Avian Flu (H5N1) - Discussion

[SarahLadd]

as it turns out, factory farms are SAFER from this than backyard flocks. You have it exactly backwards.

You seem to have your eyes on this and you know what's up. In Minnesota, so far only a few chicken farms have been affected. The egg producer that supplied WalMart in Minnesota destroyed 216,000 birds, and a meat producer destroyed 42,000 birds due to HPAI. These appear to be the only large chicken farms affected. 56 commercial turkey farms were affected and account for the vast majority of the 3 million birds destroyed since May. Why are turkeys so much more vulnerable to infection?

 

[Brooks_]

If you think this is a "joke" to "incite panic"

While I don't think it's a joke, I do see how it could be weaponized by TPTSB. That said, I strongly agree with the responsible posters that reporting is the right thing to do. At the same time I question what productive good could come from it as the infection would have come from another vector. In other words, I have a lot of thoughts on this and not all of them match each other.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

You seem to have your eyes on this and you know what's up. In Minnesota, so far only a few chicken farms have been affected. The egg producer that supplied WalMart in Minnesota destroyed 216,000 birds, and a meat producer destroyed 42,000 birds due to HPAI. These appear to be the only large chicken farms affected. 56 commercial turkey farms were affected and account for the vast majority of the 3 million birds destroyed since May. Why are turkeys so much more vulnerable to infection?

Not certain at all, my guess would be the same reason why waterfowl aren't showing symptoms as often. They're different species.

Again, just speculation on my end. But it's the only thing I could think of

 

[ColtHandorf]

Why are turkeys so much more vulnerable to infection?

Turkeys seem to be more susceptible to catching a lot of diseases, MG for example looks much worse on a turkey than on a chicken.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

I literally can't wait until you guys realize what is really going on.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

You seem to have your eyes on this and you know what's up. In Minnesota, so far only a few chicken farms have been affected. The egg producer that supplied WalMart in Minnesota destroyed 216,000 birds, and a meat producer destroyed 42,000 birds due to HPAI. These appear to be the only large chicken farms affected. 56 commercial turkey farms were affected and account for the vast majority of the 3 million birds destroyed since May. Why are turkeys so much more vulnerable to infection?

Mostly, I think people are really bad with statistics.

Commercial flocks are tested constantly, so the chances of infection escaping detection are quite low, and the number of affected birds is quite high. That creates the appearance that commercial flocks are the primary source of this, or are somehow particularly vulnerable.

Private flocks are much more likely to not be tested, and when infection is found, the numbers culled are very low - how much of the nation limits backyard flocks to between 4 and 10 birds?

As to why turkeys are seemingly more vulnerable this time around??? It doesn't appear to be a difference in management - large scale turkey ops seem to have moved to climate controlled in-building production much as commercial chicken production did years ago. So its not facilities. It *looks* (though I've not studied closely, I admit) that they maintain similar biosecurity practices and restrictions on employee ownership of personal flocks.

Most likely, I conclude, turkeys are just a little more susceptible to this strain than chickens are, just as ducks and other waterfowl are not as quickly affected and are less likely to succumb to it. But there may be factors I'm not aware of which I've failed to account for - if turkeys are largely raised in cooler climates, and chickens in warmer climates, that would also be a factor - as the ability of HPAI strains to persist in the environment is temperature dependent. It may be there is some market in organic pasture fed "heritage" turkeys raised without those big buildings, and that partially accounts for differences in the numbers of affected flocks...

So honestly, "I DON'T KNOW", but have some reasonable guesses I'm prepared to defend until more information changes my views.

 

[SarahLadd]

I literally can't wait until you guys realize what is really going on.

I know the aisle in Hy Vee where you can buy tin foil. There's some cool DIY videos on youtube you can watch on how to craft your own hat.

Just so you know, this IS directed at you, this time.

 

[Tre3hugger]

I literally can't wait until you guys realize what is really going on.

and what, pray tell, is that?

 

[ColtHandorf]

I know the aisle in Hy Vee where you can buy tin foil. There's some cool DIY videos on youtube you can watch on how to craft your own hat.

Just so you know, this IS directed at you, this time.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

If someone is interested, and has high speed dta (I'm on cell phone, and throttled by my data plan), here's an article from the H5N2 outbreak in 2015 which hit turkeys pretty hard in MN. There seems to be enough detail on locations to find some of these farms on Google Maps and look to see if the birds are being raised in enclosed buildings, pole barns, or something else...

https://www.crowrivermedia.com/inde...cle_28853d87-2755-5c4c-a251-24b23bf89123.html

I don't have the time or the resources to devote right now.

/edit and this 2015 example gives us some hints about turkeys today - sure, they didn't know then (and I've not seen an answer since), but it appears that area of the State has a large number of geographically close facilities under common ownership. Not only due they have the potential of wind born contamination (as they speculated then), but there is also the potential that its being carried from farm to farm by company vehicles, much as it was in California during the Newcastle outbreak before last. In essence, not only are the birds concentrated in farms (all your eggs in one basket, as it were), bt the farms are all concetrated in one place as well (all your baskets on one wobbly table).