Bio-Security Shoes to Protect the Coop

How many people want to come over and see your chickens? Where were they before they came to your house? Have they been to see someone else’s coop? Were their chickens healthy? Other than refusing to let them near your chicken yard, what else can you do? Simply washing off their shoes is not going to cut it.

I just put in an order for these shoe/boot covers that I am keeping handy in my shed next to the coop.  No, this isn’t the perfect solution. I prefer scrubbing boots and shoes with clorox and hot water to disinfect them. However, this is a quick fix for a random visit you may have not been expecting. (Plus, you can hide a few pairs in your house in case the plumber has to come over on a rainy day, and he has mud caked on his shoes!)

I am not going to worry about people’s feelings if they are offended; they will just have to understand. Simply put, if you want to come into the fence at the coop, to protect both your shoes and my chickens, I need you to put on these shoe covers. If they ask why, it will keep the chicken poop off their shoes, plus if they have in any way been in contact with other chickens or animals, it will protect my flock from germs.

No, this is not ridiculous. I do not wear the same shoes to the coop that I wear to work, the feed stores, Tractor Supply, or even the neighbor’s garage. I can’t take the risk. I want to be able to allow my flock to free-range inside their fence without fear of contamination. I don’t think this is too much to ask, and I wouldn’t mind doing the same at another person’s coop!