Did the CDC really warn people against dressing chickens up for Halloween?

This October, media outlets across the nation warned that chicken owners should not dress their feathered friends in costumes for Halloween.

The warning came straight from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the reports that were spread across social media.

But what came first? The chicken-in-costume news reports, or an actual statement from the CDC?

According to an Oct. 25 media statement from the CDC, the agency never actually warned against dressing your chickens up this holiday. It is unclear where the original reports came from.

The statement was headlined, “Erroneous Media Reports About Chickens and Halloween Costumes.”

“Despite news reports to the contrary, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not warned people against dressing chickens in Halloween costumes,” the statement says.

The agency has, however, previously warned against snuggling and kissing your pet chickens. Because if you do, you might be putting yourself at risk for a salmonella infection, the CDC warned earlier this year. That warning came during a multistate salmonella outbreak linked to people touching their backyard poultry.

Salmonella is a bacteria that “causes about 1.2 million illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations, and 450 deaths in the United States every year,” according to the CDC. “Food is the source for about 1 million of these illnesses.”

The agency says “there are many ways you can get salmonella from live poultry,” including by the germs in their poop and the bacteria on their bodies.

Now, just a few days before Halloween, the CDC is taking this chance to remind chicken owners how to minimize the risk for an infection.

A spokesperson with the agency said that if you want to dress up your chickens, you should wash the chicken costume in hot water after it is taken off, Live Science reported.

Here is some more advice, straight from the CDC:

• “Always wash your hands after touching chickens or anything in their environment.”
  
  
• “Keep chickens outdoors. Never bring them in your house.”
  
  
• “Don’t eat or drink in the area where the birds live or roam.”
  
  
• “Don’t kiss your birds or snuggle them and then touch your face or mouth.”
  
  
• “Children under 5 years old should not hold or touch chickens.”

Oh, and “Make sure your chicken can breathe and walk normally while wearing the costume,” the CDC spokesperson said, according to LiveScience.