUCUS IN
STOOL)
MAY SEEM VERY TIRED
LACK OF APPETITE
DOG MAY VOMIT
MAY HAVE A FEVER
DEHYDRATION
SWOLLEN LYMPH NODES
DEPRESSION

How to Prevent Salmonella in Dogs

Most healthy dogs with good immune systems will not contract salmonella. But, the best prevention is to avoid exposing them to the bacteria in the first place. This would mean:

  • Take precautions to help prevent salmonella with your flock.
    • chicken coop hygiene: keeping feed and water bowls clean and litter management
    • control coccidia in chickens
    • maintain chicken gut flora
  • Don’t let your dog eat raw eggs.
  • Don’t feed your dog raw or undercooked chicken meat.
  • Keep dog out of chicken coop or area where chicken manure is present.
  • Wipe down dogs paws after walking through chicken manure.
  • Don’t let dog eat or drink out of chicken feed and water bowls.

2. Can Dogs Get Coccidiosis from Chickens?

NO, dogs can’t get coccidiosis from chickens. Coccidiosis is species specific. There are certain strains that dogs carry and different strains that chickens carry. In other words, the strains that poultry carry cannot be passed on to dogs and the strains that dogs carry cannot be passed on to poultry.

While dogs cannot get coccidiosis from chickens, humans can. So it is important to take the appropriate precautions to avoid getting it yourself.

3. Can Dogs Get Worms from Chickens?

DOGS CAN GET WORMS FROM INFECTED CHICKENS.
DOGS CAN GET CERTAIN TYPES OF WORMS FROM INFECTED CHICKENS.

Yes, a dog can get capillaria worms or “hairworms” from eating contaminated chicken poop. These are parasitic roundworms that like to take up residence in a dog’s nose, respiratory tract and bladder.

There are also many species specific worms that cannot be passed from an infected chicken to a dog.

Tapeworms are species specific and cannot be transmitted from your chickens to your dog.

Gapeworm or Syngamus trachea is a type of roundworm that is also species specific and cannot be passed from your chickens to a dog.

Symptoms of Hairworms in Dogs

SYMPTOMS OF
HAIRWORMS
IN DOGS
SNEEZING
DISCHARGE FROM NOSE
SNEEZING
WHEEZING
COUGHING
PAINFUL URINATION
BLOOD IN URINE
DIFFICULTY URINATING
INCONTINENCE(ACCIDENTS)

How to Prevent Hairworms in Dogs

There are several things that you can do to prevent your dog from picking up hairworms from poultry. The number one way is to keep your chickens healthy and to keep their environment clean. This includes keeping the chicken coop, run, laying boxes, bedding, food and water sanitary.

Capillaria are most commonly found in chicken feces. Chickens are not discreet about where they poop, so it is not uncommon to have feces in food, water, on perches and in various other areas within their environment. A dog that eats or drinks from objects that are contaminated with capillaria can likely become infected.

TIPS TO HELP
PREVENT
HAIRWORMS
IN DOGS
KEEP CHICKEN ENVIRONMENT
CLEAN
DON’T ALLOW DOGS INSIDE
DIRTY CHICKEN COOP/RUN
DISCOURAGE DOGS FROM
EATING CHICKEN POOP
(COMMON HOST)
DON’T ALLOW DOGS TO
EAT AND DRINK OUT OF
CHICKEN FEED BOWLS
DON’T ALLOW DOGS TO
DRINK OUT OF CHICKEN
WATERERS
DON’T ALLOW DOGS TO
EAT EARTHWORMS
(COMMON HOST)
CLEAN DOGS’ PAWS AFTER
WALKING THROUGH DIRTY
CHICKEN RUN/COOP

4. Can Dogs Get Parvo from Chickens?

No, dogs cannot get parvo from chickens. Chicken parvoviruses (ChPV) and turkey parvoviruses (TuPV) can only be transmitted through turkeys and chickens. In other words, if a chicken is infected with parvo, your dog cannot contract it from them.

