I'm interested in ordering some more chickens in the late summer. One larger hatchery near me is Mt Healthy Hatchery, however, they have had 2 big Salmonella outbreaks in 2011, and then again in 2014. So, I wonder a few things:
1. Is salmonella a somewhat common problem in a larger hatchery?
2. If there has been several years since the outbreak, do we assume that the problem is resolved and proper corrections put in place? MT Healthy hatchery looks like they had a response on their website about this, but it is now blank.
Yes, I could order from any hatchery, but Mt Healthy is within 2 hours of me, so I could pick up chicks, and I sometimes find myself going to Cincinnati for other errands, so could work out. However, Salmonella can be a serious illness, so I am concerned.
We could order from Meyer too - they are about 3 hours away from me (one way), making it harder for me to justify the drive and I have no errands in that area. My first ever poultry order from them arrived completely dead (26 chicks), most likely due to mishandling by PO (maybe near dry ice and they suffocated as box was undamaged, few poops in box, and chicks still warm to touch with a warm heating pack). Anyway, I would still consider giving Meyer a try as the variety in the box (I bought assortments) looked great, just leery about shipping.
Here are the links to the Mt Healthy outbreaks if anyone is interested.
CDC of 2014 outbreak:
https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/live-poultry-05-14/index.html
2011 local news:
http://www.fox19.com/story/14875964/ohio-salmonella-outbreak
2014 local news:
http://www.fox19.com/story/25474745/nationwide-salmonella-outbreak-linked-to-mount-healthy-hatchery
1. Is salmonella a somewhat common problem in a larger hatchery?
2. If there has been several years since the outbreak, do we assume that the problem is resolved and proper corrections put in place? MT Healthy hatchery looks like they had a response on their website about this, but it is now blank.
Yes, I could order from any hatchery, but Mt Healthy is within 2 hours of me, so I could pick up chicks, and I sometimes find myself going to Cincinnati for other errands, so could work out. However, Salmonella can be a serious illness, so I am concerned.
We could order from Meyer too - they are about 3 hours away from me (one way), making it harder for me to justify the drive and I have no errands in that area. My first ever poultry order from them arrived completely dead (26 chicks), most likely due to mishandling by PO (maybe near dry ice and they suffocated as box was undamaged, few poops in box, and chicks still warm to touch with a warm heating pack). Anyway, I would still consider giving Meyer a try as the variety in the box (I bought assortments) looked great, just leery about shipping.
Here are the links to the Mt Healthy outbreaks if anyone is interested.
CDC of 2014 outbreak:
https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/live-poultry-05-14/index.html
2011 local news:
http://www.fox19.com/story/14875964/ohio-salmonella-outbreak
2014 local news:
http://www.fox19.com/story/25474745/nationwide-salmonella-outbreak-linked-to-mount-healthy-hatchery
