Mail order chicks making people sick. What places use that hatchery?

[eggcited2]

The CDC has linked mail order chicks to 63 people getting sick. The hatchery is in Ohio. Mt. Healthy Hatcheries in Ohio

I know some of the places that sell chicks use hatcheries and I was wondering if any of the places I have chicks coming from use that hatchery.

I have chicks coming from My Pet Chicken and Meyer Hatchery, both in June.

Should I be worried?

 

[SpringPeeper]

The 'outbreak' was last year, wasn't it? And Mt Healthy dumped the single supplier who the birds came from, so I wouldn't be overly worried about chicks from this year. I've never done business with My Pet Chicken or Meyer, so I don't know anything about their sources, sorry.

Just about any pets or livestock is capable of carrying something that could be passed on to a human. A lot of the risk is cut down by good hygiene and good animal husbandry.



EDITED TO ADD:

Just Googled, there is another issue this year as well. You can always call or email the hatcheries you ordered from and ask them if they use the supplier.

 

[Blooie]

I don't know if you should be worried, but I am. I have a 2 1/2 year old granddaughter with serious medical conditions. This past week we were out of town for a family emergency and her big sister (8) and cousin (9) enjoyed taking care of our 22 chickens while we were gone. I taught them to put plastic bags over their shoes (according to their moms they did this every time they were around the coop and run) and I had antibacterial soap and hand sanitizer both at the kitchen sink. Again, both moms reported that they did exactly as I showed them. The chickens are too big for the kids to be handling and snuggling at almost 11 weeks old, but I'm now worried about what kind of contamination they may have carried home on their clothes.

I got my chicks from mypetchicken, and got an additional 6 from a local feed store - a mom and pop type feed store, not one of the major ones like Tractor Supply. I just called him and he said he got his chicks from Meyer. I'm hoping that's a good sign.

And I'm so glad that I instituted a program of separate shoes (or bags, in the case of the kids) for entering the coop/run and strict hand washing rules for all of us. I also use bleach in the sink and wipe the counters down with bleach water if I've had anything chicken related in the kitchen, especially when they were still in the brooder in the house. My kids laughed at me when I first began considering chickens. "Ma, you're such a germaphobe how is that gonna work?" It's true. I had gangrene once - ONCE - and I learned real quick to respect the power of the microbe! Now I'm a little worried here, but I'm not going to panic or change my routine just yet.

 

[SpringPeeper]

Mt Healthy has a fairly limited variety, you may look there and see if you ordered chicks they even carry.

It sounds like you are doing great on the hygiene and husbandry fronts.

Again, it could be worth calling the hatcheries you ordered from just to see if it puts your mind at ease, but personally (especially with someone like a small child) I would always treat the chicks as though I assumed they were carrying salmonella. My little girl thinks I am a monster for my no-kissing-the-chicks rule, but that's just tough.

I hope you can find an answer.