Story highlights CDC is investigating eight multistate outbreaks of salmonella related to backyard birds

Wash your hands, don't snuggle or dress your chickens, and supervise your children

(CNN) They may look cute, and you may think of them as your pets, but experts ask that you keep your chickens in your backyard. Don't snuggle with them. Don't sit them next to you as you watch TV. And please, don't commit a fashion foul and dress them in tiny costumes, no matter how adorable.

Close contact with even the cleanest and healthiest-looking chicken can make you sick, and there's proof this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On Thursday, the CDC announced that it is working with states to investigate eight multistate outbreaks of salmonella connected to these kinds of backyard birds.

"A lot of people perceive a bird with salmonella will look sick, but that is really not the case," said Megin Nichols, a CDC veterinarian. The birds carry the bacteria on their feathers, on their feet and in their droppings.

The CDC found at least 372 people across the country who had been infected with salmonella between January 4 and May 3 linked to pet ducks, chickens and geese. And that's probably an undercount, the CDC said: Typically, for every known infection, there are 29 other people who probably got sick.

Of the 372 cases, 36% were children. No one has died from the infection, but 71 of those infections were so bad the people had to be hospitalized.

Read More