H5N1 found in South Carolina

[Reiki Rooster]

Thanks for the heads up, @Reiki Rooster. I’m near Savannah now so this is very relevant to me.

I’d like to share my experiences with Rabbit Hemorhagic Disease from last year. There was an outbreak out west and the advice was to implement strict biosecurity for your rabbit barns, as RHDV2 could be passed easily, even by flies. Well, my rabbits were in a closed colony on the ground and I would not put them in cages or a barn because of ethical considerations. My rabbits did catch RHDV2 (from a stray cat, probably) and I lost 7 out of 12. I was the only reported domestic case in the state of Wyoming at the time. Did I do the right thing? I don’t know. My rabbits led the best lives that I could provide and I didn’t let them suffer if they got sick. I believe they would have mentally suffered if I put them indoors in cages, completely opposite of how they had been raised.

I feel the same about the poultry. The regulations I’ve seen in the UK seem reasonable and I am willing to restrict my birds to a run if necessary, but I won’t go further than that. I’d rather have no poultry than keep them indoors all the time.

The only change I would advise for anyone near the outbreak area is to think about culling early if you have any meat chickens. It is a really bummer to be waiting for an animal to reach “just the right size” and have a disease kill them instead. Then you have heartbreak on top of empty freezer space.

I also have a colony of rabbits, omg that life is so much happier for them vs cages off the ground imo. I just wanted to thank you for telling me about this, I’m still new new to rabbits, I’ve only had them for about 10 months now.

 

[speckledhen]

Agreed that it's best to know what's going on, but to use common sense and not to panic. Don't be panicked, be prepared & informed.

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

I also have a colony of rabbits, omg that life is so much happier for them vs cages off the ground imo. I just wanted to thank you for telling me about this, I’m still new new to rabbits, I’ve only had them for about 10 months now.

I am glad you have a colony! My rabbits were so happy to run around and be together.

I haven’t kept up with the RHDV2 news since we moved. Georgia is way too hot for the rabbits we kept in Wyoming so I culled my last 5 before we moved RHDV2 is REALLY fast acting and contagious so I expect it to be all over the country in a few years, if it’s not already. There is a vaccine but it has to be imported so not all vets offer it. (And it can get expensive if you have a big herd!) Good luck with your rabbits!

 

[Reiki Rooster]

I am glad you have a colony! My rabbits were so happy to run around and be together.

I haven’t kept up with the RHDV2 news since we moved. Georgia is way too hot for the rabbits we kept in Wyoming so I culled my last 5 before we moved RHDV2 is REALLY fast acting and contagious so I expect it to be all over the country in a few years, if it’s not already. There is a vaccine but it has to be imported so not all vets offer it. (And it can get expensive if you have a big herd!) Good luck with your rabbits!

Oh perfect!! Thank you so much I will ask my vet about it on Monday!! Our buck and 3 does are named and my kids pets so if possible they will def get vaxed for it! Once babies are weaned they go in separate run.

Side question, being in a colony have you noticed the buck isn’t all in “have to breed” mode? Kinda like life as a real rabbit not breeding machine

 

[swamphiker]

By the way, is this a new thing on BYC, that every time I reply to any random thread, they automatically subscribe me to it? I've unsubbed quite a few lately that I wasn't wanting to follow. Seems a new thing. Not a fan, personally. NVM, I see what happened. Somehow that was checked in my preferences without me actually doing it. Fixed.

I think it's been this way for at least a couple of years, you can click the "Unwatch" button at the top if you want to stop receiving notifications about a particular thread.

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

Oh perfect!! Thank you so much I will ask my vet about it on Monday!! Our buck and 3 does are named and my kids pets so if possible they will def get vaxed for it! Once babies are weaned they go in separate run.

Side question, being in a colony have you noticed the buck isn’t all in “have to breed” mode? Kinda like life as a real rabbit not breeding machine

I didn’t have my buck in with the does all the time, he had his own yard that he shared with the male grow outs. I usually had extra does so I didn’t want to get overwhelmed with babies… and the weather in mid winter and mid summer in Wyoming was way too harsh for having litters. He would get to be in with the ladies for a couple days only, and he was all business then

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Well, this took a left turn somewhere.

Convenient for me. I'm planning to add meat bunnies next month. A buck and two does, different blood lines. Since its just my wife and I, that's more ptential breeding than we can eat, so I need to keep them seperate. Refuse to use those tiny wire cages.

I am "handy" with tools. and have an extremely foregiving climate. Can I build a three sided shelter approx 3' x 16' x 3' tall with attached run of 16 x 8 or 10' then partition it with wire walls into three roughly 5x8 or 5x10 sections and expect those to be "reasonable" facilities for my bunnies, or am I opening a can of worms I've not yet begun to appreciate, going that route?

 

[speckledhen]

I think it's been this way for at least a couple of years, you can click the "Unwatch" button at the top if you want to stop receiving notifications about a particular thread. View attachment 2969628

I think what happened instead of having to check those boxes in Preferences, we now have to uncheck them. So I did. It was really beginning to bug me, LOL. I may not have noticed before now because I usually stay on my own very long-running threads. Outside of there can get a bit dicey at times.

 

[Georgia460]

There have been numerous bird flu scares in the 16 years since I've had chickens. IMO, they are mostly fear-mongering. Your well-managed flock in the U.S. is most likely not going to ever encounter this and people cannot contract it unless they handle dead or live birds that are infected. If you see a dead wild bird, be sure you don't touch it, just burn the body or bury it deeply after sprinkling with hydrated lime, which is always a good practice anyway. My chickens have free ranged among wild birds for the entire time I've had them, through many of the bird flu scares and never contracted a contagious illness. I hope folks don't panic. I even did a video about it on my Youtube channel if you're interested Stop Panicking Over Bird Flu and Ice Age Farmer also has a good one up. I know from all these years that much of this is being used to begin curtailing the keeping of backyard flocks so just be cautious, take what they say with a grain of salt.
I am in N. Ga at the NC line, by the way.

So refreshing to read a post where someone knows what's really going on.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

There have been numerous bird flu scares in the 16 years since I've had chickens. IMO, they are mostly fear-mongering. Your well-managed flock in the U.S. is most likely not going to ever encounter this and people cannot contract it unless they handle dead or live birds that are infected. If you see a dead wild bird, be sure you don't touch it, just burn the body or bury it deeply after sprinkling with hydrated lime, which is always a good practice anyway. My chickens have free ranged among wild birds for the entire time I've had them, through many of the bird flu scares and never contracted a contagious illness. I hope folks don't panic. I even did a video about it on my Youtube channel if you're interested Stop Panicking Over Bird Flu and Ice Age Farmer also has a good one up. I know from all these years that much of this is being used to begin curtailing the keeping of backyard flocks so just be cautious, take what they say with a grain of salt.
I am in N. Ga at the NC line, by the way.

Thank you for sharing your YT channel with us! I am now one of your newest subscribers and love your videos