We had our chickens tested for Salmonella Pullorum and Avian Influenza the other morning.
It's a free test provided by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.
The inspector arrived, put on a fresh pair of white disposable coveralls, hat, booties and rubber gloves and off we went. This was all done in the driveway. I can only imagine what the neighbors and passer-bys were thinking, especially in this day and age. Some vehicles will tell you who they are when their sitting in a driveway, i.e. plumbers, electricians, etc, but this dude was in an unmarked Chevy Impala. Even if you spotted the Mass. state license plate you'd still have no clue why someone would be dressed like he was - too funny.
Rules state that I am responsible for catching the birds, so I'd catch one and hand off to the inspector to have a throat culture/swab performed, a blood sample drawn and a identifying band applied to the birds left leg. Of course with the small number of birds we have this didn't take long and the girls were pretty good too.
The samples will be sent to and analyzed at the University of Connecticut. We should receive the results in the USPS in approximately a week. Just airing on the side of caution and want to make sure they're safe since we've been handing out eggs to family and friends.
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