A dog can contract parvo from another dog that is infected with a dog parvovirus. It can also contract parvovirus from an infected dog’s feces. This feces can be on objects or in the soil. Extremely resilient strains can live up to 9 years!

5. Can Dogs Get Aspergillosis from Chickens?

Can dogs get sick from chickens? Dog guarding chickens.
ONE OF THE BEST THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP STOP THE SPREAD OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES FROM YOUR CHICKENS TO YOUR DOG IS TO KEEP THE ENVIRONMENT CLEAN.

Yes, dogs can get aspergillosis from being exposed to a chickens’ environment that it is present in. Canine aspergillosis is caused by a fungus, aspergillus fumigatus, that can be found in an unhealthy chicken’s environment. A dog can become infected by inhaling the spores.

Most strains of Aspergillus are do not cause infection, unless the host is immunocompromised or has been exposed to a large amount of the fungal spores.

There are over 180 different strains of Aspergillus fungi. The two most common strains in chicken aspergillosis are Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillous flavus. The two most common strains in dogs are Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillous terreus.

STRAINS OF
ASPERGILLUS
CARRIED BY
CHICKENS
STRAINS OF
ASPERGILLUS
CARRIED BY
DOGS
ASPERGILLUS FUMIGATUS ASPERGILLUS FUMIGATUS
ASPERGILLUS FLAVUS ASPERGILLUS TERREUS

The most common strain passed from chickens to dogs is Aspergillus fumigatus.

Symptoms of Aspergillosis in dogs

SYMPTOMS OF
ASPERGILLOSIS
IN DOGS
DISCHARGE OF MUCUS,
PUS OR BLOOD FROM
USUALLY ONE NOSTRIL
SWOLLEN NOSE
SNEEZING
ULCERATED AT EDGE
OF NOSTRIL
BLOODY NOSE
SMELLY NASAL
DISCHARGE
MORE COMMON IN
YOUNGER DOGS
(UNDER 1 YEAR)
DECREASED APPETITE

How to Prevent Aspergillosis in Dogs

  • Keep your chicken’s environment clean.
    • Maintain cleanliness in the coop, chicken run, nesting boxes, bedding, chicken feeders and waterers.
  • Keep your dog healthy.
    • Maintain healthy diet, exercise and routine vet visits.
  • Don’t let your dog around when you are cleaning out the chicken coop and chicken run. This is when mold spores are greater. (You should wear a respirator mask when cleaning out the chicken coop too.)
  • If you have a dog that is immunocompromised, it is best to not allow them around your chickens.

CONCLUSION: Can Dogs Get Sick from Chickens? 5 Serious Illnesses

Most illnesses that chickens get are species specific, meaning that chickens can only pass the illness to another animal in the poultry family. BUT there are a few illnesses that dogs, especially those that are immunocompromised, CAN contract from chickens.

COMMON
CHICKEN
ILLNESSES
CAN CHICKENS
PASS THIS
ILLNESS TO
DOGS?
SALMONELLA YES
COCCIDIOSIS NO
WORMS YES
PARVO NO
ASPERGILLOSIS YES

The number one thing that you can do to help stop the spread of chicken illnesses to your dogs is to keep your chicken’s environment clean. This means maintaining the coop, chicken run, bedding, nesting boxes, feeders and waterers.


About the Author

Jenny is a chicken enthusiast and has raised a variety of different breeds of chickens in her Northern California backyard for the past 27 years.

She enjoys using incubators to incubate and hatch fertile chicken eggs so she can raise baby chicks from day 1.

Some of her favorites include Crested Cream Legbars, Marans, Silkies, Orpingtons and Olive Eggers. These breeds make a beautiful basket of farm fresh eggs!

Both she and her husband built their own chicken coop and she and her Dad built her current chick brooder.

Jenny likes to share tips and tricks that she has learned over the years to make it easier for others to raise happy, healthy and productive chickens.

Two years ago, Jenny released a Special 9 Herb Chicken Nesting Box Blend that helps to increase hen egg production as well as keep chickens happy and healthy.

Last year she released Cooling Herbs for Chickens that helps to lower chicken core body temperature during extreme heat.

SEE MORE

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