These days I am especially happy to have my own group of healthy hens. Their lives are much different, much healthier and happier, than their sisters in factory farms. Still, it’s not a bad idea to be on alert to avoid a bout of Salmonella and it’s suite of symptoms: fever, bloody diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

First step. Check your eggs to make sure you don’t have a bad batch. Read this page on the FDA site to learn how to identify the source of your eggs! If you’re not sure, toss them. Visit your local farmers market and buy happy eggs instead.

Ongoing Salmonella avoidance is not rocket science. Keep your eggs refrigerated. Don’t eat broken eggs, especially if they are covered in chicken poop. And cook them well – no raw egg a-la-Rocky. Here are some good resources for additional reading.

• CDC.gov
• WebMD
• IncredibleEgg.org

Another photo from the archives!

A classic photo from the archives!

Well, my friends think I might be a little “chicken happy” but now I can prove that I am not the only crazy one. When my late chicken Babette was attacked by a hawk, she did live in the house for a month or so. On the dining room table. But I did keep her in a cage! A nice cage, with lots of fresh food, water, company, and Neosporin for her wounds. Anyway, check this out, I can order custom-sized chicken diapers at ChickenDiapers.com! This makes me very happy. Most of their photo examples are silkie bantams. I have big girls now, Brahmas. If you have no frame of reference, it’s like comparing a Great Pyrenees to a Westie.

I plan to measure my chickens tomorrow and order a full set asap. Photos to come soon.