Raising backyard poultry has become increasingly popular in Montana and many feed stores across the state offer chicks for sale.
State health officials say that raising chicks can be a rewarding and fun experience, but they are reminding Montanans to keep safe handling practices in mind when handling live poultry in order to limit disease risk.
“Even healthy animals can carry organisms that make people sick,” said Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) epidemiologist Dana Fejes. In 2015, 10 percent of Montanans who became ill with salmonella had contact to live poultry. Young c...
