Avian Flu and New Chicks?

[ChickenGirl555]

I live in Wisconsin and was planning on going to the March 12th swap meet and March 19th swap meet to get my chicks for this spring, but now I’m unsure due to the recent avian influenza problem. There’s still snow on the ground here, so I would keep the chicks indoors for likely the typical 5-6 weeks. I’m not even sure if the swap meets will go on because of this, but if they were and I was to bring home chicks, I want to know how to keep them quarantined and my own flock safe. I’ve never had disease in my flock, so I’m pretty new to quarantining besides social reasons like aggression/bullying.

Obviously I very much don’t want to kill my current flock, so if this is severely unsafe somebody please give it to me straight. Otherwise, I will do what I need to get these chicks. Thanks to the pandemic, I figure I could make sure all clothes/shoes I wear inside the house and/or coop are separate and washed between interactions with my adults and the new chicks. Otherwise, what do you think I should do? Not get the chicks? Do quarantining methods? (If so, what would those be?)

Im not sure how severe this avian flu is at the moment because I can’t find much current news on Google, so I’m not sure if it’s severe enough where I shouldn’t even be thinking about getting chicks, or if it’s nothing.

 

[Eggcessive]

I think the important thing in helping to prevent exposure of AI is to keep your birds fenced in with cover, so no wild birds can get to your birds or their water and food. Keep up with your state news to see if it is even that much of a risk where you live. It mainly affects wild migrating birds more often in winter, but it has spread to some poultry farms in the US. There is no need to become too alarmed unless it is affecting birds in your area. But just be aware.

A suggestion I have for you is to consider not getting chicks from a swap meet that have been raised by other people. There is always a risk of getting chicks who could be carriers of mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG,) a chronic respiratory disease that can be passed through hatching eggs. There are other possible diseases that may be brought in from other raisers of poultry. Here is some reading from your state:
https://www.wvdl.wisc.edu/index.php...the-wi-state-veterinarian-on-avian-influenza/