Confirmed Case of Asian Bird Flu in Arkansas

[Kathy1]

very new to chickens, actually 1 week today! and love them to pieces already. I have only 2 at the moment, and got them at the local feed store, does this affect my birds? and what precautions do I need to take? we wash our hands etc, but we do let them walk, sit all over us. And they get plently on holding and kisses too lol They like to cuddle, do we have to be concerned about close contact?

 

[chickens4jojo]

Thank you broadwing~~my heart jumped into my throat with the first post~~More information is always better for sure.

 

[GracefulBantams]

You can read more about this here - https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=37986&p=22

 

[Nupine]

That's not good. Please don't freak out at me for this, but there has only 300 been human deaths, ever, in the whole world, and not a single one in the U.S. I am not saying no one should be concerned, but they are culling birds every where, catching Canadian geese and testing them, etc. Isn't it too much?? I mean, not offending any smokers out there, but smoking has caused MILLIONS of deaths, and there are still cigarretes EVERYWHERE, including PHARMACYS!! Pharmacys are there so we can get stuff to help us, not kill us!! And obesity, again not offending anyone, but it is killing our nation!! And look what these fast food places are serving, burgers that contain enough calories for an entire day!! And schools serve french fries, pop, ice cream, fried chicken strips, etc. World hunger!! Kids are starving like crazy!!! They are eating dirt cakes, yes those are real, they are in Haiti, it is dirt cooked over the fire,and that may be all a pregnant woman may eat for a day, is dirt cakes. Peace!!! Our american soldiers are dying everyday, away form their families. And the war is still going on. Global warming!! The glaciers could melt, and we could all die, then who would care about ''Bird Flu''?? This is all IMO, do with it as you wish. I just feel there are MUCH bigger problems out there.
Ashlyn

 

[Nupine]

My bad, where did I hear 300 people?? Just looked and the numbers were much larger!! Don't listen to my last post, I am a dummy. It is a problem!!

 

[GracefulBantams]

Quote:
I certainly aggree with that

 

[okiemommy]

If you don't contain communicable diseases, they can mutate and begin killing people by the thousands if a vaccine/cure is not found in time. I don't think that any of those things are to be taken lightly- in the right context- but neither is this. The people of Europe didn't think that personal hygene and pest control were important either until millions of them died from the black plague.

 

[GracefulBantams]

Quote:
I wouldn't say you were a "dummy", even though that number wasn't correct. I believe that is about the right number for people killed in the past couple of years from the particular H5N1 strain.

ETA: quote

 

[ninjapoodles]

Quote:
I haven't looked up the quarantine yet, but the Tyson plants are in NW Arkansas.

 

[purr]

yes there are bigger problems out there but that doesn't mean we should stick our heads in the sand and ignore the small ones that affect us either.
Alot of people here supplement their income with the sale of eggs or raise chickens to add to their pantry.
Putting dinner on the table or breakfast is certainly something i am both interested and concerned about. And if this flu affects my birds then it affects my grocery bill and menu for the week , I have put alot of work and money into coops, runs and grains and would like to see a return for it.

yes i am concerned with global warming , obesity , starving children and the war and our soldiers.
But i can't do much about those. I on the other hand can do something about feeding my family quality organic home grown food.