Avian Flu WARNING!!!

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I heard today that chicken (or maybe all birds) selling will be banned, beginning in August. Is this a rumor? And does it include chicks as well? I live in NC, so I'm wondering if it has spread here yet.
Lets not all jump on the rumor bandwagon,, it only takes a little research to find out facts. It may be just a statewide ban,, some do have them, MOST do not. As far as flue spread goes,,,, the last reported case was in Iowa, 12 days ago and no other infections,, (12 days may not seem very long,, but with this stuff it is like an eternity considering how fast it spreads) that includes NC,, you guys have not had one single case there. States along the Pacific flyway have not had any confirmed cases in over 4 months. As far as bans and regualtions go on shipping and transporting birds, chicks and eggs,, those have ALWAYS been in place,, and every state is different as far as regulations go,, and some have changed a bit since this outbreak,, but they have been in place for a long time

http://www.guineafowl.com/GeneralStore/regulations.htm

may be slightly out of date with NEW regs in some states,, but there they are

I have no idea why August. Maybe just in NC.
Can wild birds--like songbirds, doves, crows-- carry the disease?

Yes wild birds carry it,, they are the primary source of spreading, along migratorial flyways,,, all birds can carry it, but mostly waterfowl. August is about the time some wild birds will start migrating back south along the Atlantic flyway.
hu.gif


Would the ban just be till the flu had disappeared or would it be permanent?
This is NOT the first time bird flu has had an outbreak in North America,, nor will it ever disappear,,,,, back in 2004 there was a small outbreak in Texas,, another I remember offhand I believe mid 70s (or was it 80s?,, i'm getting old) in turkey flocks in Canada. So if anything any bans are likely temporary and most states have stated that they are temporary.


I am also going to reiterate what I have said before,, and in several threads. This is something that is barely affecting backyard flocks. The vast majority of birds affected are from very large poultry operations,, the kinds of places that house 10,000 birds in ONE building and have several buildings sitting in rows,, some farms having well over 1 million birds confined in close tight spaces,, that is why the numbers are so vastly high when you hear it in the news,, in all actuality,, there have been ONLY 223 confirmed cases in all 50 states (sorry Cananda,, i don't know your stats),,, if this were as widely spread as the media makes it SOUND,, I would think there would be a heck of a lot more cases than that.
Don't get me wrong,,, this stuff has the potential of some serious bad juju,, but I think slightly squued numbers (reporting number of birds affected rather than actual cases) plus the intensity and quickness of how news travells nowdays (interweb, satelite tv, cable,, heck,, we have like 20 news channels now) has made this look much worse than it really is
My birds are still free ranging, have been the whole time,,,, now over 300 as the summer progresses and still doing well and fine
 
Thank you for all that info, MysteriaSdrassa. I have a small backyard flock. 25-35birds and ducks. It is very comforting to know there have been no cases here yet.
 
Lets not all jump on the rumor bandwagon,, it only takes a little research to find out facts. It may be just a statewide ban,, some do have them, MOST do not. As far as flue spread goes,,,, the last reported case was in Iowa, 12 days ago and no other infections,, (12 days may not seem very long,, but with this stuff it is like an eternity considering how fast it spreads) that includes NC,, you guys have not had one single case there. States along the Pacific flyway have not had any confirmed cases in over 4 months. As far as bans and regualtions go on shipping and transporting birds, chicks and eggs,, those have ALWAYS been in place,, and every state is different as far as regulations go,, and some have changed a bit since this outbreak,, but they have been in place for a long time

http://www.guineafowl.com/GeneralStore/regulations.htm

may be slightly out of date with NEW regs in some states,, but there they are


Yes wild birds carry it,, they are the primary source of spreading, along migratorial flyways,,, all birds can carry it, but mostly waterfowl. August is about the time some wild birds will start migrating back south along the Atlantic flyway.
hu.gif


This is NOT the first time bird flu has had an outbreak in North America,, nor will it ever disappear,,,,, back in 2004 there was a small outbreak in Texas,, another I remember offhand I believe mid 70s (or was it 80s?,, i'm getting old) in turkey flocks in Canada. So if anything any bans are likely temporary and most states have stated that they are temporary.


I am also going to reiterate what I have said before,, and in several threads. This is something that is barely affecting backyard flocks. The vast majority of birds affected are from very large poultry operations,, the kinds of places that house 10,000 birds in ONE building and have several buildings sitting in rows,, some farms having well over 1 million birds confined in close tight spaces,, that is why the numbers are so vastly high when you hear it in the news,, in all actuality,, there have been ONLY 223 confirmed cases in all 50 states (sorry Cananda,, i don't know your stats),,, if this were as widely spread as the media makes it SOUND,, I would think there would be a heck of a lot more cases than that.
Don't get me wrong,,, this stuff has the potential of some serious bad juju,, but I think slightly squued numbers (reporting number of birds affected rather than actual cases) plus the intensity and quickness of how news travells nowdays (interweb, satelite tv, cable,, heck,, we have like 20 news channels now) has made this look much worse than it really is
My birds are still free ranging, have been the whole time,,,, now over 300 as the summer progresses and still doing well and fine

x2 I'm more worried about the economic problems to the Midwest that may be expected. Some pretty big companies got hit. However, I feel it is reasonable to protect your birds from the flu, as long as you remain calm. As I stated before, this is a very easy situation for backyard chicken owners to take advantage of!
I believe the outbreak is a lot more of a political problem than a heath risk at this point. Maybe it's a good thing. Maybe we'll stop keeping 5 million chickens in the same facility.
FYI: Ohio has cancelled all live bird exhibitions (including auctions and swaps) for the remainder of 2015. Apparently Ohio is the 2nd largest egg producer in the U.S. No cases yet. Notice from Ohio Dept. of Agriculture is here: .http://www.agri.ohio.gov/apps/odanews/ODANews.aspx. Scroll down to the all caps headline.
WV has done this, too, as well as other states. It's just a precaution (also a smart political move, IMHO).
 
Ok. Is AI mainly in the Midwest right now?
Well yes, and no,,, Yes, the midwest was the most recent hit. But I believe that can be attributed to 2 factors.
1) Birds start migrations at different times, the pacific flyway tends to be earlier than the Mississippi flyway..
2) A major concentration of this nations large poultry operations lie along the Mississippi flyway
a 3rd point that can be made is that migrating birds don't fly straight north and then back south,, they tend to be very large circles,, In other word,, birds that flew UP the Pacific flyway are going to be flying DOWN the Mississippi flyway come fall,,, birds flying up the Mississippi will be flying DOWN the Atlantic,,, that is why if there are any more outbreaks it will be along the Atlantic Flyway,,, and unfortunately for the midwest,, we stand the chance of getting hit with a double whammy as the birds fly back south. Time will tell

And now for the NO side of that,, there aren't any outbreaks anywhere currently right now,, the midwest was just the most recently hit and the hardest hit.
 
ALL birds can get it,,, none of them are immune,, however if I remember correctly,, pigeons are among the least susceptable

I've posted this before,, but it is invaluable for tracking AI

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wps/porta.../sa_detections_by_states/ct_ai_pacific_flyway

mouseover the states and it tells you dates of last confirmed case,, clicking on state links below the map will break down how many cases there were in that state,, last confirmed case,,, how many birds,, what county of the state it happened in,,,, and it used to break down the counties by case and and number of birds in each case and what type of operation it was,,, well over 95% of them were commercial operations and not backyard flocks,, but I guess they didn't want us knowing that particular bit.

I have said it before and will again,, maybe mother nature is trying to tell us something,,, maybe we should start taking better care of the animals that feed us.
 

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