If there was ever a time to tighten up bio-security of backyard flocks, now would be it. AI has made it's way into the US from Canada, spread by waterfowl and other wild birds. If there are too many more confirmed cases interstate shipping traffic will be suspended throughout the US for any poultry or poultry by products. As it is turkey prices will be up come Thanksgiving due to the number of losses suffered by large scale turkey farms.
At this point it seems (at least in the midwest) that turkeys are accounting for most of the confirmed cases but if it spreads to chickens farms, expect chaos to ensue regarding the market of America's top source of protein. Further, it's possible for AI to spread to humans so it's something everyone should be on the watch for.
Check your birds daily. If you have a sick bird, REPORT IT, better safe than sorry. Keeping quiet, trying to save one bird or a small flock, is a luxury we can ill afford as a NATION.
To help curb the spread of the disease please avoid transporting or integrating new birds, into your flocks. If you need more stock, order eggs and hatch them, it's substantially less dangerous.
Here are some links to get the discussion started about Avian Influenza. The news isn't talking about it and I haven't seen it mentioned on BYC yet, but if one case can be avoided by raising awareness, then it's worth it. Lets get the word around so people can start educating themselves on the subject.
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/62/avian-influenzahighly-pathogenic-hpai-fowl-plague
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/avian_influenza/en/
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/
Wild birds are currently how the disease is spreading, please make sure your freerange birds can't access wild populations and wild birds, can't access the interiors of your cages, or deposit their feces there in.
At this point it seems (at least in the midwest) that turkeys are accounting for most of the confirmed cases but if it spreads to chickens farms, expect chaos to ensue regarding the market of America's top source of protein. Further, it's possible for AI to spread to humans so it's something everyone should be on the watch for.
Check your birds daily. If you have a sick bird, REPORT IT, better safe than sorry. Keeping quiet, trying to save one bird or a small flock, is a luxury we can ill afford as a NATION.
To help curb the spread of the disease please avoid transporting or integrating new birds, into your flocks. If you need more stock, order eggs and hatch them, it's substantially less dangerous.
Here are some links to get the discussion started about Avian Influenza. The news isn't talking about it and I haven't seen it mentioned on BYC yet, but if one case can be avoided by raising awareness, then it's worth it. Lets get the word around so people can start educating themselves on the subject.
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/62/avian-influenzahighly-pathogenic-hpai-fowl-plague
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/avian_influenza/en/
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/
Wild birds are currently how the disease is spreading, please make sure your freerange birds can't access wild populations and wild birds, can't access the interiors of your cages, or deposit their feces there in.
