How to Prevent Salmonella Contamination in Your Henhouse

The recent salmonella outbreak stemming from large commercial egg producers continues to grow. It is not estimated that salmonella-contaminated eggs have sickened over a thousand people and more than a half billion eggs are being recalled and destroyed. For small backyard chicken enthusiasts, the worry remains that their chickens could carry salmonella. If eggs are then being sold or given to family and friends, the worry of sickening others increases.

However, salmonella contamination in a henhouse always occurs due to poor sanitation and living conditions. The average backyard henhouse is cleaner than commercial operations to begin with so the risk is lessened. Here are some easy and common-sense ways to prevent your hens from passing salmonella on to you:

1. Secure the henhouse against rodents and insects.

Salmonella is carried by rats, mice and roaches. Check the henhouse to see if there is any indication that rodents or bugs are getting in: droppings in corners, footprints, or chew marks. Locate the site of entry and board it up. Rodents come into a henhouse seeking food and water so make sure that food is not scattered on the floor of the henhouse regularly and that the waterer is secure.

2. Sanitize food and water equipment weekly.

Chickens pass on the salmonella bacteria to each other through common food and water dishes. These should be maintained regularly and washed with a weak solution of chlorine bleach and warm water weekly. Rinse the dishes thoroughly with water until no smell of bleach remains. Allow the dishes to dry in the sun.

3. Provide fresh water to the hens daily.

Open water dishes can get dirty quickly as chickens walk through and defecate in them. If you are not using a raised water dish, consider the benefits of getting one as they prevent much of the fecal contamination that causes salmonella to spread. Open water dishes should be rinsed out daily before new water is added.

4. Keep a pair of shoes just for the chicken house.

This is a basic bio-security method that every chicken owner should be using no matter how small the flock. Salmonella can transmit from one henhouse to another on the bottoms of shoes. No one should walk in your henhouse if they have recently been at another farm unless the shoes have been cleaned on the bottom. If you have multiple henhouses, keep a pair of "chicken house shoes" at the door of each so that you can slip into them quickly and not cross-contaminate your flocks.

5. Keep a closed flock.

A closed flock means that you do not add to it with anything other than day-old chicks. Backyard chicken owners are frequently asked to take in an unwanted hen or rooster but this can lead to the contamination of your entire flock. Keep your birds separate from other flocks to avoid the spread of many diseases.

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