HEADS UP AVIAN INFLUENZA ALERT

[chicchic25]

It doesn't sound ignorant to me as far as the other buildings go. Chances are it hasn't reached those buildings. Of course if even one bird is found to have it, it is assumed that the virus has spread to others, especially those in the same building, it is just incubating and not showing visible signs yet. However, the problem with lettting it play out in a flock with such extremely large numbers (those thousands in a building) is that it give the virus the chance to mutate to possibly a more dangerous strain, even a strain that may infect humans. So, I can understand not letting it play out in a building. I still don't understand the need to cull other houses that have no symptoms. Unless they just feel it is inevitable that they will be infected. I don't know why they would feel that way though.

Thank you MrsBachBach, I'm not sure why they'd feel that way either regarding a non-infected building. I didn't consider the real possibility of it mutating to a more dangerous strain, with that in mind I can understand not letting it play out in the building it was found in too then. Thanks again for your input, I appreciate it very much.

 

[mg15]

This link shows signs and symptoms of the Bird Flu


http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/birdbiosecurity/biosecurity/basicssigns.htm

 

[chicknmania]

Good article.

 

[gjensen]

You should be considered a farmer. You are not selling extra eggs. 4300 eggs is not a lot though. You must have meant 43,000.

 

[gjensen]

North Dakota closed the State to all sales, transport, shows etc. I expect Iowa to follow.

IMO, in areas where this has been an issue, keepers should voluntarily do the same. In other words, if I was in Iowa or Minnesota, my birds would be locked down. No birds would move in or out. I would not get any birds from States that have been affected.

I added my thoughts on personal responsibility, after the subject came up, because I think it is relevant. There are some among us that will not do the right thing because of sentiment. Others because of misc. reasons. I believe it is important that we all take personal responsibility for our own flocks. We do not want to be regulated to death, and we want to protect our own birds in the mean time.

I have a rare breed where the only quality flock is on the other coast. If I lost my own, and the transport of birds became a non option, the breed would not far as well. Not to mention that I will need an outcross at some point. There is a lot at stake for the most rare breeds.

The USPS has been ready to quit shipping live birds. The hatcheries successfully lobbied against it. It will not take much for us to lose that option.

I will liken it to insuring bird shipments, and then senders pursuing the USPS for those claims. There may be an immediate benefit, but could also do long term harm. We need to be mindful of what we do and do not do. There is not anything that we can do to make it better, but there is plenty we can do to make it worse.

I am sure that most that have contributed here are responsible, but there might be lurkers that are not.

We need to take personal responsibility for our own flocks.

 

[chicknmania]

I'm sure everyone is taking this very seriously. No one wants to lose their birds. Some will have more difficulty, practically speaking, than others. We are in the process of trying to be as prepared as possible, in the event that the virus comes closer. Many people don't have the ability or resources to lock down their birds..In our case we do have to have some time, and extra money, to complete our remodeling project so we CAN lock them down comfortably over an extended period of time if necessary. I'm sure there are many that have this issue. We are all in the same boat. I'm sure we are all concerned and trying to be as prepared as possible.

Another thing to think about, is keeping delivery trucks off your premises. We are already going to try to do that. they go everywhere and who knows what they're driving through. Commercial poultry farms in Ohio are already requiring their delivery trucks to spray their tires and vehicles with disinfectant, but no way to tell how uniformly that's done.

 

[WalnutHill]

You should be considered a farmer. You are not selling extra eggs. 4300 eggs is not a lot though. You must have meant 43,000.

I did say 4300 dozen. Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed our status as a farm.

It's small farms that preserve the biodiversity of breeds. When only a handful of companies own the gene pools for over 90% of commercial poultry production, it's critical that we preserve the other 10%. We may not have a huge financial impact individually or even as a whole, but what we do is both the past and the future of farming.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

So many good comments on this page.

 

[chicknmania]

I found this excerpt from an article, that I thought was interesting. I didn't bother to copy the whole article as the rest contains information most of us already know, or has already been posted here.

No H5N2-infected migratory birds have been found in Iowa and noted that the virus's pathway into poultry barns remains a mystery, according to Mr Northey, who said some farms that are close to outbreak sites get hit with the virus but others do not.
He added: "There could be something that flew over and left something that somebody walks through and takes into the barn. We all wish we had all the answers as to exactly how this is moving

 

[jossanne]

So I've scanned through the comments on this thread and read many of them in full, but didn't see anything about the hatcheries. Can anyone tell me their status? Will they be shut down, are any affected, will they still be shipping chicks from affected areas?