The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,) are sounding the alarm about hugging, kissing or really any kind of handling of chickens and other birds.
According to the story, doing any of the above could lead to salmonella infections. The CDC linked recent multi-state outbreaks of salmonella to people cuddling live poultry that live in backyards.
228 infections of salmonella. 190 of those said they had handled live poultry about a week before they experienced symptoms. So, just don't do it.
Source: Time