or are feathers dirty?

[AlCrowley]

DS (3) is currently obsessed with feathers. Not exotic coloured ones from shops but pigeon/blackbird type feathers from the garden/park/street etc. He finds them everywhere and insists on picking them up and bringing them home. DH and MIL think this is a lovely thing to do but it makes my skin crawl.

Surely, feathers are covered in mites and poo and bugs just like the birds - they don't call pigeons rats of the sky for nothing do they!?

Worse yet - I've just found DS offering 6 month old DD his current feather and it's all wet so I think she's got it into her mouth

I've made him put the yukky thing outside now and he's upset.

So AIBU or are feathers just a bit gross.

I think they probably are filthy, but they probably won't do him any harm.

I've found a whole leaflet!! [http://www.sgm.ac.uk/pubs/micro_today/pdf/110504.pdf here]]

"Psittacosis"..."We get it by breathing in the aerosolized dried faeces or respiratory secretions of infected birds when, for example, flocks of birds congregate close to inlets of ventilation ducts" (or by sucking on their feathers I would guess!!) "In England and
Wales there are around 10 cases a month and the disease can kill"

That's it NO MORE FEATHERS!!!

here

I realise this is a bit radical, but I tend to let my children grot around outside with feathers, dirt, sticks and the like and then we... wash our hands .

We also wash hands but he does have a habit of sticking things in his mouth!

I can't speak for anyone else's children only my own - but they have a tendency to put things in their mouths (they're quite young, obviously) - I've found that handwashing isn't a huge help then, really. I don't mind them doing the other stuff in mud with sticks. I have a problem with feathers.

Knitter - I was brought up like that too, and I also don't mind mine grubbing around/eating things off the floor from time to time. But feathers - icon.

Catilla - I hate sand. I'd much rather have a pebbly beach. Nothing worse than sandy sandwiches, eating a bit of eggshell by mistake or a bit of limescale in that last mouthful of tea. Shudder.

I hate my kids picking up feathers.

My mum thinks it's some sort of fun pre-school activity for children to collect feathers while out on a walk.

I try not to get hysterical, and quietly disinfect their hands.

I'm normally slightly obsessive compulsive about hand-washing etc but I'm cool about DS grubbing around picking feathers, sticks, leaves etc up outside. As long as he doesn't put them in his mouth and I wash his hands afterwards then I'm cool.

Oh and the last batch of 'nature' we collected is currently in collage form in his bedroom, very close to his cot... bet that gives you the heebie jeebies!

I think feathers are fine, unless they're obviously grubby. I had a mother like (most of) you lot, wouldn't let me pick up feathers, horse shoes, or other stuff that I found out and about and I rather resented it.

I try to steer my DS's away from feathers too - psittacosis, bird flu, bird fancier's lung!

But then I used to like picking feathers up as a child - did me no harm. Seems a shame for my kids not to have the same. So if I can distract and remove the offending germ-ridden thing I will (without referring to the microbiological count so as not to pass on my neurosis to my DS's), but if they're intent that that feather is their ultimate object of desire then so be it. But sucking it...never!

I worry about DS picking up all the cherries that fall into our garden and eating them - fine if they just fell and they're ripe, not so much if they are still green or have been lying around for a few days. There's hundreds of the bleeders. Not our cherry tree. I am chilling out as at least he is now aware they have stones in them. What is sweet is when he, grinning and squinting into the sun, tries to put them back on the tree (or bushes he can reach). That is the best.

My DS kisses our chickens, but then I know that they don't have lice, mites or fleas as I wash them and treat them for all of those things since we show them. I wouldn't wash them otherwise. Promise.

shudder- ds1 does this and i hate hate hate it. i have always thought feathers were dirty and it has stuck.

Well, despite being The PFB mother I do allow my children to make holy mess outside; they regularly play with mud, sand, pebbles, bugs of all sorts including (shudder) spiders, snails, beetles etc. Picking feathers is fine by me, they should know not to stick them (and other objects of desire, in mouth), however, that's in theory i.e, when Mum is watching.
Then again, I spent all my Summers as a child in various family farms and am very relaxed about the bug/mud/etc thing.
DH on the other hand would disinfect the twins hourly....

I always picked feathers up when i was little, did me no harm.

But DS1 picked a huge one up in the park the other day on the way to pre-school and i freaked out a bit. Told him to put it down quickly!

I think they are dirty, and hate the thought that it might of come from a dead bird that a cat/fox might of got hold of, which makes me think that they are even more dirty!

I'm actualy rather proud of the fact that DS will pick up spiders as DH and I are both petrified of them so it's taken a lot of self restraint not to pass on our phobias.

It's just the feathers I think are gross.

i'm not bothered by my ds picking up feathers, i just don't want them near me or in my house lol. and it is just feathers i have a problem with as sitting on the side in my utility room is a dead crab (and lots of shells) that he found on the beach

You are ALL being U!!

FGS let them get mucky, let them get some immunity from the world that surrounds them and let them have some fun!

ocdgirl - even I would put the dead crab outside!

I think most of us do let our kids get mucky - I can't stop my DS he's the filthiest child I've ever met - but feathers really make me squeamish - I'd quite happily have a dead crab in the house, though.