I have a neighbor who has round hay bales, who delivers to me within the same day, at a very reasonable price. I started using him just this winter, because everytime I needed a new bale, the weather was too bad for me to drive 45 minutes (one way) to get one from my regular hay guy. When I said something to my dad, he responded by saying he'd heard that horses weren't supposed to eat chicken-fertilized hay. Now this information came from his regular coffee shop visits, but I am really concerned if the farmers think that! But I know that my neighbor does use chicken poop, because we smell it every year when he goes and buys it and spreads it!

Any answers?

Chicken litter distribution as fertilizer is regulated by soil test, and there are sure 1000's of horses feeding on hay and pasture fertilized this way.  If I was really worried I would take some hay samples to the county extension agent and let them test it, but you are probably fine. 

Okay, off the subject...

I have that problem with my barn swallows, but I haven't been concerned much. They're usually there for about 4-6 weeks, between laying the eggs and the babies learning to fly. When they first appeared and started building nests, I would tear down the ones over the hay area, and left onr above each stall. They were okay with that, and I believe it does cut down on my flies and mosquitoes. However, I have a timed sprayer, so I'm not really sure. My biggest concern was keeping them from getting sprayed while going in and out of the barn, but somehow they figured it out.

Do I need to be concerned as well?

And another question - is somilia and samonella the same thing, or two different diseases??

I appreciate the information. That makes me feel alot more confident about my horses. I'm sure it can cause cancer in the long run, but I'm not sure if we can control much of that anymore, since just about everything does, including the coffee I have sitting next to my laptop. I was raised on a farm, where my grandparents raised their children. It seemed like such a hard life for them, but looking back now, how much simplier it was. Everything they ate - chickens, eggs, milk, cow, pig, garden vegetables - all came from their field, their home. I remember clearly my Grandma ringing the neck of a chicken - it was all a part of everyday living. The confinement of their produce is probably the main reason why each of them lived to their 90's. (I know there's a more intelligent word for it, but confinement was all I could come up with right now - where's my coffee?!)

BTW- how do you all feel about raising my own chickens for eggs? Is the poop a factor in my horses' health??